This Week's Herman Trend Alert The Consequences of Virtual Meetings

The Herman Trend Alert January 9, 2008 Innovations That Will Change Our World Every year, IBM's best minds issue a forecast of "the five innovations that will change the way(s) we live, work, and play in the next five years". Two of IBM's innovations are covered below. Imagine this: when you visit your doctor, instead of a huge stack of paper that represents your medical records, your doctor will call up a computer-generated body onscreen, an avatar that is a walking, talking three-dimensional representation of your body. By clicking on a specific body part, your doctor can view an MRI or other image, lab results, and all text entries. The most interesting aspect of this innovation is that the computer can then automatically compare your visual test results and audio clues to thousands or hundreds of thousands of similar patient records. This technology will enable the doctor to be much more precise in diagnosing and treating you. The huge increase in medical information and emerging visualization technologies will improve your doctor's diagnosis and treatment. If you think your cell phone is indispensable now, just wait. In five years, we will be using our cell phones for banking, concierge services, shopping, or even to control our appliances. The technology that is coming will allow us to take a picture of a person or mannequin wearing a high fashion outfit and then search the Web for the designer and the nearest shops that carry it. Available now is technology that will let us see what that outfit would look like on our bodies on our personal avatars. All of this imagery will happen right on our cell phones. Once in the store, our phones will guide us to where the outfits are located; there may even be discounts to match our preferences. In Singapore, CASSIS International and IBM have launched a pilot program at train and bus stations. By tapping on a Smart Poster with their phones, consumers can receive information, access services, and conduct transactions like buying movie tickets. The technology that is coming in the near-term future is remarkable. Our lives will be transformed in ways that most of us have not yet imagined. © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: RETENTION SPECIALIST PROGRAM A growing number of people have expressed an interest in attending our Employee Retention Specialist Certificate Program. We'd like to schedule on that's convenient for those who want to attend, but need your feedback to do so. Please place RETENTION SPECIALIST in the subject line and Joyce will personally call you back to schedule the workshop. Or you can call Joyce directly at 336-210-3548 (PDT this and next week). BUSINESS IS PICKING UP Most employers are unprepared. The recovery will bring a new set of challenges for employers that have been in prolonged contracted mode. They will need more skilled workers or will need now to begin to upskill their current staffs. But organizations can not engage in Strategic Workforce Planning, when they don't know how. That's where The Herman Group can help. We can help you with your "People Review"----large or small---so that you will know who you will need and when you will need them. . . and we can also guide you to the best sources for the people you will need. For more information, call Joyce at 336-210-3548 or e-mail joyce@hermangroup.com. FIND OUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES REALLY THINK AND FEEL Discover what’s really going on in the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-416-7066, or read more at: http://www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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