Part of the Job Description of a Futurist
The “Remember When Gas Was Cheap?” post on 4/20/06 provoked a lot of response. That post looked back at the rise of gas prices, written from the future perch of 4/20/09.
In that futuristic look back to see how gas went from $3.00 in April, 2006 to the $7.33 price in April, 2009, I wrote of events and consequences during that three year time period. One such event ‘ocurred’ in October 2007, when, with the price of gas at $4.45, GM announced that it was shutting down the Hummer division because of a drastic fall-off in sales and the refusal of Hummer dealers to take delivery on additional vehicles since the all had such a large backlog of the gas guzzlers.
Yesterday, May 13, 2006, it was reported that GM said it would stop building the H1, the first and largest Hummer model. 12,000 H1’s have been sold to the public in 14 years, but only 98 so far this year.
Now, my prediction that the entire division would be shut down did not come to pass, but then again it is May 2006. Let’s see where Hummer is in October 2007. Straining my elbow here for some back slapping acknowledgement, I will take credit for being directionally correct in my prediction. it reminds me of the “Odd Week for a Futurist’ post when I spoke about the fact that when the “Remember” post was made and I predicted that gas would be at $3.60 by July 4, 2006 I was immediately challenged by friends who told me I was nuts, only to find just one week later that gas had gone up to $3.60 in some parts of the country in just that short week.
A futurist adds value by suggesting trends, direction and dynamics for the future that prove to be correct; it is part of the job description. My hope is that by doing my job well, I help you do your job and live your life in a better way. If you think that is the case, then please tell others about www.evolutionshift.com. New readers are always welcome. Thank you!
