The Ideas That Will Shape Industry in 2014 Might Surprise You

bigideas2014

The end of the year is creeping closer, and soon, most professionals will be plunged into a gift-buying, travel planning whirl of holiday activity. But before we stop paying attention to work completely, we have a chance to reflect on the priorities we set for the year that’s about to pass and look ahead to what they should be in the coming one.

One opportunity to shape our thinking about what’s next for business comes via the sharpest minds in a slew of industries: LinkedIn’s Influencers. They’re the foremost thought leaders in technology, healthcare, real estate, finance, transportation, retail, hiring, and a host of other fields, and they’ve given us an inside glimpse into the professional concepts that will dominate 2014.

The Biggest Ideas of 2014, our latest featured content series, launches today, and at least a few of the stories it features are likely to shake up the way you think about business. In it, professionals like Sallie Krawcheck, the owner of 85 Broads and past president of Merril Lynch, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman, recruiting expert and author Lou Adler, and Newsweek Business Editor Dan Gross challenge the wisdom of long-held orthodoxies like the traditional rules of investing, the appeal of ultra-hot real estate markets, therole of the human touch in recruiting, and the natural ability of sports, TV and social media to hold our attention.

Some other controversial predictions to watch:

The Biggest Ideas of 2013

So will these ideas prove prophetic? One way to answer the question is by looking back. This time last year, we asked Influencers to tell us what issues they thought would matter most in 2013. Do you think they were on the mark?

  • Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, wrote that we could solve our stress problem, and described how we had to do it.
  • BP Capital Chairman and CEO T. Boone Pickens felt that individual states, rather than the Federal government, would take over the energy debate in the U.S.
  • Virgin Group Founder Richard Branson predicted the beginning of the end for the 40-year war on drugs.
  • Restaurant consultant Clark Wolf said we could change our thinking about food through small shifts, including a move to raise chickens more humanely.

Do the big ideas for the year ahead resonate for you? Did last year’s hit the mark? And what idea will shape the coming year for your industry, company, or professional life? Tell us in the comments on my Influencer post or on Twitter, with the hashtag #BigIdeas2014. And see all of the boldest predictions for 2014 right here.