Swimming in Blue Ocean
Years ago, I picked up a habit.
Every quarter, or when life feels especially noisy, I take a weekend to visualize.
I step away from the scroll.
Just me, pen, paper, sometimes paint… and a single question to explore.
This weekend, the spark was this:
What human problem will be most critical for business to solve in the next 5 years?
What void still needs to be filled?
I gave myself space to wander, and ended up swimming in blue ocean thinking.
I imagined the world ahead, and here’s where the waves took me:
🧒🏽 How will the children of tomorrow think, learn, and play?
Will they be shaped more by parents… or by systems, platforms, and policies?
🌍 Which borders will be redrawn, erased, or tightened?
Which nations will rise, and what kind of power will shape the rest of us?
💼 What will work feel like?
Which skills will matter most?
What does it mean to earn, and with what kind of currency?
👵🏼 What will aging look like?
Will retirement still exist, or will it evolve into a new kind of contribution?
🏥 How will we care for the vulnerable, our sick, our elderly, our overwhelmed?
Will healthcare be human-first, AI-driven, or something else entirely?
🛍️ And here’s the one that surprised me most:
Who is the consumer of the future?
Because the answer is, not always human.
We’re entering a time when machines and AI agents will make decisions for us.
A smart fridge restocking your food.
Your digital assistant booking retreats.
Even your virtual pet receiving a subscription box.
So what happens to brand, loyalty, influence, and experience when the buyer isn’t a person?
How do you earn trust from something that doesn’t feel?
That single insight flipped how I think about marketing, design, and service.
🌱 I also imagined the food we’ll eat, the pets we’ll love, and the nature we’ll protect, or lose.
I imagined the businesses that will rise, and those that won’t.
I imagined the corporation of the future, the systems that support aging, and the definitions we may soon rewrite—about learning, leading, earning, and caring.
And through it all, I imagined with love, empathy, creativity, compassion, faith… and the beautiful vulnerability of being human.
It was a powerful, sometimes unsettling, but mostly hopeful weekend.
Might even turn these reflections into a sketchnote soon.
Now I’m curious,
Which future excites or worries you most?
What void do you believe we still need to fill? Let’s explore it together.
