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Non-Obvious: How to Think Different, Curate Ideas & Predict The Future Kindle Edition

by Rohit Bhargava (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 399 ratings
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NOTE - There is a newer version of this book available!
Get the #1 WSJ Bestselling LATEST Edition of this book: Non-Obvious Megatrends (released in January 2020).

This is part of the Non-Obvious Trend Series, a decade long project to share the most fascinating trends shaping our world. Every year there was an annual edition of this book and the newest edition (Non-Obvious Megatrends) is a #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller and includes an appendix featuring ALL the trends from this edition of the book as well as new updated insights.

Wall Street Journal Bestseller
#1 Amazon Kindle Business Bestseller
#1 in Marketing
#1 in Entrepreneurship
TOP 50 of ALL Kindle Books

What do Disney, Bollywood, and The Batkid teach us about how to create celebrity experiences for our audiences? How can a vending-machine inspire world peace? Can being imperfect make your business more marketable? Can a selfie improve one’s confidence? When can addiction be a good thing?

The answers to these questions may not be all that obvious. And that’s exactly the point.

For the first time ever, Non-Obvious delves into the curation process the author has used for years to build his Trend Reports and takes readers behind the scenes of trend curation (much to the delight of past readers who have been asking about this for years), and show them the methodology they can use to predict the future for themselves.

In this all-new fifth edition, discover how to use the power of non-obvious thinking to grow your business and make a bigger impact in the world. Non-Obvious is filled with entertaining insights like how a pioneering comedy- club charging audiences per laugh may forecast the future of consumption or how a wave of tech firms hiring yogis and offering classes in mindfulness may change the overall culture of business.

Trends featured in the report include: Everyday Stardom, Selfie Confidence, Branded Benevolence, Reverse Retail, Reluctant Marketing, Glanceable Content, Mood Matching, Experimedia, Unperfection, Predictive Protection, Engineered Addiction, Small Data, and Disruptive Distribution.

In total, Non-Obvious features 15 all-new trends for 2015 across 5 categories including Culture & Consumer Behavior, Marketing & Social Media, Media & Education, Technology & Design plus Economics & Entrepreneurship. Each is designed to help you take a deeper look at the changing landscape of business and prepare your business for the future.

Finally, Non-Obvious takes a brutally honest look back at more than 60 previous trends from past years, providing an honest assessment of what came true, what was a dud, and why it matters.

In the end Non-Obvious is a book that will show you how to think different, curate your ideas and get better at predicting what will be important tomorrow based on learning to better observe patterns in the world today.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Insightful blend of visual thinking and business strategy.-- "Sunni Brown, author of Gamestorming"

About the Author

Rohit Bhargava is a trend curator, founder of the Influential Marketing Group, and an expert in helping brands and leaders be more influential. He is also the bestselling author of several books, including Likeonomics and Always Eat Left Handed. Rohit has advised hundreds of global brands and is a professor of marketing at Georgetown University. A two-time TEDx speaker, Rohit has been invited to keynote events in twenty-seven countries and is regularly quoted in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and NPR.

A veteran voice artist, Tom Zingarelli has produced and narrated many audiobooks in the last several years. He has also recorded books for the Connecticut State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. His voice was featured on the popular PBS children's television program Between the Lions and in the off-Broadway production of Ruthless, the Musical. Commercially, Tom has recorded for the Connecticut Department of Health, the American Heart Association, and several corporations and universities. He is the on-camera and voiceover star of the ten-part video series Greatest American Tall Tales and Legends, about legendary American heroes like Johnny Appleseed and Davy Crockett, popular in schools and libraries nationwide. Tom is also the voice of Maurice the mouse (and his ninety-eight grandmice) in the children's interactive audiobook series Maurice's Valises. He is a veteran actor of many live radio re-creations, including Lights Out, Suspense, and Johnny Dollar, and he is a frequent reader for dramatic and literature programs. Recently, Tom became an audio describer for the blind and visually impaired of Broadway theater through Describe!, a program of the Healing Arts Institute, and for the Yale Repertory Theater.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00TB1TE0Q
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ideapress Publishing (February 6, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 6, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3235 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 283 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 399 ratings

About the author

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Rohit Bhargava

Rohit Bhargava

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Rohit Bhargava is a leading authority on marketing, trends and innovation. He is the founder of the Non-Obvious Company and is widely considered one of the most entertaining and original authorities on marketing disruption and innovation in the world. He is the #1 WSJ and USA TODAY bestselling author of eight books on topics as wide ranging as the future of business, building a human brand with personality, and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world. Rohit is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and writes a monthly column for GQ Brazil. He is married and lives with his wife and two boys in the Washington DC area, loves the Olympics and actively hates cauliflower.

