Richard Worzel

Leading forecaster and futurist Richard Worzel challenges organizations to examine the future and plan for it. Changes in politics, technology, leadership, demographics and economics are altering the face and pace of business. Those who are prepared will prosper, while most organizations will flounder or fall by the wayside. Worzel can equip your organization with the ability to understand the changes to be faced in the years ahead, and the tools to leverage those changes to revolutionize and dominate your industry.

Worzel studied computer science, economics and world trade in university, and has written articles on the future for The Report on Business, Canada Computes, and The Financial Post, among many others.

He started work in the investment industry as an institutional investor, and received the industry’s Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1978. Since 1979, he has run his own consulting firm, helping companies and organizations plan and prepare for the future.

Worzel’s client list includes such organizations as Coca Cola, Sun Life Assurance, IBM, Rogers Media, Amgen, Ford, and BMO Financial, among many others.

He has written five best-selling books, including Who Owns Tomorrow, which reached The Financial Post’s best-seller list in the second week of publication.

Worzel is a Scout leader, and lives in Toronto with his wife and two children.

Richard Worzel's Blog Entries:

10 Things You Need to Know About the Next 10 Years

It's Not Just Stocks that are at Risk

Nine Tends in Innovation

Top 3 Trends for 2012

• NN. Opportunity Pounds: The Future of IT in Health Care

  Opportunity is not knocking in applications of IT to health care; it is pounding down the door. Ever since the Human Genome Project showed the value of using computers in medical research, new research techniques and new IT applications are starting to cause health care management and new breakthroughs to move at in silico speeds instead of in vitro speeds. Richard Worzel, best-selling author and Canada's leading futurist, surveys the landscape of tomorrow, and highlights:
  
  

  ·How health care will change over the next 25 years, and why it absolutely must;
  ·How a global medical warning system will gather instant-by-instant reports on the health status of close to 4 billions people, and what the implications for future research and data mining;
  ·The basic building block of such a system will be invisible in 25 years' time, but is already in evidence today;
  ·The new kinds of research tools that must be used to deal with data overload that is rising by orders of magnitude every five years or so;
  ·And the emergence of help from surprising, even unexpected sources.
  

  Richard compares the advances of the next 25 years with the advances in medicine made between 1860 and today. "We will look back on the way we practice health management today, and compare it to the use of leeches and blood-letting of earlier eras," he says, "And this has major implications for all the players, including governments, patients, pharma companies, and health care practitioners."

• M. Dark Clouds & Silver Linings: The Prospects for the Financial Funds Industry

  The next 10 years will be significantly different from the 10 years just past. First, the potential remains for nasty surprises that could re-ignite a financial panic, and dump the global economy back into recession. Chief among these is the potential that the U.S. government could become insolvent, with all that this implies. Assuming that this doesn't happen, then what will happen with the U.S., Canadian, and world economies, and what are the risks and opportunities ahead of us. Beyond this, the technological advances of the next 10 years will make the changes of the past pale in comparison, with massive implications for productivity, automation, employment, and the global marketplace that go far beyond most investors' expectations of "more of the same." As well, many investors are concerned the the looming retirement of the boomers will drain cash from the markets, leading to another stock market crash – but that's not going to happen. And finally, investor psychology has undergone a once-in-a-generation shift that threatens to push funds, and fund managers, back to where they were in the 1970s, which GICs were the investment of choice. Richard Worzel is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a strategic planner, and Canada's leading futurist. In this presentation, he lays out a road map of the future for the funds industry, and challenges participants to seize the opportunities ahead. The future we are facing will be wild, exciting, and scary; the costs of not preparing for it will be enormous.

• MM. The Future of Risk Management in an Uncertain World

  The events of the past 24 months have tested the abilities of risk managers to exercise strategic foresight, and adequately prepare for a world where greater uncertainties will be the norm. How, then, can risk managers prepare for what's to come? Richard Worzel is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a strategic planner, and Canada's leading futurist. In this half-day workshop, he will explore some of the critical challenges ahead, and offer suggestions on how to cope. In particular, he will deal with:
  
  

  ·What's ahead for the Canadian, American, and world economies? What are the outlooks for inflation and renewed recession? And what nasty surprises could yet be lurking, buried in the urgent, but less important details of the recent panic?
  ·How is demographics changing society, the functioning of organizations, and the ability of governments to perform adequately? And what are the gradually developing risks that are largely being overlooked?
  ·Technology offers risks both positive and negative, yet risk managers often overlook the importance of positive risks. And technology will wreak twice as many changes on organizations and society over the next 10 years than over the past 10.
  ·Governance will have to change, in response to the shifting economic, demographic, technological, and social changes ahead.
  

