At læse

The world is full of data and information, and at first glance it can seem overwhelming to stay up-to-date. But by choosing sources that are both generalist and niche-oriented, it's possible. The work of finding books, magazines, journals, trade journals and more that both provide an overview and offer sufficient professional immersion in a niche area is very important. Once the main sources are found, it creates a pattern in the research to be done. Just like in sports, interval training is important. Here you could talk about interval reading. A particular medium comes with a rhythm that allows you to reflect and discuss between releases.

At lytte og se

You can listen to both speech and music. Music is in many ways a mirror of society. You can listen to mainstream music, follow the charts and study what the avant-garde is producing and listening to. Radio is actually an overlooked medium in the modern media landscape. Often, radio is a great channel for immersion. A scan of just Scandinavian radio stations' broadcasting offerings provides plenty of opportunities for immersion in socially relevant topics. National and international TV stations, as well as local TV stations, provide a good picture of one of the most important opposites in modern life - local/global.

At surfe på nettet

The internet is great, but it's a time suck. The web is filled with detailed information of all kinds. But don't think that all wisdom is on the web. In fact, it's often sectarian and/or very superficial information you can find. Rarely the perspective. Referring to specific sites and closed databases would be an impossible task, as the internet is constantly in motion. However, good search engines provide reasonably easy access to many good sources. In addition, before using closed databases, you should be absolutely sure of the purpose of your search - not all types of information can be contained in a database.

Traveling

Traveling offers two opportunities. Firstly, the journey itself. Here you can study lifestyle behavior up close on many levels. From the businessman with his rolling suitcase, smartphone and suit, to the more folksy behavior of the charter tourist. Secondly, you can study the destination. The major urban centers of the world are still important to visit regularly.

Noticing differences

When you travel, diversity is one of the things that flows towards you. Differences in both behavior and attitudes are important to study because difference and diversity often opens your eyes to new things that have the potential to be transferred from country to country, or tribe to tribe. In fact, the seeds of many new products, sales and marketing are hidden here. So sit on a bench for 15 minutes and look at your surroundings, notice the deviations and differences and take note of them.

To ask

It's important to be able to ask the right questions. Whether it's to the search engine on the internet or to your fellow passenger on the plane to Tenerife. Asking the right questions often unlocks a flood of thoughts, ideas, comments and opinions. Just the thing if you're curious and interested in other people.

To discuss and share knowledge

Discussion opens up new paths, insights and the possibility of discovering offbeat angles and details. You can have an impulsive discussion with those you meet, but also stage a professional discussion among other trend analysts or with focus groups.

To systematize

Once the many impressions and the vast amount of knowledge have been collected, it is important to systematize it all. Systematization is a process that takes place continuously. It could be every quarter, every month or every Friday. The important thing is the stop-and-start effect, where it is possible to create a partial overview and take new starting points for further research. Some people cut out articles from newspapers and magazines and stack them in topic areas. Count up how much and what is written about a topic. This is the more quantitative way of doing it. The other is more qualitative, where one or more people have the job of creating a thematic or perspective overview - a kind of map of the topics.

To sort

Throwing out or staying focused often requires more than just math skills. Experience is probably the best skill in this situation. But you have to be careful not to throw out the wrong thing, because in modern society you also have to think about wild cards. But sorting is important because not everything can be equally important.

To put things into perspective

The most important thing is perspective. It's perspective that creates the opportunity for others to get something out of what you've been working on. Trend research is about helicopter perspective and chasing the overview. Perspective is the tool. Perspective requires historical knowledge - or the knowledge of where to get it. By focusing on the other nine tools, you'll actually get better at perspective over time.

A final - and essential - element in the set of tools a trend analyst should have is knowledge sharing. Without knowledge sharing, the overview and insights will not translate into anything. And don't think that sending a cc mail of your conclusions to your colleagues is enough. It's in the discussions that new, important observations often emerge that can take the knowledge you've gathered to a higher and more useful level.