Living With Technology With Trend Forecaster Nanon Soeters

As COVID-19 puts us into lockdown at home, how do we move forward? What skills will businesses need in order to move into the brave new world that we face today?

This podcast clocks in at around 20 minutes. You can also listen to it on iTunes, stream on Google Podcasts, or Spotify or grab the RSS feed in your player of choice. So find a comfortable nook in your home and let Nanon and I keep you company.

How will we adapt to this global crisis? What do we need to do to emerge as better human beings? Is there anything to be optimistic about? And if so, what makes us hope for a brighter future?

According to Nanon Soeters, despite the pain and anxiety that a global pandemic brings, there’re quick lessons to be learned. Many emerging trends, like technology, were already there but this pandemic is a turning point.

In this conversation, which kicks off a new short series called Homebound featuring conversations with clients, readers, and colleagues, I chat with Dutch trend forecaster Nanon Soeters about the unique knowledge that her job equips her with, the quick changes she has noticed in the business world around her, and what unique opportunities technology brings.

“Technology will be a driving force more than ever.”

Nanon Soeters

Nanon is a trend forecaster and partner at Picturing the Future, an umbrella brand that includes Rozenbrood, a trend forecasting consulting agency based in Amsterdam, the trend training academy Trendacademy, and TrendConnection, a platform for ‘trend matching’ where you can find trend presentations by topic.

She’s deeply fascinated by how a society expresses its values through images. Over the years this has evolved to a fascination for any kind of visual expression that offers an input of the changing values and times to come. 

Nanon and her colleague Djenny Brugmans have developed their own trend methods, helping clients plot the future of their companies and contributing to the growth of the field in the Netherlands.

Key takeaways

If you’re looking for a view into the future and to discover the latest societal trends this episode is a must-listen. Here’s what you learn:

Why this pandemic was forecastable and what signs led Nanon and her colleague to predict it

What Covid-19 is teaching us

Why living with uncertainty now more than ever will be a given

What restaurants should do once they'll be allowed to open again

3 great tips for small business owners to thrive in this economy

What Nanon is optimistic about at this moment

Why we should keep an eye on how technology develops

[mc4wp_form id="25727"] What is Your Biggest Insight From This Conversation?

Besides discovering that this pandemic was and could be forecastable (shocking, isn't it?), my biggest takeaway was learning about the resources that small business owners have at hand to face and thrive in this crisis.

What's your biggest insight or takeaway? Please let me know in the comments below.

Thank you for tuning in! If you know anyone who might find this conversation uplifting and inspiring, please share this episode with them.

Enjoy this Conversation? Write a Review and Win a Set of Cards

If you enjoy this podcast and in particular this short series, leave a review on Apple Podcasts signed with your full name by telling me how this podcast is helping you create a nourishing workplace.  

In the last episode of this series (TNW 16), there will be a giveaway of a limited edition set of cards illustrated by Clara Ernst for WE Factory and printed in Italy on Favini Crush Corn paper. I’ll choose randomly a name from the reviews that are left on Apple Podcasts.