In Episode 6 of Lead The Future, I spoke with Jeff Desjardins, the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Visual Capitalist. In our discussion, Jeff outlined key findings from his latest book Signals that seeks to make sense of the overwhelming flood of information regarding the acceleration of technological growth, the evolving dynamics of geopolitical power structures, changing consumer preferences, and more. The goal of his book is to take massive amounts of data and synthesize it so that leaders, investors, and people looking towards the future can get a basic understanding of where the world is going and how their business or portfolio fits within that mix.
Jeff helps break down all the data to explain what leaders must pay attention to in order to prepare for the big changes our world will encounter in the coming years.
- “You see, CEOs are becoming very concerned about skill availability. 55% of global CEOs say that they are not able to innovate effectively. This is a leadership problem, right? How do we make sure our people are ready for fast changing business? And how do we make sure that they have the skills to take on this new fast moving reality that we’re all in?”
- “China has overtaken the US (economically) and they’re actually the largest trading partner with 128 of 190 countries. From a leadership perspective, the changing external world has implications for your company.”
- “(Leaders) have to be comfortable with the fact that there’s uncertainty and you have to let that uncertainty help you grow. We have to be in tough situations in order to grow and lead.”
- Jeff is the Editor-in-Chief & Founder of Visual Capitalist, a digital media brand that publishes rich and intuitive visual content on business and investing. He is a regular contributor to the World Economic Forum and Business Insider, and his posts have also been featured on Forbes, CNBC, MarketWatch, Huffington Post, Fast Company, BNN, and TechCrunch.
- Insights into the biggest macro trends impacting our world
- What all leaders should pay close attention to in the coming years
- The role millennials and Generation Z will play with increasing purchasing power in the next 10-15 years
- Jeff’s advice for future leaders
