A Series of Books about the most disruptive decade in history.



The 2020s will be the most disruptive decade in history. There will be more change in these 10 years than any 30-50 year period in the past. This became clear to me several years ago. As a result, I chose to write a series of short, high level books, each of which can be read in 3-4 hours. Each book will be on a different dynamic that will trigger disruption and massive change.

Having spoken to or advised at least 4,000 CEOs ,business owners and C-level executives I know that in this era of an attention economy where time is our most precious resource that 300+ page non-fiction books are difficult to find time to read. Each of these books will be targeted to be around 100 pages and will be priced inexpensively. I mention this because many readers of the first two books in the series have specifically thanked me for this; high level content that can be read in half a day.

The future is being created today, now, so that means that this series of books is truly the most practical and immediately of use books I have written. Please take a look at the books and find the one that resonates with you. My guidance would be to start with Book 1.

Lastly, all the keynotes and presentations I give are on this topic. The reception has been overwhelmingly positive. My email address is immediately below. Thank you!

—David Houle | david@davidhoule.com

The Books

Moving to a Finite Earth Economy – Crew Manual

This is a book that, in an all-inclusive way, outlines what humanity needs to do to successfully address the root cause of our climate emergency. When it comes to climate change, the past doesn't equal the future. What is happening now has never occurred during humanity’s time on Earth. Who better than a futurist to address this? Futurist David Houle immersed himself in all facets of global warming and climate change over the past four years. He spent two years researching, writing and co-authoring "This Spaceship Earth". What he learned in that process prompted Houle to cofound a global nonprofit: thispaceshipearth.org. As a result, Houle was invited to speak at the EPA, at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and at numerous other environmental gatherings and conferences around the globe. Houle wrote, "It is my fundamental responsibility as a futurist to be right about the future, and to offer possible suggestions on how best to navigate it. This book does just that for the existential threat that is climate change." This is NOT another long, dense, difficult to read book arguing about whether climate change is real. It accepts that it is, that it is caused by us, and sets forth what we must do. The need for URGENCY is reinforced throughout the book. We have until 2030 and we haven't a minute to waste. Houle and his co-author, Bob Leonard, make the case for humanity to move to a Finite Earth Economy as fully as possible by 2030. They discuss the new metrics and technologies needed to advance from here to there. Houle and Leonard provide clarity as to what must be done at all levels of humanity from global corporations and nation state governments all the way to individuals. This book also deals with two major issues rarely covered in climate change literature: population management and strategic retreat. This book answers the question: “What can we do to successfully prevail over climate change?” The time for dealing with denial is over. Now is the time to focus on solutions… solutions that impact every facet of modern life. For those of you who are ready to do something about climate change, this book will help you walk your talk. “Moving to a Finite Earth Economy” is a clear-eyed look at what’s coming, and what we can do about it.



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The 2020s: The Most Disruptive Decade in History

"The 2020s: The Most Disruptive Decade in History" is an introduction to the decade that will have more change, transformation, creative destruction and disruption than any 30 year period in history. The first in a series of short books about the decade this 100 page book is a fast read of high level concepts and overarching macro-trends that will define the next ten years.

 

Consider it a high-level guidebook for this new decade. It will be hard to put down, except to digest the big concepts and insights that you will have" This little book will be considered essential reading for anyone fearful, threatened for excited by the massive changes rushing toward us all.



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2021 A Look Ahead Acceleration / Collapse / Rebound

Forecasts and Predictions for 2021 is a sub-series of “The 2020s: The Most Disruptive Decade in History” by David Houle, the CEO’s Futurist. “2021: A Look Ahead” focuses on the trends that will carry over from 2020. The changing calendar does not wipe the slate clean… trends and historic forces continue through time. Houle makes predictions concerning what to expect this year and what will happen in the larger context of the decade. Also included is a chapter on the leadership style changes required for organizations of all types to survive and thrive in this most disruptive, volatile and complex era.