  
  
  In the second half of this presentation, Richard will offer a hands-on approach to the future of risk management, including techniques for expecting the unexpected, and tools to channel the future in the direction you want it to go.

• LL. Risk Management and Strategic Foresight: Avoiding Problems and Spotting Opportunities

  The events of the last several years, up to and including the financial panic of 2008, have demonstrated the consequences of not preparing for potential risks. Richard Worzel is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a strategic planner, and Canada's leading futurist. In this presentation, he:
  
  

  ·Surveys some of the potential risks ahead, including additional potential shocks to the financial system;
  ·Outlines the essentials of strategic foresight as they relate to risk management;
  ·Describes how to break the future into discrete pieces in order to deal with future possibilities in a more focused, more effective manner;
  ·Shows how to "reverse engineer" the future to uncover potential unexpected risks; and
  ·Identifies how to walk through a contingency plan in order to spot potential weaknesses.
  

  
  
  You'll walk away with a set of tools that will help you prepare for risks, both good and bad, and a much better appreciation of how to cope with the uncertainties that are ahead.

• K. Sunrise or Sunset Industry? The Future of Farms and Farmers

  It's been a long, long time since the American farmer experienced so many changes in so many areas, with the result that agriculture, and the industries that support and work with it, are about to experience the most dramatic revolution since the end of World War II. Richard Worzel is a strategic planner and one of today's leading futurists. In this keynote presentation he talks about:
  
  

  ·Climate change – what is actually happening, and its possible impact on agriculture;
  ·New revenue streams that will become available to agricultural producers, and the effects that will have on those industries that depend on agricultural products;
  ·The emergence of new markets and new competitors at home and abroad for food, and what it implies for producers;
  ·The Green Economy – has it vanished with the recession, or will it re-emerge? And how could it affect producers' use of fertilizers, water, and genetically-modified crops and animals?
  ·Technology; what next? Why the IT revolution is just beginning, and how it will affect agriculture;
  ·The coming economic recovery, and why there's bad news mixed with the good.
  

  
  
  Beyond describing how these trends will affect agriculture and related industries and communities, Richard will also provide tools to help participants prepare for the uncertainties ahead. "The future will catch us by surprise," Richard comments, "and those people who profit most from the changes ahead will be those who can recover fastest, and respond most constructively to change."

• KK. Dark Clouds & Silver Linings: Tomorrow's Prospects and the Future of Accounting

  It's as if the skies are starting to clear following a major storm; the economy is beginning to look better, and people are once again more hopeful about the future. So, do we return to "business as usual", or will tomorrow's economy and tomorrow's world be different? Richard Worzel is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a strategic planner, and Canada's leading futurist. In this presentation he assesses the future of business with an eye towards the future of accounting, covering: the outlook for the economy, plus wild cards for which you should prepare; technology, and how it will continue to reshape business; why we are leaving a period of demographic calm, and what we are headed towards; and how globalization and governments are going to change the economic landscape ahead of us.

• J. Getting Greedy When Others Are Fearful: Linking Innovation, Sustainability, and Profits

  Dark times are when the best players make the biggest gains. Everyone else is lying low, resources are hard to come by, and consumers are an endangered species. Richard Worzel, one of today's leading futurists, sees real opportunities in today's situation, and this presentation offers retailers insights on:
  
  

  ·Why today's "new" marketing tools – such as Facebook and Twitter – are only the beginning of personal marketing on a mass basis;
  ·Why getting into your customer's head is now more necessary and more possible than ever before;
  ·Why sustainability – today's environmental issue – will not disappear the way scarcity of resources – the issue of the 70s – did following the previous oil price break in 1980-81, and therefore why working on sustainability now, even in hard times, is critical to future survival and success; and finally
  ·Why innovation is not popular, and why you need to create a new culture of innovation, starting from the bottom.
  

