Microtrends

The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes

By: Mark J. Penn, E. Kinney Zalesne

Narrated by: Brett Barry

Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

The adviser to Senator Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, and President Bill Clinton proves that small is big by identifying 75 hidden-in-plain-sight trends that are moving America, revealing that the nation is no longer a melting pot but a collection of communities with many individual tastes and lifestyles.

In 2000, The Tipping Point entered the lexicon.

Now, in Microtrends, one of the most respected and sought-after analysts in the world articulates a new way of understanding how we live.

Mark Penn, the man who identified "Soccer Moms" as a crucial constituency in President Clinton's 1996 reelection campaign, is known for his ability to detect relatively small patterns of behavior in our culture - microtrends that are wielding great influence on business, politics, and our personal lives. Only one percent of the public, or three million people, is enough to launch a business or social movement.

Relying on some of the best data available, Penn identifies more than 70 microtrends in religion, leisure, politics, and family life that are changing the way we live. Among them:

• People are retiring but continuing to work
• Teens are turning to knitting
• Geeks are becoming the most sociable people around
• Women are driving technology
• Dads are older than ever and spending more time with their kids than in the past

You have to look at and interpret data to know what's going on, and that conventional wisdom is almost always wrong and outdated. The nation is no longer a melting pot. We are a collection of communities with many individual tastes and lifestyles. Those who recognize these emerging groups will prosper.

Penn shows listeners how to identify the microtrends that can transform a business enterprise, tip an election, spark a movement, or change your life. In today's world, small groups can have the biggest impact.

©2007 Mark Penn (P)2007 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"The ideas in his book will help you see the world in a new way." (Bill Clinton)

"Mark Penn has a keen mind and a fascinating sense of what makes America tick, and you see it on every page of Microtrends." (Bill Gates In 1982, readers discovered Megatrends)

Great Insights into the future

I love this book! It allowed me to see the forest instead of the trees!

And the author is right. I see myself in some of the weird and funny trends that the book describes.

loved it

I've been living overseas for the past 8 years. This book brought me up-to-date on some interesting trends emerging in the US. The writing is lively, accessible and the narrator does it justice.

Mindblowing 👌🏼

In this book Pollster Mark Pen claims that the future is not shaped by society’s broad forces but by the quiet changes within narrow slices of the population. This book was so much fun to read for the geek inside me & for anyone interested in opinion polls. I am fascinated by the analysis of these counterintuitive poll opinions & their impact on economy and sociology.

Facinating perspective

Microtrends takes a unique and optimistic perspective on branding in light of media changes. The concept that media brand images are now actively shaped by buyers in both the intended and unintended markets have a radical impact on the way we think about marketing. Penn's self-created buzz-word merketing is rather trite but OK to make his points. In addition, the work get rather thick at points but their seems to be a method to the madness.

I love statistics...

Along the same lines as Freakonomics, this book explores new conclusions based on statistical data. Although you may not agree with the author on all points, he presented many arguments that broadened my perspective. I would recommend it to entrepreneurs and marketing directors.

Fascinating

I found this book absolutely fascinating. It is amazing how our perceptions of reality can be so far from the "facts" revealed through statistical analysis. This book will change the way you view the world. Great stuff.

cocktail chatter sociology

This book had great potential and presents interesting observations of social trends. However, there is very little depth and little support for his analysis of these trends. The end result is a book of 'factoids' of the type you might find in the small boxes of USA Today...interesting tidbits but there is no way to tell personal impressions from actual sociological trends. In the audo version, there are no references noted so you can't easily confirm or followup on any trend you might find interesting. Starts off interesting but if you want any depth at all into one of the subjects, you will be frustrated. I made myself listen to the second half of the book but my enthusiasm and interest were virtually gone by the time I got to the end.

Microinfluence...

This book alternates between facinating and infuriating. The author's thesis that America is hardly a melting pot, but a pointalism painting that must be examined on the small-scale to be appreciated as a whole is rivetting and enlightening. However, the slightest knowledge of statistics, research methods, or polling methods makes his use of numbers and polls down-right frustrating. He never really properly addresses the problems of bias, skewed results, or problems with the ways questions are formed. And while many of his assertions are interesting, some of them are too hastily made (and many are down-right silly), which distracts from the overall message. However, by ignoring his playing fast and loose with numbers and rush to hypothesis, it's a great book. In other words, if your looking for an interesting introduction to polling, go for this book. Most people can find themselves in at least one of the categories-I'm a bit of an oddball so I was suprised that I was only in the "Upscaled Tattoo" group (in which he makes NUMEROUS errors in assumptions-the Macdonaldization of tattooing is a terrible idea). This helps support his overall thesis-we can't insist everyone be "American," when there are so many ways to be American. Plus, he points out many things that are easy to overlook. For instance, railing against illegal immigrants may not be a great idea for politicians because, even though the aliens can't vote, chances are they have family and friends in country who CAN.

But if you want serious numbers and accounting of actual trends in America, this book will leave you wanting.

Lots of Fun

The central thesis of the book is that the same transformations that are creating long-tail markets, (e.g., NextFlix and Amazon) are transforming societal behaviors. The importance of the mega-trend is radically diminished compared to the shear weight of all the micro-trends.

If you think a lot about market creation, entrepreneurial ventures, or politics you probably already have some familiarity with this thesis. In this case you probably need to read this book simply because it’s the defining work on the subject. However, if this is your situation you’ll almost certainly find the book a lot of fun. Of the 75 micro-trends I was only unaware of 2, yet the book added something to my understanding of all but 3 or 4. He has access to a powerful empirical data collection machine that is not available to most readers; this allows him to add content to most of the implicit discussions.

If you’re not already into trend analysis then this is a very nice introduction by example. He talks about 75 specific micro-trends, which collectively are a compelling case for his point-of-view. The result is a gentler, less superficial introduction to an important topic.

Many of the trends excite political passions. He attempts to be fair, but with so many micro-trends the odds of a reader being hyper-sensitive to at least one of the topics seems modestly high. In addition form a more traditional perspective many of the micro-trends are just funny. His attempts to point out the humor in many of these micro-trends work less well and are occasionally annoying. My advice, however, is maintain a thick skin; the book is worth it.

Exceeded expectations

Fascinating. What a great window into all the little pieces that make up American society. Every entrepreneur (political, social or business) should read this book - as well as anyone with a general interest in who we are and where we are going. The recording is also high quality and engaging.