Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - 6

CHASE

TRENDS, NOT FADS
To best determine their roles in the evolving transportation landscape, automotive companies
should take notes on parallel industries, track human behavior and invest in change, experts say
BY HANNAH LUTZ

T

wo years ago, Ford's captive finance
company piloted a shared lease
program that offered consumers,
especially younger ones who didn't
need a car full time, a lower lease payment
by splitting the lease with other people.
Lease sharing sounded like the wave of the
future. It was a hip, edgy idea that showed
Ford was willing to reimagine car ownership.
But in less than a year, the pilot had closed.
All companies want to be relevant as new
technology and ownership models emerge,
said Sheryl Connelly, manager of global
consumer trends and futuring at Ford
Motor Co.
"Understanding what's happening and
why it's happening and where it might be
going is a useful tool for everybody," especially automakers that typically have a production schedule of three years, she said.
Everyone at auto companies, not just
the futurists, must have a strategy that will
meet the demands of future customers.
"That's the nature of the cycle plan," she
said. "The danger is if you were to follow a
fad, fads come and go. They'll be obsolete
by the time you are able to execute it."
Trends, with often slow-moving evolutions, Connelly said, "cause society as a

6

shift * may 2018

whole to rethink their values."
If automakers don't want to go the way of
the dinosaurs, they will need to identify and
capitalize on trends in transportation, technology and retail.
But figuring out which changes are trends
worth following, and which shifts are mere
fads, can be expensive and time consuming.
So how can companies figure it out without
wasting resources? Experts say the industry
needs to focus on parallel industries, tracking
human behavior and investing in the change.

PULSE OF BEHAVIOR

Human behavior often helps distinguish
the new ideas that will stick from those
that will fade.
Rohit Bhargava, author and founder of
Non-Obvious Company, which trains businesses on innovation and strategy, pointed
to one generational difference affecting
business: Older generations valued material things, whereas many millennials value
experiences. Now that many baby boomers
are trying to downsize, many struggle to
find homes for the valuables they've accumulated, he said.
"Their kids don't want their stuff," Bhargava
said. "They have stuff like Lladro figurines

"

You look at
trends and say,
'This could go
this way or that
way. How ready
are we?'
- Sheryl

"

Connelly, Ford



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018

Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018
Contents
From the Editor
Q&A
Movable Type
Trend Spotting
Think Like a Disrupter
New Motor City?
Negative Space
Battlegrounds
Old Problems
Last Mile
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - Intro
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - Contents
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - From the Editor
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - Q&A
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - Movable Type
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - Trend Spotting
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - 7
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - 8
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - 9
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - Think Like a Disrupter
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - 11
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - New Motor City?
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - 13
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - Negative Space
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - 15
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - 16
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - 17
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - Battlegrounds
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - 19
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - 20
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - 21
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - Old Problems
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - Last Mile
Shift Magazine - Issue 1 2018 - Cover4
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