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The 2020s: A Decade of Cognitive Dissonance

In this new book, Houle examines the state of being that people are currently in, and the state of the world that will keep them in cognitive dissonance for the remainder of the 2020s. Cognitive dissonance happens when one's beliefs are no longer in alignment with reality. COVID-19 is the first in a number of disruptions that will force people to live with multiple, discordant realities as they navigate life and work.

 

This book reviews earlier eras of massive change. Those earlier eras ranged in length from 50 to 75 years. Houle argues that we will experience just as much creative destruction, volatility and disruption in just the next 10 years. This book provides insight into how to minimize stress and strife, and live effectively, during a constant state of cognitive dissonance.



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The 2020s: The Golden Age of Design and Redesign

This book calls for initiating a golden age of design and redesign for the 21st century. Humanity stands on the threshold of a new era that calls for nothing less. In this historically unprecedented decade of the 2020s, the trajectory of humanity for the next 50 years will be shaped. It can only be done with completely new guidelines of Planetary Systemic Design that Fathers and Houle set forward. The climate crisis, over population, artificial intelligence, the future of education, cities, transportation, energy, new forms of reality all require that humanity let go of past thinking and inadequate design principles to fully redesign what exists and design anew nothing less than what humanity must do now! This book will trigger a complete transformation of design thinking for our collective future.

 

“As the president of a pre-eminent art and design college, I have long stated that creativity, design, and design thinking are becoming ever more important in the 21st century. Indeed, I feel these attributes will become the “oil” of the future. This book is a must read because it demonstrates why this is so by showing how design thinking and design are the primary way for humanity to move forward with any chance of fashioning a sustainable and worthy future.

 

I firmly believe that this book may be one of the most significant books about the importance of design published in this century. With the massive changes and disruptions occurring today, design, creative thinking, and redesign are at the core for humanity to have a prosperous future. That’s why this book is a must read not just for designers but also anyone involved in charting our collective future.”

Dr. Larry Thompson President of the Ringling College of Arts + Design



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A Look Into 2022

In this second annual "A Look Into" series futurist David Houle delivers forecasts for 2022 in a number of categories. Houle goes beyond just forecasts to provide the reasoning behind each forecast and the trends that each one is manifesting. In addition, Houle provides the reader with two chapters briefly describing the big dynamics and overarching trends of the Shift Age and the 2020s decade.


Looking back to "A Look Into 2021- Acceleration / Collapse /. Rebound" approximately 80% of all forecasts made for 2021 proved accurate.


" This decade is the most disruptive decade in human history. The amount of change in the decade will be greater than any 30-40 year period in history. The amount of change is therefore greater than ever, leaving people disoriented and confused. In addition, there is a lot of fear and anxiety about what is going to happen, My goal with this $.99 eBook is to give people a look into what will happen this year, provide context for why it will happen, and then frame these forecasts within the macro-trends that are shaping humanity and civilization into the 2030's" said futurist Houle.



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THE AUTHOR

David Houle

Futurist > Speaker > Thinker

David Houle is a futurist, thinker and keynote speaker. He has keynoted numerous conferences across the country and internationally. In the last fourteen years he has delivered 1200+ presentations and keynotes on 6 continents and 16 countries. He is regularly invited to speak at corporate management retreats.

Houle won a Speaker of the Year award from Vistage International, the leading organization of CEOs in the world. He is often called the “CEOs’ futurist” having spoken to or advised 4,000+ CEOs and business owners in the past eleven years.

Houle spent more than 20 years in media and entertainment. He has worked at NBC, CBS and was part of the senior executive team that launched MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1 and CNN Headline News.

Houle is the author of 12 books, all about the future.  His first  book, “The Shift Age” published in late 2007, became influential in business sectors globally.    Houle has delivered speeches to scientists at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden CO, at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and at Burning Man.

Houle is Futurist in Residence and Guest Lecturer at the Ringling College of Art + Design in Sarasota, Florida.   He is Honorary President and Futurist of the Future Business School of China. He is a Founding Member and Managing Partner  of The Sarasota Institute- A 21st Century Think Tank.