  
  
  In addressing these issues, especially the issues of sustainability and innovation, Richard will provide two sets of tools. The first, called the Opportunity Matrix, offers a means of producing a steady stream of new ideas for incremental innovation. The second, the handbook on Risk Management and Scenario Planning that Richard developed for his consulting clients, is a take-away toolbox that can help you put yourself in your customers' future mindspace in order to be there, waiting, when she arrives.

• JJ. Facing the Future of Investing

  The future hasn't happened yet, but many people act as if it has, and is predictable. The truth is that the future will catch us by surprise – but that doesn't mean we can't prepare for it. Richard Worzel is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a strategic planner, and one of today's leading futurists. In this presentation he maps out some of the issues facing investors in the future, including:
  
  

  ·What is we're wrong? We all expect that the economy is approaching bottom, and will steadily improve. But what if something else happens, something less predictable? What might it be, and how should we prepare?
  ·The past 20 years have been a period of relative demographic calm, but the next 20 will be anything but. Three key cohorts are moving into new stages of their lifecycles, which will precipitate dramatic changes for individuals, society, governments, and the markets, and two others will have dramatic long-term implications.
  ·Technology is the predictable wild card. Not only is the rate of change accelerating, but the rate of acceleration is increasing. Accordingly, we only think we know what to expect, but the reality will be much more startling.
  ·We are seeing a shift in power in the global economy. America will remain the largest and most influential player, but its influence will be diluted by other players growing in importance, lead by China, India, Brazil and Mexico.
  

  
  
  The future ahead of us is going to be vastly different than the present. Those who are prepared will prosper; the rest will be left behind.

• I. Rising from the Crash: What's Next for the Foodservice Industry?

  Successful foodservice consultants need to be thinking beyond the recession, because the future is mutating rapidly. Richard Worzel is one of today's leading futurists, and in this presentation he presents a roadmap to the future, including:
  
  

  ·How the economy will change because of the global recession;
  ·Why the Green Economy is very much alive and well;
  ·Where technology is taking us;
  ·Why organizations really only want to pay lip service to innovation.
  

  
  
  Richard's presentation will cap the conference, and give you tools and information you can take home and use immediately, and into tomorrow.

• II. Strange, Wonderful, and Terrifying: The Next 20 Years of Our Lives

  Many of us wake up in a world we find remarkable, with the changes we've experienced in communications, technology, health care, travel, culture, and social trends, among others. Some have been very positive, such as the dramatic increase in health and life expectancy through the 20th Century. Others have been less desirable, such as the increase in terrorist activity, the decline in general politeness, and the financial crash of 2008. Yet, the changes behind us are as nothing in comparison to the challenges and opportunities ahead of us, and from so many different sources. With emphasis on the future of technology and global finance, Richard Worzel, a Chartered Financial Analyst, and one of today's leading professional futurists, will provide a roadmap of the next 20 years, including:
  
  

  ·How technology will change the way we live, with whom we will work and communicate, and even how our bodies function;
  ·How the global economy will reshape the geopolitics of the world, and produce more wealth in the next two decades than humanity has accumulated in any previous century, providing both greater opportunities, and greater risks than ever before;
  ·How demographics will shift the balance of power, with consequences for young people, retirees, governments, plus the rich and poor alike;
  ·How discussions of life expectancy will transform into discussions of life span, with the potential for dramatic expansions in human longevity, even indefinite life spans, becoming tantalizingly real; and
  ·A discussion of Wild Cards – low probability events which, if they occur, will have dramatic consequences – including significant climate change, bio-terrorism, food crises, and more.
  

  
  
  The future is a broad topic, and the next 20 years will be amazing and alarming. This presentation will heighten your awareness of what's to come, and help you plan and prepare for the unknowns ahead.

• HH. Car Retailing 2.0: The Future of Marketing in the Retail Automotive Industry

  For many car dealers, marketing consists of traditional media, such as newspaper ads, plus some push-marketing techniques like fax and email. But these are, at best, today's media, and at worst, dying horses that have no chance of reaching tomorrow's consumers. Young buyers, many of whom will soon be entering into the family formation stage of their lifecycles, don't use most of these media, and often consider even email to be out-of-date and out-of-touch with their reality. And almost all active consumers routinely use Google to find consumer reviews of cars and dealerships, which can negate a carefully orchestrated advertising campaign. Dealers who intend to survive into the 2010's and beyond need to be looking at so-called Web 2.0 media – things like Facebook and Twitter, which truly represent a new form of "word of mouth" advertising.
  