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
399 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

AbornewordsNKP
5.0 out of 5 stars Nicole Kim The Blogger Shares Views On Rohit Bhargava's Non-Obvious: How To Think Different, Curate Ideas And Predict The Future
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2015
Verified Purchase
It's very hard to ignore brilliance and ideas that you be live are genius, so I made it a point to take in all that this book has to offer. You will appreciate how this book keeps you engage and turning the page and if you are a fanatic or lover of retail or just a workaholic, you might read it in one session.
Before you ever make it to the end and learn about the there principles of Intersection Thinking and how those principles can help you to truly see the non-obvious, outside of your own goals, company agendas, and how they can help you to use unfamiliar circumstances to your benefit, you will learn about Rohit Bhargava's Haystack Method how it came about an how to use it to create/name trends and how you can use it to create your own. Along the way, Bhargava analyzes ideas and his 15 Trends as he reveals what people, ideas and actions influenced those trends.
Bhargava offers proof to validate his trends so the book is of a scientific nature, validating the need for the trends he has created and offering real teachings on why you would abandon a particular trend, even after you have went through the steps of his Haystack Method to name it. It may seem a little confusing until you ponder it's relevance but it will make sense once you consider it in context, as you continue to read. Saying that the book is well constructed is really an understatement. The chapters are well organized. By the time you reach chapter 19 on Intersection Thinking, you should realize, like I did, how much you have learned about your own processes and creative approaches. After chapter 19 the book is complete for me because the workshops are teachings on how to implement trends in your own life and organization/business. The How To portion of the book is something I want to take my time with and gradually explore.
Reading this book will help you to write with more detail and personality and also help you to form new ideologies and training techniques. You will also learn more about how trends affect the day to day operations of your business and your own performance, no matter what your role/title happenns to be. Rohit Bhargava says that you are not required to read the book in any particular order. However, I recommend that you do so, only because if you are a writer/student you will learn how to structure your ideas so that they are less random and properly ordered as you write. As a Blogger on Abornewords, I can tell you that you will definitely appreciate all that this book has to offer.
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Ron Immink
4.0 out of 5 stars Future proofing your business
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2015
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The future

In Bookbuzz we spend a lot of time in the future. That is because a lot of books try to predict the future. With a variety of success. What we do know from reading and using all these books that there are strong themes that come through.

Future proofing

We try to explain to our clients (and non-clients) that reading books will keep you future proof. Trend watching is one of the tools that will keep you future proof. Business is not only about today, it is most definitely also about tomorrow. It is about being in business 5-10 years in the future.

Staying in business is becoming increasingly difficult. VUCA, technology, sentiment, information overload, attention deficit and the refusal to slow down and reflect, makes Bookbuzz more and more relevant. You need us to help you filter, curate, reflect and apply (that is our claim and we are sticking too it).

Trend watching

For us trend watching started a long time ago with Faith Popcorn and the popcorn report. Then we had “Funky business”, “Future files”, “Megachange 2050”, “The Shift” and a speeding up of more books on the future in the last year. Books such as “The second machine age”, ‘Future vision” and the very recent “Exponential organisations” and “Bold”. And you should probably (just for the craic) throw in all of Nassim Taleb’s books.

Future vision

The best lesson is from “Future vision”. The faster you go, the further you need to look ahead”. As a CEO you now need to move at the speed of Formula 1.

Non obvious

What Rohit Bhargava has done is not only give you some interesting trends to consider, but he also gives an “how to” on becoming a trend watcher yourself. Which in our view is an essential skill for every business. When you plan and strategise, you need context and a vision. Trend watching helps you develop that.

Future babble

In the spirit of “Future babble” he gives out about most futurologist. He calls it “lazy thinking”. The usual new years list of future trends is lazy. The internet of things is too lazy. Big data is too lazy. 3D printing is too lazy. They are nearly non trends or as Homer would say “duh!”.

Faith Popcorn

Lets go back to Faith Popcorn. Here are some of the trends as she identified them in 1992 (The popcorn report) and 1997 (Clicking):

Cocooning
Fantasy adventure
Small indulgences
Ergonomics
Cashing out
Staying alive
The multifunctional consumer
EVEolution
Clanning
S.O.S
Atmosfear
Futuretense
They are still spot on. Imagine if your business had followed those trends. Where would you be now?

