FuturePrint made the decision to reach out to partners and colleagues at the end of 2020 in order to collate their thoughts, findings, and experiences as we approached the end of an unprecedented year, and to compile their predictions for the year ahead. The result is the first FuturePrint Vision Report, which reflects on 2020 and considers the key trends, changing pandemic impact, and business and technology updates in the year ahead, all based on input from our forward-thinking FuturePrint partners. As a taster, we’ve summarised three key points from the report.

 A conflict of outlooks

While contributors to the report shared like-minded opinions on a number of key topics, when it came to where the next year may take us, there were some conflicting views. Following a year where nothing was normal and circumstances shifted with great speed, it’s to be expected. While some are highly optimistic for the second half of 2021 at least, others believe this year won’t bring much discernible difference to 2020. What effects might significant variations in different forecasts have on the industry as a whole? (It’s important to stress that these responses were given in late 2020, prior to further lockdowns in a number of locations globally, so it’s possible that even in the short period since then, forecasts have been reconsidered and any plans could have changed).

Strong crisis leadership crucial

One true test of leadership is how you react in a crisis – there are a myriad of ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ apparent on the world stage as we look at world leaders’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we spoke to FuturePrint partners, key words that emerged included: ‘clarity’, ‘consistency’, ‘adaptability’, ‘integrity’ and ‘compassion’. Leadership will continue to be a hot topic throughout 2021, and FuturePrint will be addressing leadership, vision inspiration at the CEO vSummit, taking place 23-24 March [LINK].

Acceleration continues – get in the right lane

Early on in the pandemic, it was clear that it was accelerating a number of existing trends, particularly from a digital transformation standpoint, and 2021 is already proving that many of these show no signs of slowing down. You can download the full report for details of our partners’ 2021 trend predictions, but one thing they all demonstrate is that taking stock of where markets are heading, and ensuring your business has the adaptability to react quickly to trend acceleration is crucial.

Download the full report here.