Trend Leader: Joanna Feeley on The Importance of Future Thinking

Being able to prompt quality conversations about the future and help organisations adapt to change will be among the most desirable leadership qualities over the next decade. Trend forecasting is an essential, in-demand skill and is being woven into corporate decision-making. Trend forecasting isn’t just about predicting market directions – it’s about creating a preferred future that aligns with your audience’s deepest values and aspirations. 

To mark the launch of Trend Leader, our founder and CEO Joanna Feeley shares the inspiration behind her first book. Discover who this book is for, why she wrote it, and how it empowers creative leaders to confidently implement trends. 

Why did I write Trend Leader? 

Working with some of the world’s most successful brands and retailers on how they can best anticipate change led me to develop a series of models and methodologies over the years, and I wanted to capture these in a toolkit. As I was gathering them together and evaluating the best practice I’ve seen in over 27 years of working as a trend forecaster and foresight practitioner, I thought it would be great to pull them into a book to be able to share more broadly.

The book is based on my experience advising global brands and the best practice I see in the most progressive businesses. I also conducted behavioural studies and interviews to better understand what unifies the best trend leaders working inside some of the biggest corporations today.

 I extracted these into 6 guiding principles, which I explore in detail throughout Trend Leader. 

What is a Trend?

There are multiple definitions of a trend, but in its simplest form, a trend is an expression of change. The way we live our lives, the choices we make, the things we are drawn to – whether that’s a certain make of car or a blanket in a new colour – are all anticipated and prepared for years in advance by the brands and retailers we buy from. In fact, it goes much deeper than that: the future is actively and formally planned for by the policy makers who shape our society, and the culture makers who curate the exhibitions and films we’ll see in two, five or ten years’ time.  

A strong grasp of future trends enables brands and organisations to better understand what their consumer will do next, so they can make more informed decisions in the here and now. 

What is a Trend Leader? 

A trend leader is someone making decisions about product or messaging, balancing commercial success with a deep understanding of the consumer and how they are changing.

As far as I’m aware, there is no specific job title ‘trend leader’. It’s a term I use to describe people who ascend into a role in which they are responsible for trends, usually while working in a management position in design, product development, brand management, marketing or consumer research. 

A trend leader works to an extended time horizon and is responsible for building a picture of what will impact and influence their business in two to five years’ time, or sometimes longer. Their job is to create the right environment where trends can be identified, discussed and adopted in an organised and timely manner.

Using Trends to Lead Positive Change 

My clients are trend leaders in some of the world’s biggest companies and have been responsible for creating significant change. The results of their decisions ripple out and have the power to challenge societal norms, change attitudes, create new values, influence customers’ emotions and shift their behaviours.  

One decision signed off by a trend leader can make the world a better – or worse – place. In a large corporate brand, you have the opportunity to put a trend into the hands of millions of customers and the capacity to be able to influence whole swathes of society. The compound impact of your decision-making is huge. 

Ready to start your Trend Leader journey? 

If you don’t know where to begin introducing trends to an organisation that is not yet adopting them, Trend Leader is for you. Purchase from Amazon here to start your journey.