  In this presentation, Richard Worzel, Canada's leading futurist, provides an overview of the future of car retailing, including:
  
  

  ·The prospects for traditional media – where they can be useful, and where they are going;
  ·The interests and attitudes of consumers of all ages – how their thinking differs, how to apply the "Platinum Rule" of sales in approaching them;
  ·The Web 2.0 media emerging, how to use it, and how NOT to use it; and
  ·Why some technologies make it, and some – like satellite radio – don't, and how to tell the difference.
  

  
  
  You'll walk away with a new appreciation of what's possible, and what to do next to carry you into the very different future of auto retailing.

• D. Planning for the Planners: The Future of Meeting Planning in the Financial Industry

  Samuel Johnson once said that the prospect of hanging in the morning focuses the mind wonderfully, and the financial industry is certainly finding its focus. It has received a kicking the likes of which it has not had this generation, and arguably not since the Great Depression. This makes has made it difficult to create meetings that are attractive and relevant to industry players – but what's to come? Richard Worzel is a Chartered Financial Analyst, strategic planner, and one of today's leading futurists. In this presentation specifically tailored to meeting planners who work with and serve the financial community, he describes:
  
  

  ·The prospects for the financial markets and the global economy: when will the pain abate?
  ·The aftermath: who's likely to remain standing? And how will the major players' (especially banks and insurance companies) positions change?
  ·The forces that will drive change in the financial community's future, including the prospects for new financial instruments and client needs, shifting demographics, rising global competition and opportunity, increased longevity, postponed retirements, and the rapid changes in jobs and work in tomorrow's world; and
  ·The changes coming to meeting planners: the inroads and innovations coming from technology, the intensity and intent of younger meeting planners, the changing attitudes of suppliers; and how societal shifts are forcing changes in content and presentation styles.
  

  
  
  The times ahead are going to be harder for all purveyors of financial advice and instruments, yet that merely underlines the need for superior preparation. Richard's presentation provides a roadmap of what's ahead for the industry and those meeting planners who work with it, and identifies the pivotal issues and approaches the offer the most promise.

• L. Green Without Guilt: Social Responsibility that Pays

  At the end of the 20th Century, public interest in environmental issues was on the wane. Today, public opinion is well past the tipping point, and despite the economic chaos, organizations are scrambling to catch up. What this means is that leading the field in green issues can be both a strategic and a tactical competitive advantage in tomorrow's business world. Consider that:
  
  Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, is not only talking about being green, but putting their money where its mouth is to the tune of half a billion dollars to cut down on waste, increase energy efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  
  General Electric, a role-model for hard-driving corporate growth and profitability, is now aggressively pursuing green technologies, products, and services through their 'Ecoimagination' campaign.
  
  Citibank has announced that it is investing $50 billion to reduce its carbon footprint 10% by 2011. At this level of commitment, you know it's not a public relations guesture, but a hard-nosed business investment.
  
  Richard Worzel is Canada's leading futurist, a strategic planner, and a Chartered Financial Analyst. In this broad-ranging view of the rapidly emerging Green Economy, he talks about what's to come, and how you can do well by doing good, including:
  
  

  The issues surrounding climate change, real and perceived; ·The potential costs of climate change, both in the marketplace, and in the environment;
  ·The issues of "peak oil", energy alternatives, and whether energy actually will be in short supply, or if we are facing another oil glut;
  ·The question of whether "going green" is more than just a PR issue; and
  ·What are the bottom line benefits of going green?
  

  
  
  Finally, Richard will introduce conferees to a methodology for inventing improvements in the efficiency of their operation, including how to use an Opportunity Matrix to enhance your ability to innovate and enhance profits. You will walk away with ideas and tools you can use immediately in your operations to reduce your environmental footprint – and simultaneously enhance your bottom line!

