“If the quantity of information is increasing 2.5 quintillion bytes per day, the amount of useful information almost certainly isn’t.” How can you learn to process increasingly large data sets to make more accurate predictions? Based on The Signal and the Noise: why so many predictions fail – but some don’t, by Nate Silver (The Penguin Press, September 2012), “Oracles: How Prediction Markets Turn Employees Into Visionaries” by Donald N. Thompson (Harvard Business Review Press, 2012) and the interview with Jim Lavoie, CEO, Rite-Solutions, April 2013.

According to Nassim Taleb, leaders should not try to predict future crises — an impossible task — but to increase the flexibility and resilience of their company. Objective: be prepared to face any black swan, which is an event with low probability but considerable impact. A synthesis of several publications, accompanied by interviews with Emmanuelle Tran, founder and managing director of Acyan, a consulting firm specialized in crisis prevention, management, and communication, and Edward Lazo, Deputy Division Head for Radiation Protection, OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, October 2011.

In 2050, more than 40% of the population will be over the age of 60 in a number of countries (notably Japan and many countries in Western Europe). Consumers age 60+ thus represent a considerable market for companies that, like Emporia (the first company to design mobile communication devices specifically for senior consumers) are willing to understand and respond to the needs of seniors.

The aging of the global population has a major impact on organizations in terms of talent management and market strategies. How can leaders cope? By adopting polycentric mindsets that help leaders to mitigate the risks and seize the opportunities of demographic change. A synthesis of several publications, accompanied by interviews with Albert Fellner, CEO and founder of Emporia Telecom, and Max Miwa, Panasonic Tokyo’s head of R&D, Panasonic Corporation, September 2011.

PPG responds to the great issues (increasing scarcity of primary resources, successful talent management, shrewd investment strategy) with a one-word program: innovation.

What drives companies to change rather than maintain the status quo? How do current world events affect their outlook? Based on Triggers by Xavier Hochet and André-Benoit De Jaegere (Odile Jacob, June 2010) and on a tv.net article by Xavier Hochet (2010), and on the interview with Jean-Marie Greindl, vice president of Automotive Coatings Europe, PPG Industries, and the article “Lynda Gratton Investigates the Future of Work”, Business Strategy Review, Q3 2010.

Richard Watson, author, lecturer, and above all, a tracker of emerging trends reviews in Future Files five major changes we will be experiencing in the next fifty years and five fundamentals that will not change.

In L’épreuve des différences Philippe d’Iribarne describes in detail how the Lafarge Group, a global corporation that has focused intensely on ethics since the 1970s, when it first set out “principles of behavior” for dealing with multi-cultural issues.

Is it possible to reconcile economic and ecological imperatives? Operational solutions can be found by following in the footsteps of the pioneers of the Positive Economy. Based on Réparer la planète, la révolution de l’Économie Positive (Repairing the planet: the Positive Economy revolution), Anne Gouyon and Maximilien Rouer (JC Lattès/BeCitizen, 2007), and the interview with Patrick Laugier, development director, Elyo (SUEZ Group), and Hugo Ferreira, general manager, Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild (Switzerland).