News

As the calendar year changes, two things are persistently predictable: Articles will abound about new year's resolutions and hot trends for the year ahead. I think business leaders should think about and possibly take action that's based on an analysis of the lists of 2021 trends.

These lists highlight forces outside your company that could benefit or hurt your business. This raises questions: If you have not acted on these forces, how should you decide whether they are a headwind, a tailwind, or irrelevant to your business? If relevant, how should you change your business strategy to make the force a tailwind that will boost your growth?

To answer that question, here's a list of nine tech trends that The Wall Street Journal says will "change your life in 2021":

• Products that solve pandemic-induced problems such as better webcams, masks, and tools that de-virus the surfaces of your devices
• Quieter, cooler, and more energy efficient laptops
• Watching more new movies at home, rather than in a cinema
• "Assisted reality" glasses that project text, images, and video feeds into a user's field of view
• More remote workouts and doctor visits
• Rise of e-commerce from Amazon competitors
• More monthly subscription-based services
• Replacing office-based work with work from home and in-person company events
• Bigger electric vehicles -- such as SUVs and trucks