Richard Worzel

It’s easy to forget that people are the basis of everything relating to economic trends, including consumer demand, housing, tourism, and potentially even inflation and deflation. Or, to put it another way, without people, there is no economy. That being the case, how are national and global demographic trends shaping the destiny of tomorrow’s economy?

• As America’s population ages, its labour force growth falls, which leads to lower, slower GDP growth.
• An ageing population buys replacements rather than increasing demand, hence an ageing consumer force leads to lower economic growth and lower demand.
• Ageing boomers will look to sell their family homes, but those who can afford to may wind up with two domiciles instead: one for winter down south, the other for the rest of the year up north. Or one in an urban centre, the other in a calmer, more rural setting.
• Meanwhile, younger consumers, especially Millennials, are finally starting their long-delayed move into their household formation years. This will goose demand for housing, cars (somewhat – younger consumers are less interested in car ownership than earlier generations), baby clothes, insurance, and even the beginnings of retirement planning.
• Globally, the developed countries will face significant financial problems because of ageing populations, established developing countries (except China, which is ageing faster than almost anyone else) are burning through into their ‘demographic dividends’, and newly developing countries, notably in Africa, with their still-growing populations, will win their place in the spotlight as quickly as they can develop stable governments and legal systems that protect property rights.
• All told then, at every level, demographics are signalling a changing of the guard, with some groups losing influence, and others gaining them.

Of all the forces driving change in our lives, technology is the wildest wild card. Not only is technology’s rate of change accelerating, but that rate of acceleration is increasing. And technology affects everything in our world: our economy, the workplace, the kinds of jobs we can find and do, what we need to know, how we use things, transportation, what we eat, which publications survive and which books get published, who’s famous – even art and performance are changed by Technology.

Futurist Richard Worzel is a business visionary, a former institutional investor on Wall Street, and a best-selling author. In this presentation, he talks about how the future will change technology – and be changed by it.

Among the things he’ll discuss are:

How do you know if a new technology will make it or not?
Why is data suddenly a problem, and what can we do about that?
Where is technology leading us?
How will it affect tomorrow’s society?
Finally, Richard Worzel will turn to innovation, and discuss why organizations actively try to avoid it, even while claiming they are dedicated to it, how to overcome this hurdle – and how to kick-start an innovation culture.

After this presentation, your future won’t be any less scary or exciting, but it will be more manageable!

The economy has just entered a new sweet spot. Growth, although slower than in past expansions, is steady. Inflation is cool and likely to remain so. And talk of deflation has died out. All of this is good.

Meanwhile, the consumer markets for auto, business, and home insurance – and all other consumer goods – are shifting in unprecedented ways, changing patterns of demand and market niches. Futurist Richard Worzel is a business visionary and a Chartered Financial Analyst.

In this presentation, he surveys our future and identifies the shifts that may catch us by surprise, including:

• Why we’re in a sweet spot, for how long, and whether it’s likely to last, or get shot down by some of the uncertainties hovering around us.
• How technology is going to disrupt our expectations and the way we do business all over again. And how it’s going to change our daily lives and the ways we interact.
• Who and where the critical markets of tomorrow will be, and how you should position yourself to prepare for them.
• How climate change is unfolding, and what surprises it contains that we are not expecting.

Richard Worzel will provide a roadmap of the future, then end with a toolkit that will allow you to capture and make use of the uncertainties ahead to build your business. You’ll walk away with a better understanding of what’s ahead, and tools that can help you turn that knowledge into market power.

Technology is producing dramatic changes in business, society, and interpersonal relationships that both threaten a business’ future success, and offer it opportunities that have never existed before. But to avoid the pitfalls and exploit the opportunities, organizations need to innovate, and innovation is a virtue that requires leadership and foresight. More than that, innovation must become an organization’s culture, not a “sometime, when-we-have-time” thing. Futurist Richard Worzel is a business visionary as well as a Chartered Financial Analyst. In this presentation, specifically crafted for insurers, Richard surveys the future, and talks about how to support and encourage innovation. Among the topics he covers are:

• Emerging technologies and their implications – There are so many new technologies emerging in so many fields that it’s hard to keep track of them, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Evolutionary Algorithms (EA), Fog computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR & VR), Smart Glasses, Virtual Assistants (VAs), 3D printing, and a panoply of developments in the biosciences that are revolutionizing health care. “Understanding the primary effects of so many technologies is hard enough,” says Richard, “but trying to anticipate the downstream effects, and how they will interact with each other is much, much harder.”
• Creating an Innovation Organization – Even though it’s clear that innovation is critical to the future, there are hidden obstacles that produce a natural avoidance of innovation in every organization. Identifying these obstacles, and then finding ways to help professionals around them is critical to creating a culture of innovation. “Successful innovation isn’t something that happens only at the top, but must become embedded in the mindset of all its people,” Richard notes. “Creating an environment that fosters that mindset – that’s where the hard work is done, but there are tools and techniques that can help.”
• Leadership & Foresight – “There’s a poorly understood relationship between leadership and foresight, but they actually support each other. Better foresight produces better leadership, and vice-versa. And helping organizations improve their foresight is central to my mission,” Richard concludes.

