These words are at the beginning of an article on thefastcompany web site: Demographics - The Population Hourglass. This article should be mandatory reading for all business executives.
It's the futurist's first rule: You can't understand the future without demographics.
The composition of a society--whether its citizens are old or young, prosperous or declining, rural or urban--shapes every aspect of civic life, from politics, economics, and culture to the kinds of products, services, and businesses that are likely to succeed or fail.
Demographics isn't destiny, but it's close.
Our leaders, as a rule, completely miss the boat on demographics and how it informs their own organizations, customers, and constituencies. And it's not hard to see why: Most executives aren't trained to make sense of demographic forecasts (there are no courses on demographics at Harvard Business School or Wharton, for example), and the field itself does little to raise its own profile.
Demographers frequently come across like accountants--without all that sex appeal.
I love the last sentence. Dick Stroud
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