The future is a hotter topic than ever. We at WEB have been writing and lecturing about the emerging Virtual Economy for over 5 years, preparing our clients to see the fundamental shifts it is ushering in regarding value propositions, product and service offerings, social and political trends, and technological advances. Now that the economy appears somewhat robust, we see many more executives looking for resources to help them prepare for a very different world to come. Our business has benefited by that, and aside from an increase in our consulting work, in the first third of this year I have headed out for many interesting talks.

It began in January, working in Abu Dhabi for the Department of Economic Development, helping the senior leadership of the Dept. realize their strategic vision for the country. Then off to Davos, to keynote the Financial Times opening dinner for the world Economic forum. In February, I was the closing speaker at the Imagine Solutions Conference in Naples, Florida, which is a new TED-like conference developed by the Searching For Solutions Institute.  A few other trips later, and I was not only keynoting the first WBENC (Women Business Enterprise National Council) Salute and summit, but running many of their other sessions there in D.C. as well.  Over the next month, I will be doing a number of talks, including a guest lecture at the U.S. Army War College, the keynote for the Global Spa Summit in Istanbul, and the keynote for the WLE (Women’s Leadership Exchange) Virtual Summit. And then, on June 23rd, I will be honored by NOW NYC (the largest NOW chapter in the country) with their 2010 Woman of Power and Influence Award at their annual Gala here in New York. It’s too early to talk of all the things already on the calendar for the second half the year.

Of course, none of this includes our regular ongoing work with our clients, which continues to be exciting and groundbreaking. We are finding that our client companies are more eager than ever to move on with their challenges and opportunities, and to tap our understanding of the forces that will change their future. We all love the work we do, and now that we have harnessed multiple forms of communication with all of you, we expect that you will be hearing all kinds of interesting things from us in the months to come. Jared Weiner and Erica Orange are taking the lead in bringing our work to life for you, and I hope you are enjoying their blogs, tweets, and enhanced website offerings. Arnold Brown and I are excited about having this new generation of leadership in WEB, and the feedback from many of you so far has been wonderful.

Please remember that despite all the gloom and doom in the world (and much of it is warranted), there is  till a lot of good going on. The world and all of its aspects are fundamentally changing. And the new opportunities for all of us, as enterprises, regions, organizations and individuals, only multiply with time. Getting on with the business of life is sometimes difficult, but always rewarding. It’s all part of the journey into tomorrow. As we always say, the future will happen with or without you. So join us in trying to make it a better place to be.