10 Questions for ’21 (and beyond)…

Computers are useless.  They can only give you answers.

Pablo Picasso

End the year with reflection. Contemplate and commit to change with new resolutions. What went well last year? What will I do differently this year? What are all the experts saying about trends? Every year, we make predictions about what will be – and there’s nothing wrong with that. As humans, that’s what we do – make predictions amidst uncertainty.

After reading an article on what experts say are the top technology trends in 2021, I found myself asking these ten questions (admittedly, with somewhat general, ubiquitous themes) to keep top of mind that will likely continue to be part of our ongoing package of problems-to-solve in our ever-evolving techno-socio-politico-economic landscape.

1. [Communication] How do we connect better, even though we’re physically apart?
   
2. [Automation] How do we automate the ordinary so we can focus on the extraordinary?
   
3. [Work/Life] How do we bring our ideas of what work is, feels like, and looks like up to speed with the 21st century?
   
4. [Mixed Reality] How do we best leverage mixed reality technologies as part of our ongoing, regular reality?
   
5. [Data/Security] How do we share data and information better and more securely going forward?
   
6. [Media] How do we re-establish trust in the truth when looking to communications and media channels?
   
7. [Product] How do we craft more meaningful and useful products and services that people actually need?
   
8. [Health] How can we better bring into focus our own physical and mental health as well as the health of our one and only planet?
   
9. [Finance] How do we make how we manage money and pay for things even more seamless?
   
10. [CX/EX] How will we go from merely transacting to truly engaging with customers and employees?

The space between business and personal is narrower than ever before. Integrating life and work – in the right ways – is more important than ever.

How will you craft what you do in your business and how you do it differently from this point forward?

(Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash)