Original 2021 statement: The next generation has no attention span whatsoever: and this has big implications for everything!
What Jim has written about this
From “Decoding Tomorrow: Daily Inspiration - “Stop planning for a world that no longer exists!’” (May 2026)
Your next consumer has a 4-second attention span. Simplicity in packaging, branding, marketing isn’t optional - it’s critical
“What are you doing with your packaging? What are you doing with your branding? What are you doing with your marketing that is trying to grab those momentary moments?” he says. “What are you going to do to continue to innovate in the context in which we no longer have no attention span whatsoever?”
“What’s your tin can? Where are you bringing out a package because you brought it out in that package for the last 110 years and you are not taking advantage of all the new packaging opportunities that are floating around you as a huge opportunity for innovation, trying to capture the attention of that consumer who no longer has an attention span, ” he says.
From “10 fundamental trends that don’t change with the meltdown” (November 2008)
growth markets will continue to emerge . Back in the 19th century, the head of the US Patent Office stated that ” everything that can be invented has been invented .” Such silliness. Right now, there are hundreds of thousands of new products, markets, industries and ideas being built and explored. The future isn’t over. It’s arrival has just slowed to a degree.
health care will see significant transformation, not to mention spending : health care is transitioning to a system of predictive medicine. This is a huge, long term, 20 year trend, but has big implications with the emergence of new careers, industries, professions, and companies — DNA based medicine is a massive change. On top of that, the mere level of spending that is going to occur in managing the looming health care crisis will drive all kinds of growth, though the funding part of the equation will remain a big problem. The result? Lots of innovative thinking as to how to solve huge problems with unique solutions.
green and energy will continue have more momentum . Some argue that the meltdown will defer everything having to do with these two efforts. I disagree; I think the corporate sector has discovered the cost benefit that comes from green projects, and so they will continue to invest, which will drive innovation. And I think globally, we’ve passed the point where people and their leaders believe that doing the same old thing as the past is going to continue in the future. I don’t see leading edge research into solar, wind, and other alternatives slowing down any time soon. And the fascinating thing is that there is a lot of backyard, garage tinkering going on right now, and that’s where the next product/market breakthroughs will come from.
From “Daily Inspiration: “Focus. Faster.”” (July 2017)
One of the most challenging issues in the era of acceleration is that we have no attention span left. When I was preparing for two talks for Godiva on the future of retail, I dug out research that suggests that the typical goldfish has a longer attention span than a human. Go figure. Everywhere in the world of business, we are having to struggle simply to get 5 seconds of attention from a potential customer.
Read the full pieces on jimcarroll.com:
Decoding Tomorrow: Daily Inspiration - “Stop planning for a world that no longer exists!‘
10 fundamental trends that don’t change with the meltdown
Daily Inspiration: “Focus. Faster.”