South Africa, Jan. 6 -- I've worn several hats over the course of my career, but the one that people most associate me with is 'trendspotter'. I've been an observer and decoder of trends since childhood. It's who I am. I recognised long ago that I'm incapable of shopping for groceries, people-watching at the airport or surfing the web without instinctively looking for patterns.

I am endlessly fascinated by people's experiences and motivations, and I love piecing together clues to figure out what's going to be next.

This tendency has been helpful to my clients and employers. In the knowledge economy, every glimpse of the probable future carries monetary value. A major food manufacturer that didn't realise in time that the Atkins bubble w...