• H. What to Do When the Future Looks Grim

  Maybe that light at the end of the tunnel is the end of the recession, or maybe it's a freight train coming your way. Either way, standing frozen in one spot by indecision won't help, and may be devastating. Yet, many organizations find themselves paralyzed by the threats of the worst recession we've experienced since, well, 1991 – which really isn't all that long ago. Richard Worzel is a Chartered Financial Analyst, strategic planner, best-selling author, and Canada's leading futurist. In this presentation, specifically tailored to address the problems of this economy and this time, he talks about how to take advantage of the problems ahead:
  
  

  ·Times like these are times when market share is up for grabs. Right now, most organizations have gone into catatonic shock, and are looking for ways to retreat. This makes it an ideal time to look for ways of going forward as there's less competition.
  ·Substitute brains for money. In an economy like this, when money is in short supply, you can substitute innovation and creativity for cash. Using structured brainstorming techniques, you can come up with new ways of dealing with problems.
  ·Don't run back into a burning barn. Retreating into old habits, just because you're comfortable with them, is not going to lead you out of your problems, but back into them.
  ·Look for new opportunities. Using Richard's own Opportunity Matrix techniques, come up with 2-300 new ideas for generating business, then pick the 10 you like best. Repeat until you have re-engineered your future to be what you want.
  ·Decide! When you make a decision in this environment, you might be right, or you might be wrong, but if you don't decide, you will automatically be wrong. That can be catastrophic right now. Decide – and then do course corrections as needed.
  

  
  
  There are many things you can do to deal with a future that looks grim – and facing it dead on is the first of these things.

• CC. How Dairies Can Contribute to a Greener Society: Breaking the Carbon Habit Without Breaking the Bank

  With the dramatic fall in the price of oil, it would be tempting to assume that the pressure to go green has disappeared. That would be a mistake, as the facts of climate change are still very much in evidence. This leaves the question: how can we, as individuals as well as producers, contribute to a greener society? Richard Worzel is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a strategic planner, best-selling author, and Canada's leading futurist. In this presentation, he:
  
  

  ·Outlines the critical issues relating to climate change, and humanity's part in it;
  ·Identifies the ways in which we are contributing to climate change; and
  ·Talks about the ways in which we can change the harm we do without destroying our businesses, of ways of going green while making it a profit-contributing process instead of a profit-draining one.
  

  
  
  To finish off, Richard will outline a technique for identifying new ways of improving efficiency, in order to benefit both profits and the environment.
  
  

• G. The Next Fifty Years in Investing

  Because they are inundated with information, investment professionals tend to believe that they have seen and heard it all, and worse, that they know it all. Yet, each of us knows that there is so much more that we don't know that when a crisis hits the markets, as it has now, we tend to be overly impressed with the urgency of the emergency and forget or overlook the bigger issues. Richard Worzel is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a former institutional investor, best-selling author, and is, today, Canada's leading futurist. In this long-term overview, Richard points out what's important, as opposed to what's urgent, including:
  
  

  ·Where does economic growth come from, and why is it going to be harder to come by? And is there hope we can change that result?
  ·Which nations have hidden weaknesses that threaten their relative prosperity?
  ·How will you be able to tell those nations that will move ahead compared to those that merely plod forward? What's the touchstone of success?
  ·Everyone knows that technology will continue to be a game-changer; but how? What technological advances are we not expecting, or if we are expecting them, are we not prepared for? And where will they lead us?
  ·And what's the one wild card that virtually no one is talking about that will wreck the finances of nations and change the future of society and humanity, gradually at first, and then with gathering momentum?
  

  
  
  John Maynard Keynes once famously said that in the long-run we're all dead, but for a pension fund, which must think in terms of decades, today's urgent issues must be kept in perspective. This presentation deals with the important issues that will decide the long-term success of a pension fund.

• GG. Grabbing Change by the Horns: Will Transformation Mean Evolution, Revolution, or Annihilation?

  Not only is the rate of technological change accelerating, but the rate of acceleration is increasing. Meanwhile, the ripple effects of technology in social, economic, political, and business affairs are making it harder to foresee and manage change. Richard Worzel, leading futurist and strategic planner, as well as a Chartered Financial Analyst and best-selling author, leads this exploration on the issues and impact of change in technology, including:
  
  

  ·What are the discontinuities ahead in IT, and how will they affect governance?
  ·How will IT have to change to cope with both new technologies, as well as rising expectations from the general public?
  ·What non-IT factors will influence the changes ahead, and how will they feed-back into IT management?
  ·How is government going to change, and how should policy makers prepare for these changes?
  ·How long will the recession last, what happens afterwards, and how will that affect both expectations and resources in IT management?
  

  
  
  You will walk away with a roadmap of tomorrow's world, one that will help you make the unavoidable transformations ahead be constructive rather than detrimental.

• F. Critical Care: The Future of Local Pharmacies in Today's Economy

  The economic environment we are facing today is dramatically different than any we have experienced in the last decade – and is, in some ways, different from the environment our society has faced in the last 80 years. This means that the ways of responding to it must also be different. Richard Worzel is a strategic planner, Chartered Financial Analyst, and Canada's leading futurist. In this presentation, he will provide a road map of the future for the local pharmacy/retailer, which will cover:
  
  

  ·What's happened to the economy, the financial markets, and the consumer, and what's going to happen next, including the prospects for different parts of Canada
  ·The prospects for 2009 and beyond, with particular emphasis on retailing
  ·How the shifts in demographics are going to affect health care in Canada, and how that will affect the role of the local pharmacist;
  ·Tuning in on what's going through the minds of your customers, and how to develop new ideas to support and improve your retail prospects in a tough market.
  

  
  
  Pharmacies, especially those associated with larger retail outlets, fill a special niche in our society – and one that is, in some ways, one of the most competitive in the economy. Turbulent times are times when market share is up for grabs, and they play to the strengths of those who anticipate the future properly, and plan well for the changes ahead.

• FF. Corporate Innovation: The Key to Survival and Success

  Virtually everyone in the corporate world pays lip-server to the truism that innovation is critical to corporate survival. The bigger issue is how do you create an organization that is consistently innovative? Richard Worzel is a Chartered Financial Analyst, strategic planner, and Canada's leading futurist, and sees innovation as no less than the engine that carves out a corporation's future. In this presentation he creates a blueprint on innovation, including:
  
  

  ·What "innovation" actually means in practical terms, as opposed to the motherhood, theoretical concept everyone always talks about.
  ·What innovation can do, and what it can't, and how to manage the short-comings.
  ·What are the pre-conditions for successful innovation – and what are the costs of not preparing properly.
  ·Why organizations that fiercely proclaim that they are dedicated to innovation secretly despise it.
  ·What tools you can use to provoke innovation, who should use them, and how; and
  ·What else you need to do beyond innovating, without which there is very little point in even starting.
  

  
  
  The process of innovation is, and should be, never ending, but this one-hour keynote will let you jump-start your organization on the path to innovative future success.

• E. Responsive Leadership in an Era of Change

  Leadership doesn't happen in a vacuum, but must adapt to circumstances. And tomorrow's business and social environment is creating novel challenges that past techniques don't completely answer. As a strategic planner, a Chartered Financial Analyst, and a professional futurist who is steeped in traditional and linear thought, Worzel recognizes the confusion and the problems conventional leadership methods create, and in this keynote builds thought bridges to help people over the inherent conflicts, and into new leadership for a strange, new era.

• EE. The Future of Money

  Money isn't everything, but it is central to everything in our economy. Those who plan to thrive in an increasingly competitive world will need to know where money is coming from, where it's going, how it will influence their company and industry, and what to expect and prepare for in order to be ready for the future. This intriguing and entertaining presentation Richard Worzel will leave your people with take-aways they'll be able to use tomorrow morning to be more effective – and increase their share of tomorrow's money.

• DD. The Rise of Bioscience

  This is the bioscience century, where changes to the tools we use, the things we are able to do, and even who we are and how we function will undergo revolutionary transformation. Knowledge of developments within and beyond your field will be vital to successfully capitalizing your efforts, whether on behalf of a company, a group of investors, or by a government for its citizens. As a professional who keeps a steady focus on developments in the biosciences field, Worzel gives audiences a broad assessment of the biosciences century, and the developments that will shape its destiny.

• C. The Emergence of Alternative Energies

  The combination of spiking oil prices and the rising consciousness of global climate change has created a startling demand for new energy sources that is reshaping the economic landscape, and creating once-in-a-generation opportunities. This fast-paced, orbital view of an exploding field will provide you with insights that will help your decisions tomorrow morning, and guide you in shaping your strategies for years into the future.

• B. The Real Estate Roller Coaster: What's Ahead?

  The real estate industry, after a long and successful run, faces a volatile future for many reasons. In this overview of a national and international industry that is nonetheless driven by local and regional forces, Worzel offers real estate professionals critical strategic intelligence in order to make risk management and strategic foresight clearer and simpler for those intent on not just surviving, but thriving and growing in good times and bad.