Themes and trends

Rohit Bhargave brings it closer to home and his trends fit with a lot of the themes we have identified in Bookbuzz. He calls them non-obvious. If you are a follower of Bookbuzz you will recognise a lot of them

Here are his trends:

The Reluctant Marketer

“The old rules of marketing is dead”. The rise of the new marketing. Marketing as creating value. With a focus on content marketing and customer experience. “Social customer service” and everything you can read by Brian Solis. Marketing a truly integrated function within the company. Enabled by technology. By 2017 CMOs will spend more on technology then CIOs. The dawn of brand journalism. Authentic content and the ability to tell compelling stories will be king. Read “Resonate”

Glanceable Content

Our attention span has shrunk to 8 seconds (it was 12 seconds). A goldfish has an attention span of 10 seconds. You should read “The shallows”. The need to capture your client in the moment. Now. Immediately. Instant. Content candy or snackable content. Attention as the currency with emotion as the trigger. Competing with all the noise on all the social media channels. Community, story telling, authenticity and purpose as part of the brand and the channel.

Mood Matching

A combination of “Emotionomics” or the “emotional point of difference” from “Difference”. Mood AND moment marketing. Mood content. Mood food. Wearables to measure your mood and using that to influence you. “Brandwashed” or “Filter bubble”. But also “Coherence” and understanding emotions and leadership. Download the mood meter app and keep an emotional diary. Good for being mindful and checking how you are getting manipulated.

Everyday Stardom

The client is king and want to be treated as such. True one to one marketing. “Smart customers, stupid companies”. But also about “the age of entitlement” and the “narcissism epidemic”. How to deal with millennials, Generation G and generation Einstein in the workplace. “Workplace 2020” and “Hacking work” are the books to read.

Selfie Confidence

Is about the creation of online persona and marketing of the moment. How do you make the buying experience more shareable. A lot of “What is the future of business” combined with “Reputation economics” and “Return on influence”.

Mainstream Mindfulness

One of our favourite trends. Mindstore of Jack Black combined with “Coherence” and “Reinventing organisations”. Meditation and yoga as business tools. Google has a “Jolly good fellow” and that is his job. With the science, tech and apps to support this. “Fitness for the mind”and “silence as the new caffeine”.

Branded Benevolence

CSR as the heart of the organisation. Brand combined with transformative purpose. “Exponential organisations” or “Leading from an emerging future”. What Kotler predicted in “Marketing 3.0”. The challenge for a lot of companies will be to move from pretence to action. For example CVS Pharmacy stopped selling cigarettes at a loss of $ 2 billion revenue. You need to make kindness a business goal. “Frugal innovation” and the “Thank you” economy” might help. You need to live the purpose as an organisation.

Reverse Retail

The seamless integration of retail with online. Omnichannel and “showrooming”. “The experience economy” and “Infinite possibilities”, both by Joe Pine. Some “Porn for bankers’. Retails outlets become showrooms. Imagine what Oculus Rift could do in this space. Marketing becomes a spectacle. Marketing as event management.

Experimedia

Experiential content and story telling. Gamifacation. Read “Reality is broken”. This is where we advice CEOs to buy an Xbox and play computer games. How “Halo” is your customer experience? Particularly relevant if you combine experimedia with glanceable content. But also about experiential journalism, experiential consumerism and creating an instant feedback loop with your clients. The client creating and sharing your brand.

Unperfection

Perfect is not authentic. Standing out is more important then being perfect. Memorable is more important then perfection. Authentic is more important than being perfect. Celebrate ugly. Eat the bug by “Killing giants”. “Makers” by Chris Anderson. Artisans and creating a unique, imperfect experience.

Predictive Protection

From “Bold” and ‘The machine age”. Maybe even “How to build a billion dollar app”. Technology helping you to be safe and healthy. Dealing wit futuretense. More wearable technology. Sensors everywhere. Google driving your car. Watson doing your finances. Banks managing your online security.

Engineered Addiction

The dark one. Behavioural science used to create habits. Getting you addicted to the product. “Hooked” or “Brand washed” on steroids. “The power of habit” or “The decisive moment”. You need to book a session with my friend and Bookbuzz colleague Alan Jordan. You are not as conscious as you think you are. And you are getting manipulated. Big brother is here. And it is not big data.

Small Data

It is not the big data. It is the personal small data that will make the difference. Relevant to you. To ensure everyday stardom. To keep you feel like a king. And the good news is that you are in control of that data. The internet of your things. And as with experimedia the ability for companies to develop an one to one relationship with a client. And by developing the one to one feedback loop creating an unique tailored customer experience.

Disruptive Distribution

New business models and new ways or distribution. Every book on innovation. “Digital disruption” and “Frugal innovation”. Read “The starfish and the spider” or “The connected company”. The middleman is gone. All friction needs to be removed. Go direct and use all the trends mentioned to get there.

Microconsumption

In the space of Brett King and “Bank 3.0”. Micro payments and the sharing economy. Alternative currencies. Pay per laugh. Pay by screen size. Barter. Again “Reputation economics” might be a book you want to read.