The food retailing apple cart has been upset in recent times by the emergence of deflation – something that America hasn’t experienced since the 1930s. Yet, the changes to come will be even more profound, and food retailers that want to defend – or expand – their market share will need to adapt their approach to the trends that are mutating their future. Business visionary Richard Worzel is a Chartered Financial Analyst as well as one of today’s leading futurists. In this presentation, he analyzes the future of food and food retailing to map out the changes ahead, including:

• What’s causing deflation in food, and will it persist?
• Amazon is nosing around the food industry. Is this a serious threat, or are they entering a market they don’t understand, and that will mousetrap them?
• How will genetics and the rise of food allergies and sensitivities affect what foods people want to buy? And is that a bad thing or a good thing?
• How will technology change society and the economy in general, and food retailing in particular? And are the changes to come going to be more or less dramatic than those we’ve already experienced?
• Is there a secret formula for success in retailing? If so, what is it, and how do you use it?

The entire financial industry is undergoing massive changes, with consolidation (to the extent permitted) among the major players, plus the prospects of assaults by fintech and insurtech new entrants. Futurist Richard Worzel is both a business visionary and a Chartered Financial Analyst. Richard shares his insight into creating an innovation organization, where innovation is an everyday thing, rather than a once-in-a-while, when-we-have-time rarity is the crucial task for anyone seeking to overcome the enormous obstacles surrounding finance, and penetrate the lucrative heart of the financial industry.

In this overview of the future of the financial industries, he discusses the challenges and prospects for new players, including:

• How technology is threatening traditional banking and investment players, including crowdsourced disintermediation for loans, mortgages, and deposits; the application of Artificial Intelligence to investment research and portfolio management, as well as to insurance; as well as the prospects for what happens beyond online and mobile banking.
• The Big Five schedule 1 Canadian bank have seen off all comers, from American commercial banks to niche market domestic upstarts to credit unions. Yet, they are widely disliked by the Canadian banking public. Innovation remains the only way for any new player to challenge them seriously.
• The same technologies that threaten the financial industry also make it possible for new entrants to move towards friction-free finance for clients, and, if done properly, to create a superior client experience.

In this presentation, gain a comprehensive understanding of how open-source platforms, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and machine learning are shaping the future of integrated business systems. This talk addresses key advantages and challenges that come with the integration of these technologies:

• Innovation Acceleration: Learn how open-source and AI together can speed up the process of innovation, providing businesses with a competitive edge.
• Cost Efficiency: Discover the cost-saving benefits of leveraging open-source software in AI and machine learning applications, from initial setup to scalability.
• Data Utilization: Understand how machine learning algorithms can refine big data into actionable insights, enhancing decision-making processes across various business operations.
• Security Concerns: Dive into the risks associated with open-source platforms, including vulnerabilities that could expose sensitive business data and intellectual property.
• Ethical Implications: Explore the ethical dimensions of AI and machine learning, such as bias in algorithms and data privacy, and the impact on consumer trust and brand reputation.
• Regulatory Landscape: Familiarize yourself with the evolving legal frameworks governing these technologies, preparing your business for compliance with future regulations.

This presentation offers a balanced view for business leaders and decision-makers interested in maximizing the benefits of open-source, AI, and machine learning while mitigating associated risks. It provides actionable strategies for integrating these technologies into your operations in a secure, ethical, and legally compliant manner.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is hot topic in technologies these days, but even though there’s a healthy dose of hype involved, there are still very good reasons why those involved in health care, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, need to pay attention to how it is changing the economy, society, and business. Futurist Richard Worzel is a business visionary as well as a Chartered Financial Analyst. In this presentation, custom-crafted for Pfizer, he provides an overview of how technology generally, and AI specifically, is changing all the rules, including:

• Drug discovery – Evolutionary algorithms can reduce the costs of drug discovery at every stage of research and clinical trials and rescue drugs that have potential but might not otherwise make it through clinical trials.
• AI excel at multivariate analysis and pattern recognition, both of which are critical to developing new pharmaceuticals, as well as marketing them to the right people.
• AI and automation will be as disruptive to supply chain management and lean operating efficiency as the Internet was, which means that organizations cannot afford to be left behind in adopting it.
• The emergence of personal AIs, today through smartphones, but eventually through virtual assistants, has the potential to revolutionize health assessments, medication management and monitoring, and crisis intervention.
• In combination with Cloud and Fog computing, virtual assistants could lead to the emergence of an integrated, global, health management system that would, among other things, revolutionize drug development, testing, and management.

In this riveting presentation, futurist and business visionary Richard Worzel, CFA, demystifies the role of Artificial Intelligence in reshaping the legal landscape. Designed exclusively for legal professionals, the talk delves into key areas where AI is making significant strides:

• Legal Research: Learn how machine learning accelerates the research process by mining vast legal databases, helping you find relevant precedents and laws faster than ever before.
• Predictive Analytics: Understand how AI’s data analysis and pattern recognition can aid in developing litigation strategies by predicting possible case outcomes.
• Contract Management Automation: Discover how AI can streamline the often cumbersome contract review process, enhancing efficiency and minimizing the risk of human error.
• Cybersecurity: Gain insights into how AI technologies can safeguard your firm’s sensitive data against escalating cyber threats.
• Integrated Legal Management: Explore the future of a globally integrated legal system, enabled by AI, that promises revolutionary changes in everything from case management to compliance.

Richard Worzel’s presentation is an indispensable guide for legal professionals who aspire to harness the capabilities of AI to optimize their practice, improve client outcomes, and maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly complex environment.