• BB. Insuring the Future

  This session is designed to provide agents specializing in life, living benefit, and financial planning products in the insurance industry with a forward perspective on their business, and to give them take-aways that they can use to improve that business immediately.

• A. Strategic Foresight for Risk Management

  In an increasingly dangerous world, risk management is a rapidly emerging discipline for large company executives, small company entrepreneurs, and professionals responsible for managing their own career-paths. In this introductory presentation and workshop, Worzel provides an overview of the future our society, the economy, and your organization are facing, and trains your people in tools they can introduce into their existing planning process that will enhance what they are doing, and dramatically improve their ability to anticipate many problems before they occur, and deal with ones that are unavoidable.

• AA. The Green Economy: Social Responsibility that Pays Dividends

  At the end of the 20th Century, public interest in environmental issues was on the wane. Today, public opinion is well past the tipping point, and organizations are scrambling to catch up. What this means is that leading the field in green issues can be both a strategic and a tactical competitive advantage in tomorrow's business world. In this broad-ranging view of the rapidly emerging Green Economy, Worzel talks about what's to come, and how to do well by doing good.

• Dynamic, articulate, thought-provoking and inspirational speakers are hard to find. It becomes even more complex when seeking speakers with powerful messages and revolutionary concepts. Add to the mix that the speaker must be able to connect with the audience and you will have some idea as to why we are delighted with the glowing comments we received from our delegates about your plenary presentation at our 17th Annual Conference.

  The Investment Funds Institute of Canada

• What sets you apart from most professional speakers is your willingness to learn about our industry and to work with us through two sets of revisions to your talk...it then came together beautifully, and was tailored to the needs of this audience and this event. It's almost unheard of for a speaker to take such pains, and we appreciate it. It meant we could relax, as we knew what was going to happen before the event [had] begun.

  Biotechnology Industry Organization

• Everyone went home contemplating their role in creating a 'healthy future' for the public we serve. We appreciated your candor and logic in assessing where we are going, how we might get there and whether we'll enjoy the ride.

  Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association

• Everyone found your talk to be such an eye opener. It gave them inspiration to go into the future with eyes wide open and to go forward with a plan to prepare for the future instead of being surprised by it. You have a special talent for taking complex concepts and distilling them into ideas that anybody can understand, yet you also dissect seemingly trivial events to expose a world of possibilities.

  Integral Wealth Securities

• Working with Richard prior to the event was a pleasure. His professionalism and attention to detail ensured that the process was as smooth as possible. After our first discussion, we knew we were in good hands. We really appreciated his consultation process and openness to our ideas and thoughts about the presentation content.

  Western Transportation Advisory Council

• Richard's thought-provoking informative keynote gave our conference delegates the tools to plan for business achievements and accomplishments well into the future. We highly recommend Richard's live presentations and every one of his best-selling books. It was an honour, a privilege and a pleasure to meet and learn from Richard Worzel ― futurist extraordinaire!

  Credit Union Insurance Services Association

• Mr. Worzel's presentation style represents the best example of how a professional can extend warmth, authenticity and humor while simultaneously hitting the nail on the head surrounding critical and not always pleasant, issues. He made use of good visual tools and spoke with clarity, well chosen words and practical examples to get his point across. Our attendees appreciated Richard's candor and honesty as he shared his financial interpretation of today's challenging economic situation. He was able to convey a sense of urgency and call-to-attention around issues our attendees needed to hear without projecting an aura of fear and doom.

  Foodservice Consultant's Society International

• As the session moderator, I want to personally thank you for the numerous opportunities you afforded me to review and provide input into your remarks. I cannot remember the last time that I worked with a keynote speaker who was more accommodating or who was more interested in tailoring the address to the audience. Your references to "our municipal partners" or to "shovel ready infrastructure projects", as just two examples, really resonated with my colleagues - these are words and phrases that we are working with everyday – and I know that it definitely created a real sense of "connection" with you as the speaker. Bravo!

  Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

• We were very pleased with Richard Worzel's presentation at the CDA/ODA Joint Dental Conference. His remarks were quite thought provoking and opened our eyes to the forces that drive change. We especially appreciated his efforts in relating to our profession and connecting macro trends and issues to the world of dentistry.

