PREDICTIONS & PRESCRIPTIONS

WHAT IS “FUNCTIONAL FUTURISM”?

The least interesting person at the party is the A-student who ticked all the right boxes in life. Fear not. Over the next decade, we’ll be sandwiched between the grizzled war vet and twice-divorced mother of four. And have they got stories! As will we.

As new technologies (AI, mRNA, CRISPR, nanotech, drones, etc) promise to deliver abundance, longevity, and cyborg lovers, populations in the developed world age and shrink. In a world built for growth, expect “shrinking pains” that complicate the road to abundance.

Functional Futurism is Steve Faktor’s formula for navigating this uncertain period and deciding what role you should play in it. Functional Futurism lives at the nexus of innovation, economics and culture. And Steve’s forecasting record is pretty damn good – and verifiable. Just click the adjacent tab to see 50+ of Steve’s predictions and prescriptions—rated—with all the receipts.

It’s why senior executives at top companies (tech, finance, healthcare, consumer goods and services) hire Steve and IdeaFaktory. They don’t want laundry lists of sanitized “trends” or Stepford Wife obedience. They want real divergent thinking, even when it’s unpopular.

Check out our record. If you can do better, go for it! But if you’re deciding where to invest millions, what company to acquire, what product to build, which market to chase, or a vision to set, you’ll want to give us a call. Even a vision that turns out wrong is better than none at all. It creates a sense of purpose and propels you forward. How else will you justify any long-term investment over a sure-thing ad buy? Or tenth flavor of Frosted Flakes?

So let’s chart your course towards abundance, before we’re too creaky to enjoy it.

Click titles to read our predictions/prescriptions and whether they Happened, are Occurring (on-track), Uncertain, or Not Happening.

Year MadeOur Prediction/PrescriptionStatusCategoryType
2007

The End of White Space

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2008

The Virtual World Will Be All-Consuming

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2009

Dynamic Pricing for Tolls & Other Businesses

OccurringInnovationPrescription
2010

Smartphones Will Become Our Unnatural Predators

OccurringCulturePrediction
2010

Adblocking is the End of Ad-Supported Sites

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2010

Say Goodbye to the Manly Man

OccurringCulturePrediction
2011

3D Clothing Without Inventory

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2011

5 Ways Microsoft Can Defeat Android & iPhone

OccurringInnovationPrescription
2011

Disneyfy Experiences

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2011

A Morningstar Rating for Colleges

OccurringEducationPrediction
2011

Unstable Platforms Will Devour Startups

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2011

Only Campaign Contributors Will Matter

HappenedPolicyPrediction
2011

US Debt Crisis Looms

OccurringEconomyPrediction
2011

Open-Sourced Bio & Tech Inventions

Not HappeningInnovationPrediction
2011

Social Media Will Make You Miserable

OccurringCulturePrediction
2011

Profit from the Maker Wave

Not HappeningInnovationPrediction
2011

Micro-jobs Are the Future

OccurringEconomyPrediction
2011

Startups Will Perfect New Ways to Generate Energy From Thin Air

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2011

Global Corporations Will Be The Last Power Brokers

HappenedEconomyPrediction
2011

Dollar Will Decline as Reserve Currency

UncertainEconomyPrediction
2011

Death of the Smartphone

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2011

Companies like Walmart & Walgreens Will Disrupt Healthcare

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2011

China Will Lure Scientists & Innovators Away

OccurringEconomyPrediction
2011

A Reckoning on NAFTA & Lost Jobs

OccurringEconomyPrediction
2011

The 99%ers Are Coming!

HappenedEconomyPrediction
2011

Your Boss Will Track Your Love Handles

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2011

Google Will Know All

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2011

Repurpose Housing To Save Dying Cities

UncertainPolicyPrediction
2011

Schools and Businesses Should Intertwine to Drive Innovation

OccurringEducationPrediction
2011

Affordable WiFi For All

UncertainPolicyPrediction
2011

Colleges Should Become Incubators

OccurringEducationPrediction
2011

Your Doctor’s Office Will Be Your Phone

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2011

States Will Get High on Pot

OccurringEconomyPrediction
2011

Paper Money is the Walking Dead

OccurringEconomyPrediction
2011

Apprenticeship & Vocational Training Return

OccurringEducationPrediction
2011

Methodical Rise of Influencers

OccurringCulturePrediction
2011

Return of “Made in the USA”

OccurringEconomyPrediction
2011

Social Media Will Elevate Top Journalists

HappenedEntrepreneurshipPrediction
2011

States Will Lose Trying to Lure Corporations

OccurringEconomyPrediction
2012

Future 3D Printing Opportunities

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2012

Neutralize Empty Jobs With Helping Others, Tangibility & Sensory Stimulation

OccurringCulturePrescription
2012

How HP Should Reinvent 3D Printing

HappenedInnovationPrescription
2013

Google Will Make A Killing on Autonomous Cars

UncertainInnovationPrediction
2013

Bitcoin Will Fail As A Currency

OccurringEconomyPrediction
2013

An Identity Crisis In Twitter’s Future

OccurringInnovationPrediction
2013

H1B Visa Threatens Domestic Tech Workers

UncertainEconomyPrediction
2014

Eliminate Opaque Pricing Before It Kills Sales

OccurringStrategyPrescription
2014

The Only Valuable Degrees Are From “Trade” Majors

HappenedEducationPrediction
2014

The End of Growth

OccurringEconomyPrediction
2014

All Will Bow to the #iMob

OccurringCulturePrediction
2014

Companies Will Audition Talent, Not Recruit for Traditional Degrees

OccurringEducationPrediction

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