Magnus Lindkvist
Magnus Lindkvist is Director for Trendspotting and Future Thinking at Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship, and an active member of TED - the world's leading trends forum. He also heads an influential Swedish agency, Pattern Recognition, which he founded in 2005. As one of Europe's most in-demand conference speakers he is one of its most unusual, often beginning a speech with a cartoon or ending up with a performance on the ukulele! Along the way he dispenses insight, wisdom and solid research to deliver a wake-up call to business. A management consultant and filmmaker by background, Magnus mixes quantifiable business facts with the visionary art of futurology.
Magnus's presentations are based on the principle that we used to think tomorrow would be more or less like today and we were often right: but now, this is no longer the case. Whilst the brain is wired to think in a linear way, we are living in exponential times in which we need to harness our imagination to prepare for the opportunities and challenges that lie just around the corner. Magnus's presentations focus on the rise of 'creative' consumers like bloggers and tweeters, and he believes business has to offer customers a piece of the action: they must respond to the principle of 'profit for effort.' If businesses create something, be it a viral campaign or ideas to improve a service, then they will get a reward - whether it's recognition or money (or both!) As a trendspotter, Magnus predicts our children will enjoy cheaper, more efficient energy. He believes the current fears of 'peak oil' will come to be seen as no more than a curious example of turn-of-the-century pessimism. He shows how a genome pioneer is developing one potential solution, by using bacteria to create high-octane diesel droplets. Magnus brilliantly weaves real-life examples into his presentations in order to show the shape of things to come. At the London Business Forum event on thinking in the longer term for business, Lindkvist suggested that while the 20th Century was about sorting out supply, the 21st Century would be about sorting out demand. He believes those who generate the most value in this abundant environment will be those who help the customer to find exactly what they're looking for in the shortest possible time and at the lowest possible cost. It is not surprising that one of the companies who have been most successful in achieving this is now one of the biggest on the planet - Google. Such powerful insights coupled with a precision delivery make Lindkvist one of the most popular and engaging speakers on the European speaking circuit. In his own words, his presentations are designed to generate 'ahhs, ooohs and a-has!' He is a fantastic addition to any conference event, and will ensure that delegates will be amused, provoked and inspired by his presentations.
What he presents:
Present and Future Trends
The World's Best Ideas Next Year
Innovation and Creativity
Consumer Trends and Areas of Economic Growth