  Canadian Dental Association

• As an independent event planner, I would grade Richard Worzel's presentation a 10 out of 10! Richard not only made sure that I had all of the information I needed, but he also spent a considerable amount of time with my client to make sure that his presentation was relevant, timely and "spoke" directly to the issues being faced by the delegates. Richard presentation style is engaging and outstanding! Thanks, Richard, for a job well done!

  HPB Association Management Services Inc.

• You delivered a perfect balance of theoretical and practical information, a refreshing change from the all-theory material we typically see. Your pragmatic and common sense approach to risk management and scenario planning was simple enough to incorporate into the business planning cycle of any organization and yet complex enough to ensure the value of the effort.

  Risk & Insurance Management Society (Ontario Chapter)

• Richard was a pleasure to work with from the beginning, allowing myself and the magazine editor to provide him with the overall conference theme and content in which to tailor his presentation directly for our audience. He is very charismatic and confident in his message, which sat well with our audience as they are forever planning for the future. We would ask him back in a heartbeat and highly recommend him to anyone who is looking for an engaging and informative session for their conference.

  Annual Defined Contribution Plan Summit, Banff

• Richard Worzel provided an engaging, though provoking, and informative look at where the world and our industry may be heading. As anyone with an eye on the future may attest, this generated more questions than answers. The important thing for us was to have our staff start asking the questions. Thank you Richard - highly recommended!

  Federated Co-operatives Ltd.

• Not only is Richard an accomplished and engaging speaker, but his approach to preparation is peerless. Considerable time was spent with Richard on phone calls and in emails clarifying for him the nature of the Society, the demographics and psychographics of the audience, the intent behind the theme and the goals we were seeking as a result of his presentation. His comprehension of these details and ensuing ability to integrate the information into his closing remarks is stellar. Further, he participated in the Conference by coming early and listening to other speakers as well as engaging in discussion with attendees. By doing this, he was further able to integrate other speaker’s words and messages into his closing remarks as well as probe the tenor of the attendees and adjust accordingly.

  Foodservice Consultants Society International, Minneapolis

• Thank you so much for participating in WEC 2010 in Vancouver! Both the Peak Oil session and Flash Point were a hit with attendees. I appreciate your dedication to information and educating our audience.

  World Education Conference / Meeting Planners International

• I was thrilled to have someone of your caliber at the closing of our event. I greatly appreciated your ability to personalize your presentation in order to support our vision and plan. You delivered very fact-based and enlightening observations about the impact of trends in the coming months and year and more so, your conclusions were clear and practical. Your performance in question and answer period was outstanding.

  Mega Group

• The ICT professionals of the region came in large numbers to hear Mr. Worzel, and he proved to be a visionary who was able to paint a multi-hued scenario to take the Windsor-Essex region forward. He not only held the audience spellbound, and provoked an interesting discussion, but he received a standing ovation from the audience for his efforts.

   

  Softech Alliance, The University of Windsor School of Computer Science

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  September 2003

  Who Owns Tomorrow?

  Changes in politics and technology, management and leadership, demographics and economics and more are altering the face and pace of business. Those who are prepared will prosper, while most organizations will flounder or fall by the wayside. In Who Owns Tomorrow? Richard Worzel challenges readers to examine the future and plan for it. Built around seven key secrets, such as "the status quo is fatal" and "watch for falling governments," this book spells out the difference between opportunity and vulnerability for businesses and governments.

  
  
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  April 2002

  The Only Secure Job: Changing From Employee To Entrepreneur

  In this useful handbook for the employee or would-be entrepreneur, Richard Worzel takes the reader through the process of changing their thinking from that of employee to entrepreneur. He helps the reader evaluate their worth and decide not just whether or not to go into business for themselves but to determine what type of business would best suit their personality. Many new businesses are destined to fail, and Worzel covers various pitfalls that could assail vulnerable new businesses. Written in a light, easy-reading style The Only Secure Job will soon be the bible of employees and entrepreneurs alike.

  
  
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  January 1997

  The Next Twenty Years of Your Life

  According to The Next Twenty Years of Your Life, our future is moving into a society of more diversity and more extremes, but we can influence our own lives. The book shows how we each can apply thought, action, commitment, and compassion to prevent the erosion of the social values we cherish.