Visit davidhoule.com to learn more.

Videos

Reviews

Reviews

  • “As the president of a pre-eminent art and design college, I have long stated that creativity, design, and design thinking are becoming ever more important in the 21st century. Indeed, I feel these attributes will become the “oil” of the future. This book is a must read because it demonstrates why this is so by showing how design thinking and design are the primary way for humanity to move forward with any chance of fashioning a sustainable and worthy future.   I firmly believe that this book may be one of the most significant books about the importance of design published in this century. With the massive changes and disruptions occurring today, design, creative thinking, and redesign are at the core for humanity to have a prosperous future. That’s why this book is a must read not just for designers but also anyone involved in charting our collective future.”

     

    — Dr. Larry R. Thompson, President of Ringling College of Art and Design

  • “Moving to a Finite Earth Economy – Crew Manual”  “This is a must-read book about coming major disruptions in Capitalism that will rival the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in both impact and opportunity. Highly recommended FOR ALL AGES OF READERS. In my opinion, two of the biggest things humanity faces today are climate change and a need to reinvent Capitalism. This book provides a road-map for both that is urgently needed. A must read!

     

    — Bill Johnston, Former President of the NYSE, retired investor, CONCERNED grandfather

  • No futurist has been as focused on the climate crisis for as long or loudly as David Houle. The future David envisioned decades ago is now a reality that most of the world understands. The clear and present global danger demands that we shift from advocacy to activism. As David writes, “We can’t flee… there’s nowhere to go. Our fight is here and now.” Moving to a Finite Earth Economy shares practical guidance for both individual and societal action. His innovative and brilliant solutions empower us to face down the existential threat of climate crisis through the prism of reinventing Capitalism. If you know someone, and we all do, who needs to move from advocacy to action on climate justice, share David’s book and advice.

     

    — Jack Myers, Founder MyersBizNet/MediaVillage

  • “In Moving to a Finite Earth Economy – Crew Manual, Futurist David Houle takes a bold and courageous step to define the climate crisis not as one future trend of interest, but as the defining challenge of this moment in human history. We have 10 years to act, he argues. This trilogy offers a simple, clear, and prescriptive call to fight. It will challenge your complacency and any comfortable hope you may harbor that everything will work out fine through market forces or gradualism. Few thought leaders, and even fewer Futurists, are willing to lay it on the line like Houle does in this book. It may change everything.”

     

    — Glen Hiemstra, futurist, author, speaker and founder of www.futurist.com

  • "What would 21C design look like if we actively designed for a living planet for future generations? If we uncoupled the link between design and consumption that is killing all our futures? This fascinating new handbook introduces Planetary Systemic Design and asks you, the reader, to join the debate. The time is now. Read it and act. Our survival might depend on it."

     

    — Jane Davidson - author of #futuregen: lessons from a small country and Design Economy 2021 Ambassador

  • “This book took me to the uncomfortable position of staring at the apocalypse that currently faces society and in particular the role that Design has played in getting us here. I am completely convinced that design has an ever more intriguing role to play in finding solutions to the mess we find ourselves. Although given this past, perhaps designers have no right to be in charge of this process, what I am convinced about and, I am delighted that the authors agree with me, is that curiosity, observation, and playful creative obsession is something many of us lose though education and something we must rediscover if we are to find workable solutions that benefit people and planet. The 2020 is the Golden age of Creative problem solving through play.”

     

    — Lawrence (Murf) Murphy: Chief of Global Design GE Healthcare (retired)

  • “There has been a resounding silence in the field ever since Victor Papanek blew the whistle on design’s blatant complicity in accelerating the environmental crisis and exporting consumerist culture to every corner of the world. David and James are perhaps the first in over fifty years to directly respond to his early warnings, with an entirely revamped identity and purpose to lead us out of the mess we are in.”

