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In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, staying ahead of the curve is essential for any successful leader. One of the key factors in achieving this is identifying trends in your industry before they become mainstream. However, with so much information available, it can be challenging to separate the signal from the noise.
Below, 16 Forbes Business Council members share practical strategies leaders can use to better identify trends in their industry and stay ahead of the competition.
1. Return To Your Startup Roots
It’s easy for a CEO to fall into the pattern of working in the business rather than working on the business. Schedule time in your calendar and step out of your whirlwind. Use tools like Feedly to keep apprised of what’s happening in your industry. Go somewhere else in your office or leave it completely and let your mind wander like when you were in startup mode. – Bryan Jakovcic, Fusion Health
2. Get Curious
Set up Google alerts for terms and phrases relevant to you. Ask questions of academics and government policy experts. Go to networking events for your industry and ask deeper questions beyond “What do you do for a living?” If you cultivate curiosity, it will help you cultivate your growth. – Kristen Donnelly, Abbey Research
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3. Create A Research And Analysis Team
Establish a dedicated research and analysis wing to monitor the trends in respective industries. At one or the other point, everybody will come to know the latest trends happening around them. However, nobody will act and come up with a plan to stay on top of the future trends unless there is a dedicated team in place whose job is to plan the future proceedings. – Raj Maddula, Global Squirrels
4. Experiment
Leaders should experiment and not rely only on research. For example, take clients not wanting to meet or speak on video—most won’t admit that during customer research as it may sound anti-social to admit to preferring emails and WhatsApp texting. Having empathy can help here. Watch people’s actions, not their words. – Adam Fayed, adamfayed.com
5. Get Out There And Learn
To stay ahead of industry trends, leaders should regularly monitor industry publications and news sources, attend conferences and events, conduct market research, analyze data and metrics, collaborate with other leaders, experiment and innovate. These strategies can help leaders gain valuable insights, track emerging trends and develop new products and services that meet changing customer needs. – Dustin Lemick, BriteCo
6. Attend Industry Events Regularly
During the pandemic, a lot of industry events shut down or went online. That was a huge loss. It’s so important to not only attend these events, but also to take advantage of the informal networking that happens around these events. It’s the best way to identify trends and stay ahead of the curve! – Kevin Markarian, Roopler
7. Learn From Those Around You
Stay up to date on the latest research, attend industry conferences, engage in discussions with industry peers and actively seek feedback from customers and employees. By utilizing these sources of information and staying curious and open-minded, leaders can identify emerging trends and opportunities as well as adjust their strategies accordingly to stay ahead of the curve. – Justen Arnold, Flexx Mobility & Performance LLC
8. Leverage Digital Tools
Leaders should stay informed and open to new ideas, leveraging digital tools such as social media analytics, market research, data analysis and industry reports to track trends. Additionally, they should proactively seek out opportunities to innovate and stay ahead of emerging trends by attending industry events and networking with peers and experts. – Johan Hajji, UpperKey
9. Keep A Close Watch On Your Industry And Competitors
First of all, leaders must be well-versed in their field, actively engage with fellow experts at industry events and stay up to date on research that can enhance business efficiency. They should maintain open communication with clients while also being attentive to their evolving needs and keep a watchful eye on competitors’ actions. In essence, leaders must be perpetually immersed in the landscape of their industry. – Vladislav Kraynov, MSOFT
10. Bring In A Chief Strategy Officer
Leaders need to make a commitment to long-term planning beyond next year. Smart companies assign this set of responsibilities to a chief strategy officer who can attend conferences, read reports produced by organizations that focus on the future (e.g., Institute for the Future, Future Today Institute, Trend Hunter, etc.) and share data and analysis with other senior leaders on a regular basis. – Jerry Cahn, Age Brilliantly
11. Listen To And Collaborate With Your Younger Talent
Identifying trends can be done by following industry news, reading up on relevant topics, keeping in touch with others in the industry and more. It’s staying ahead that most leaders seem to have difficulty with, as it’s not always easy to embrace change and adapt. Don’t be afraid to take feedback from younger talent, collaborate with your team and, most importantly, keep an open mind! – Sal Pazhoor, Naztec International Group LLC
12. Read Daily
One thing that I do to follow and stay ahead of trends is to keep myself aware and informed through constant reading. I do this by reading the morning news and posts from industry leaders and media outlets, browsing Twitter and other social media platforms, reading related articles and collaborating with bigger businesses. – Pavel Stepanov, Virtudesk
13. Be Proactive
Leaders can better identify trends in their industry by staying up to date with the latest news, attending industry events, engaging with experts, analyzing data and market research and maintaining open communication with their team. By being proactive and continually learning, leaders can anticipate changes and make strategic decisions to stay ahead of emerging trends in their industry. – Zeynep “Z” Ekemen, Silver Defender
14. Stay Connected With Others In Your Industry
There’s no substitute for speaking with your competitors or peers at related businesses in the industry. I am a member of a few Slack groups with people who own other SEO agencies. It’s a great way to stay current on industry trends. – Andrew Shotland, Local SEO Guide
15. Get Involved With Professional Associations
Beyond capturing data from industry research, news, data and trends, it is important for leaders to also be engaged in professional associations. Capturing engagement from those that they serve is another way to gain insight. – Geoffrey Roche, Core Education PBC
16. Take Feedback From Customers
Listen to your customers, as they are why the trends exist. If they are complaining about a feature, change it. If they are asking for a feature, add it. Your customers know, so listen to them and react. – Deyman Doolittle, ShipSigma
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