Professional Sports Teams are entering the Metaverse

Man U recently announced it is partnering with Sony to build the first professional football stadium in the metaverse. The Atlanta Braves became the first MLB team to announce it was also joining the metaverse. A plethora of interesting consumer-facing opportunities including ultimately bypassing traditional media distribution networks to deliver live matches, game highlights, and […]

Show me the money might not hold for Gen Z

A basic tenet of economics suggests that when the supply of labor shifts down or the demand for labor shifts up, it creates a shortage of workers at the current wage rate. If this imbalance persists, eventually wages rise, attracting workers into the workforce, resulting in a new equilibrium level of employment with a corresponding […]

Cameras are the new Keyboard

BMW owners are now able to get real-time video support from certified technicians through interactive video calls. The service is being powered by startup Blitzz. Here’s a description from a recent release: Instead of downloading an app, BMW Genius or Roadside Assistance customers can get a support link via text and be immediately connected with […]

The trustworthiness of AI-synthesized faces

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds AI-synthesized faces are indistinguishable from real faces and humans actually find them slightly more trustworthy. The results highlight not only the risks of deepfakes, but also a tremendous opportunity for researchers and businesses. The study looked at three experiments. In the […]

Emirates NBD and the Future of Work

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] This week I was in #Dubai, working with Emirates NBD, the largest banking group in the region and one of the largest banks in the world. My focus was on the future of work and the future of finance and how these two are intersecting in very interesting ways to define our post-pandemic world. […]

The Future of the Car Wash

ast week, I was at the Car Wash Show in Las Vegas speaking about the connected consumer and what it means for the future of the car wash industry. And like so many of the industries I work with, there are massive changes coming their way. Here are some of things I shared about how […]

What Matters Most for Remote Work

Some recent research suggests groups working remotely can be just as effective as groups working in-person. So what does influence a group’s ability to work effectively together on a range of tasks? The research finds that how the work is done and who is doing it both appear to be strong predictors of collective intelligence […]

A Recap of BKD’s second Annual Asset Management Seminar

Last week I keynoted the second annual Asset Management Seminar by BKD CPAs & Advisors. It was a phenomenal night with a sell-out crowd attending in-person and several hundred more registered for the simultaneous virtual event online. BKD’s CEO Tom Watson kicked things off by sharing a glimpse into BKD’s nearly 100 years of history […]

The Future of Healthcare: Embracing the Shift from Digitization to ‘Data’fication

This week, I had the privilege of speaking at the 60th annual Nevada Hospital Association meeting, where I shared insights on the future of healthcare. In my keynote address, I focused on the exciting developments and challenges arising from technological changes and what these changes mean for hospitals and healthcare providers. Specifically, I delved into […]

Wire Harness Assembly: Business Outlook

In February, I presented my outlook for the economy and the wire harness industry to executives during a virtual Wiring Harness Manufacturer’s Association (WHMA) conference. John Sprovieri covered that conference and recently published a recap of my remarks in ASSEMBLY. At that point I was optimistic, and since then, my forecast for 2021 and 2022 […]