     

    — Arvind Lodaya: Professor of Design and Innovation Strategist, India

  • “As a fellow futurist, I have been speaking about humanity's choices at these fork-in-the-road moments for the past decade. Now, a strange and confusing kind of 'golden age' is unfolding before us – but we must make the right decisions, today. If we want to design a 'good future' for all of us, David's and James’ book is an essential 'must-read' guide, with valuable insights and prescient foresights”

     

    — Gerd Leonhard, Zurich- based global futurist

  • “As a college president I have had to manage massive amounts of change and expect that trend to continue in the years ahead. I recommend this book to anyone bracing for the disruptive decade of the 2020s.”

     

    — Carol F. Probstfeld, Ed.D. President, State College of Florida, Manatee/Sarasota

  • “David Houle has seen the future. He’s raced ahead of the rest of us on his ever-accelerating bike to show us how this coming decade will be more fraught with change than any two or three previous decades combined. Embrace the opportunities ahead! A must read.”

     

    — Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science-fiction writer

  • “It is hard to trace back when the degeneration of humanity in us or destruction of the environment began. What we call agricultural, industrial or information revolutions have along the way fed human arrogance and greed. As we stand at the cusp of post Covid future the book, ‘The 2020’s Golden Age of Design and Redesign’ by David Houle and James Fathers is a timely call for a counter revolution to restore sanity, balance and harmony through design. I see a new space for design emerging as I read this book. A design approach that is driven less by human craving for comfort and prosperity, and more by our natural instinct for ecological balance and curiosity for awakening of the conscience. This book is a manifesto for restoration of Mother Earth and conservation of her resources. It is a path forward for humans to secure our place in the evolutionary process and save us from extinction. It will provide direction to the students of design who are today seeking a career path with a purpose just as Design for the Real World by Victor Papanek gave to us when we were students.”

     

    — Uday Dandavate Co-Founder and CEO SonicRim Ltd: Global Design Research, San Francisco

    • Editorial Reviews

  • “As a college president I have had to manage massive amounts of change and expect that trend to continue in the years ahead. I really like this book as it focuses on how to position ourselves to successfully navigate change. I recommend it to anyone bracing for the disruptive decade of the 2020s"

     

    — Carol F. Probstfeld, Ed.D. President, State College of Florida, Manatee / Sarasota

  • Futurist David Houle’s book “The 2020s: A Decade of Cognitive Dissonance” encourages us to be open to a future decade that will challenge our attitudes and belief systems. David Houle’s insights of the future will take you from Cognitive Dissonance to Cognitive Consonance – showing a path to harmony of what the future could bring to help you adapt and build your future in the face of the Abnormal 20s that could become the Soaring 20s if put into practice.”

     

    — Doug Hohulin, 5G/6G, AV, XR Technologist & Futurist – Nokia Solution Architect

  • “David Houle has seen the future. He’s raced ahead of the rest of us on his ever-accelerating bike to show us how this coming decade will be more fraught with change than any two or three previous decades combined. Embrace the opportunities ahead! A must read.”

     

    — Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science-fiction writer

  • I have known David for more than 10 years.  During that entire time, he has been spot-on in his forecasts about the major events and trends that will happen. As the CEO of a leading health care organization, David always delivers information that gives us a competitive advantage.  This book is an introduction for all of us about the next ten years.  We all need to get ready and be prepared.  This book is a must read.

     

    — Jonathan Fleece, President & CEO, Stratum Health Systems and Tidewell Hospice

  • As we face unprecedented times at the start of this decade and the acceleration of technology continues its blistering pace, I worry for humanity that we are unprepared and lacking true leadership to meet the challenges before us.  Step 1 is to understand and get context to where we truly stand, what we are dealing with and what the trend lines show and what that means for us individually and collectively.  David Houle helps us gain this understanding better than anyone, through thought provoking, insightful and research-backed analysis.  This first installment of "The 2020s" series is mind blowing yet very matter of fact. What is most appealing is that David doesn't focus exclusively on information and problems, but provides digestible explanations as well as hopeful and practical prescriptions for humanity that anyone, including common citizens, organizations and government leaders, can implement.  To confidently 'Face the Future' as David articulates, the concepts and recommendations from this book ought to be in every crew member's arsenal.  I have been fortunate enough to be a direct beneficiary of David's wisdom, as he has mentored me directly for two decades now.