As with Faith Popcorn, as we are concerned he is spot on with these trends too.

Become a trend watcher

But that is just the beginning. You need to be able to spot those trends yourself. Apply “rubbish in, rubbish out”. We would suggest that you need to increase your bandwidth. Sectors to watch are health, military, agriculture, banking, transport and retail. You should break your routine, go to the fringes, create serendipity and talk to lots of people. You need to doodle more. You need to apply Kahneman’s thinking fast and slow.

Become a trend curator

He adds that you need to become a trend curator. You need to be curious. You need to observe more and you need to be fickle. Less depth, more jumping. Collect and create a mountain of things that strike you as interesting. Build a haystack. Summarise, but don’t judge. Write it down. Keep a folder. Watch. Be elegant (straight from “Metaskills). Seek concepts, not solutions. Don’t judge. Be aware of your biases and beware of future babble (50% of experts are wrong).

Key message

The key message is the non-obvious. The need to be different. You need to to think differently. In a world where everyone is one button away from being an expert, learning to think different is more important then ever.

DO NOT to move to the middle (from “33 strategies of war”). Which makes unperfection the most interesting trend. What is not-to-copy?

Great book

The book not only give you the tools and the trends. It gives the questions, the why, the who, the how, the examples and a long list of other books you should read and a list of his sources

Trendwatching.com
PSFK (www.psfk.com)
Cool Hunting (www.coolhunting.com)
The Cool Hunter (www.thecoolhunter.co.uk)
SlideShare (www.slideshare.com)
TED.com
The Bookbuzz plug

Maybe you should add Bookbuzz as well? Our website is www.bookbuzz.biz. If you let us know your challenge we will tell you which books to read or we will happily brief you verbally (so you don’t have to read all of those books). With or without your team. By Skype or over a coffee. Keeping you fresh and up to date of the latest business thinking. Click http://www.bookbuzz.biz/submit-challenge

Why

The clown in an ice-skating show often needs to be the most talented in order to execute fake jumps and falls while still remaining under control, just like your ability to know the trends may give you the insight you need to bend or break them strategically, create an opportunity and ultimately keep in business.
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Luisa
3.0 out of 5 stars médio
Reviewed in Brazil on November 23, 2015
Verified Purchase
para quem não conhece o assunto, o livro certamente será útil e cheio de bons direcionamentos. pra quem já trabalha com marketing, estratégia, design thinking, cool hunting e talvez até com comunicação, não há nada de tão novo ou um processo desvendado de forma única. é bom, tem dicas práticas legais, mas não é nada de extraordinário.
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3814
5.0 out of 5 stars Challenge Your Thinking
Reviewed in Canada on May 29, 2015
Verified Purchase
We all want a glimpse into the future. What does the business landscape look like for next year? Are the tools, strategies, and technology you're investing in still going to be relevant? Are the tools, strategies, and technologies you aren't investing in going to be a requirement?

For years, Rohit Bhargava has been busily predicting the future with his Trend Reports. And the best part of this book, for me, is that he explained the curation process that he's been using, so we can use it ourselves. It examines the 60 previous trends from 2011 to 2014 -- what was right, what was wrong, and what that means -- and gives you the methodology so you can think different and have at least a slightly better chance of predicting tomorrow.

This book gave me the opportunity to think outside of the box and challenge the standard ways of thinking about the future. And for me, that was more than worth the read.
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pooja
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in India on April 12, 2015
Verified Purchase
must read
3 people found this helpful
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Stephen Green
5.0 out of 5 stars X-ray specs to see what we miss
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 8, 2015
Verified Purchase
This author is basically providing a massive amount of value to his readers in order to put himself in the shop window for the clients who will pay massive amounts for a few valuable insights. One can only marvel at the process which democratises such an opportunity. In particular he is open about his research techniques when others would be secretive. That deserves respect. I have been fascinated about the future since reading Alvin Toffler. So few can offer this insight which is what makes them so revered.

 The Myth of the Garage  by Chip Heath shows another take on what this author does which is to take two trends that are seemingly unconnected and show an underlying connection and explanation.

Non obvious is a must for contrarians, to support their differing beliefs with the twin power of two different waves, in order to at least make people think that you might just have a point. Non obvious both tells you the trend and the supporting evidence and also explains how you can do this for yourself. Big business of course says "give it to us now on a plate, ready to go and here's a wad of cash and next year we will all be millionaires" (if you are prepared to believe that I have been in on some of those conversations).

So what price insight?
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Bri DeVries
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on November 23, 2017
Verified Purchase
This guy rocks. And his updates are a must read every year.
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