Industry lens
Daily Inspiration often became a place where broad foresight was tested against a specific industry.
For Financial Services, the useful material is not simply a list of technologies. The recurring question is how changing science, economics, customer behavior, regulation, skills and digital capability alter the industry’s assumptions.
Recovered industry essays and observations
2023-10-02 — Daily Inspiration: AI & Creativity - “With a little bit of courage and a whole lot of imagination, anything is possible.”
“With a little bit of courage and a whole lot of imagination, anything is possible.” - Timidus the Mouse Everyone has always told me I should write a kid’s book. So I decided to try to learn if I could do a kid’s movie using an AI. I learned I can - it’s the story of Timidus, the Mouse.
2023-12-01 — Daily Inspiration: 24 Strategies for 2024 #5 - “Elevate your enthusiasm!”
“Elevate your enthusiasm!” - Futurist Jim Carroll Futurist Jim Carroll is running a series that began November 27, 2023, and will end on January 1, 2024 - ‘24 Strategies for 2024.’ Rather than running a trend series for the upcoming year as he has previously, this series will examine a number of his personal beliefs on how to best align yourself with the future. There will be a post each weekday, excluding weekends and holidays, until the series runs its course. You will find it on his blog at https://blog.jimcarroll.com, or on the website https://2024.jimcarroll.com For all the whining and complaining of those around you, it’s a great time t
2024-03-05 — Daily Inspiration: Initiative & Success - “Seize every moment of magic!”
“Seize every moment of magic!” - Futurist Jim Carroll It’s book week! Each day, a post involving one of my books! That’s because there are TWO big milestones this week.
2025-01-22 — Daily Inspiration: Global politics and trade - “A “blast from the past from 2009 - “Canada announces end of economic relationship with US, & a bold new strategy to 2020”
“Sometimes, satire can become all too real” - Futurist Jim Carroll There’s no doubt that there might not be a lot of logical, rational stuff going on in the next few years. That’s why I keep stressing that volatility is the new normal. With that in mind, I can’t help but reach back to a post I wrote in 2009, which I reshared in 2013.
2025-02-10 — Daily Inspiration: The Future of Insurance: “New risk demands new thinking. Uninsurable risk demands bold thinking”
“New risk demands new thinking. Uninsurable risk demands bold thinking.” - Futurist Jim Carroll In just about a month, I’ll head to California to headline a major insurance conference. The fact that I’m speaking in a region that is home to one of the largest insurance losses in US history is not lost on me, and in fact, will provide form for much of my talk.
2025-05-09 — Decoding Tomorrow: Your Daily Future Inspiration - “While others wait for normal, the bold invent what’s next.”
“While others wait for normal, the bold invent what’s next.” - Futurist Jim Carroll Know what you don’t know about tomorrow. Find out what you need to know. Know it.
2025-05-23 — Decoding Tomorrow: Your Daily Future Inspiration – “You can escape the mediocrity you once embraced, but will you ever fully eradicate it?”
“You can escape the mediocrity you once embraced, but will you ever fully eradicate it?” - Futurist Jim Carroll It’s been a wild voyage bringing these two books to print in just a few months, and I’m loving the feedback and comments from those who have picked up copies. (Are you in? You can grab copies at the Mediocrity website !) But while working on them, I’m always thinking.
2025-05-29 — Decoding Tomorrow: Your Daily Future Inspiration – “There is no shortage of big opportunities.. There is a shortage of bold leadership!”
“There is no shortage of big opportunities.. There is a shortage of bold leadership!” = Futurist Jim Carroll One of my fellow futurists recently included this line in a post I read - “We should be pulling more photons from the sun.” He wrote it as an observation when he was flying into an American city, and saw an absolute dearth of solar panels on the roofs of homes and buildings. Solar energy - the infrastructure at least - has become desperately cheap and tremendously productive, and we are missing such a big opportunity.
2025-09-02 — Decoding Tomorrow: Your Daily Future Inspiration – AI and ROI: “Letting fomo drive your ai investment is a recipe for panic spending!”
“Letting FOMO drive your AI investment is a recipe for panic spending!” - Futurist Jim Carroll The other day, I mentioned that one of my favourite newsletters among the flood of content out there is Korn Ferry’s This Week in Leadership - you can sign up here. It’s a regular short overview of key trends with links to longer articles, and I often find nuggets of powerful insight in there. One of the most recent reports on the issue of ‘risky business’ with a summary of a survey from 250 global CEOs and Board directors about the issue of risk.
2025-09-25 — Decoding Tomorrow: The Way Forward: #3 Energy: ""The power plant of the past was a smokestack on the horizon. The power plant of the future is the solar panel on your roof, the battery in your garage, and the intelligent software that connects them all.”
“The power plant of the past was a smokestack on the horizon. The power plant of the future is the solar panel on your roof, the battery in your garage, and the intelligent software that connects them all.” - Futurist Jim Carroll In 2025, the headwinds are severe, and the path forward seems shrouded in fog. We’re living through one of the most volatile and unpredictable periods in recent memory.
2025-10-01 — Decoding Tomorrow: The Way Forward: #7 Retail - “Retail success is no longer about moving boxes from a warehouse to a shelf. It’s about moving an experience from a brand story into a customer’s life.”
“Retail success is no longer about moving boxes from a warehouse to a shelf. It’s about moving an experience from a brand story into a customer’s life.” - Futurist Jim Carroll In 2025, the headwinds are severe, and the path forward seems shrouded in fog. We’re living through one of the most volatile and unpredictable periods in recent memory.
2025-10-02 — Decoding Tomorrow: The Way Forward: #8 Banking & Financial Services - “For centuries, finance was defined by stability and caution. For the next decade, it will be defined by velocity and agility. The slow will not survive.”
“For centuries, finance was defined by stability and caution. For the next decade, it will be defined by velocity and agility. The slow will not survive.” - Futurist Jim Carroll In 2025, the headwinds are severe, and the path forward seems shrouded in fog.
2025-12-02 — Decoding Tomorrow: Mastering 2026 – #9: “Know this: if your goals feel ‘realistic,’ you are thinking too small.”
“Know this: if your goals feel ‘realistic,’ you are thinking too small.” - Futurist Jim Carroll We are on Day 9. You’ve committed to the pivot (Day 7), and you are increasing your execution velocity (Day 8). You are moving faster.
2025-12-08 — Decoding Tomorrow: Mastering 2026 - #13 The Wisdom Inversion: “Know when to get your age out of the way.”
“Know when to get your age out of the way.” - Futurist Jim Carroll We are on Day 13. We just spent Day 12 dismantling your personal hubris - getting your ego out of the way. One of the most important aspects of that?
2026-07-01 — Daily Inspiration: ""A different direction means a louder voice. Get ready, world: you’re getting more Canadian cowbell.”
“A different direction means a louder voice. Get ready, world: you’re getting more Canadian cowbell.” - Futurist Jim Carroll Happy Canada Day! July 1 marks the 159th birthday of what most global surveys rank one of the best places in the world to live.
How this should feed futurist.info
These records should strengthen the corresponding Industry Intelligence page. Repeated ideas should become supporting evidence for structural shifts; dated observations should become Signals where appropriate; forecasts should connect to Predictions and Scorecards.
Industry question
Which of these changes alters the industry’s operating model rather than merely adding a new tool?