     

    — Arman Rousta, Founder of b.labs Ventures and The Polymath Project

  • I have had the privilege and pleasure of working with David Houle on The Sarasota Institute - A 21st Century Think Tank and have thoroughly enjoyed his eloquent and insightful writings and presentations. David has great6ly impressed me with his clarity of the shape of things to come in so many different areas. This book will help us develop a new mindset to approach the turbulent decade ahead.

     

    — Karen Holbrook, Regional Chancellor, University of South Florida, Sarasota-Bradenton

  • I've heard David Houle present to really sharp, forward-thinking audiences five  times and every time people had their minds expanded, including me!  He brings clarity to what is ahead and in this time of massive change, this book may well become a guidebook and tour guide for the coming decade. I would consider recommending this first book of his series to my clients. It's eye-opening to say the least

     

    — Donna Steinhorn, Executive, ADHD, Life Coach, donnasteinhorngroup.com

  • Futurist Houle's thought has been bold, provocative, and accurate.  This little book sets forth a high-level introduction to the creative destruction the 2020s will bring.  The current pandemic has only increased the urgency of this kind of thinking.  A must read!

     

    — Donal O’Shea, President, New College of Florida

  • David Houle is at the top of his game with this book.  I first heard him deliver a keynote last summer and had my mind opened up in a way that rarely happens at conferences.  In this book he clearly lays out, in 10 short chapters, all the big trends that will shape this new decade.  A guidebook for the future that I highly recommend.

     

    — Dr. Ivan Misner, NY Times Bestselling Author and Founder of BNI

  • In this first of a projected series of books about the 2020s, David Houle sets the stage for what looks to be a decade of unprecedented change.  A short and fast read this book should be considered as a guidebook for this new decade. Highly recommended!

     

    — James E. Duffy, Former President of the ABC Television Network, Former spokesperson with Barbara Bush for the Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation.

  • Houle is one of my favorite futurists. Take this provocative tour of this decade's boiling issues and hot solutions

     

    — Philip Kotler, S.C.Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing, Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

  • Houle makes a great case that this new decade will have major disruptions that will affect us all.  He lists the Age of Intelligence, the Age of Climate Change and the clear coming reality that both Capitalism and Democracy must be reinvented during the 2020s.  I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be ready and prepared for what is ahead.

     

    — Bill Johnston, Former President of the NYSE, and concerned grandfather

    • Podcasts

    https://www.12geniuses.com/12-geniuses-podcast/futurist-friday-with-david-houle
    https://www.12geniuses.com/12-geniuses-podcast/climate-change-s-mass-migration-with-david-houle
    https://theallianceparty.podbean.com/e/a-look-forward-with-futurist-david-houle/
    https://www.12geniuses.com/12-geniuses-podcast/the-future-of-humanity?rq=David%20Houle
    https://www.teamworksmedia.com/blog/uncategorized/futurist-david-houle-how-content-studio-executives-should-plan-for-future/
    https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ehlGJiPjlajrXXJoz2IkO
    https://open.spotify.com/episode/00NOFLUReLSRV8NPMmYk2Q
    https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/show/florida-matters/2020-09-08/florida-matters-covid-is-the-bike-with-the-training-wheels-for-this-decade
    https://www.creativepursuitspodcast.tv/episodes/the-transformational-2020s-with-futurist-david-houle-part-i
    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/transformational-2020s-futurist-david-houle-part-2/id1484886893?i=1000485584758
    https://wgnradio.com/bob-sirott/2020s-the-most-disruptive-decade-in-history/
    https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ehlGJiPjlajrXXJoz2IkO