Observing the Non-Obvious: How to Spot Trends Around You with Rohit Bhargava

Rohit Bhargava is on a mission to help everyone in the world become a non-obvious thinker. In this episode, he talks with us about how intentionality is the key to seeing the non-obvious and how he uses The Haystack Method to gather insights from the world. He also shared how he has become a speed-understander and the benefits that go with it.

In 2011, Rohit embarked on the annual task of documenting the digital trends of the year, which after a decade, culminated in his book on megatrends in 2021 #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of seven books including “Non-Obvious Megatrends: How to See What Others Miss and Predict the Future”. Rohit discusses with us how he analyses trends, not just on the superficial level, but digging deeper into the “why” question.

Our conversation with Rohit is full of compelling insights about the human condition, unique analysis of the world around us, and actionable tips on how to train yourself to observe with intention. You’ll also get a quick education in contemporary Latin music and some head-scratching about why He-Man ever became a superhero in the first place.

Two of Rohit’s books are currently being republished into new editions;

Books

Topics

6:37 Trends vs Fads

11:10 Haystack Method

13:18 Trends

19:15 Brave Enough to Change Your Mind

28:00 Non Obvious Brand

30:28 Spare Time

35:30 Rohit’s Inspiration

40:45 The Yellow Balloon Light Bulb

45:04 Naming

47:14 He-Man

Quotes

(6:37) …trend is something that implicates behavior, which is very topical for us. And whereas a fad is just usually a thing or a platform, but doesn’t always correlate to behavior.

(7:55) …a speed understander is someone who thinks about what to pay attention to as an end is intentional about what they choose not to pay attention to.

(10:55) …if you spend enough time gathering interesting, fascinating stories, instead of obsessing about why they’re interesting or fascinating in the moment, then later on, you can start to spot the patterns that you would never have otherwise seen.

(16:37) …being observant is not a skill you’re born with, or not born with. Being observant is a choice.

(19:45)…being persuadable requires You to rethink those things, those assumptions, those points of view that you have. And I think the only way that anyone can do that is by not letting themselves be defined by the stands that they have taken. Because the more you see a stand that you’ve taken, or a belief or something that you’ve put out in the world as core to your identity, the less likely you are to change.

(20:07) …the more you see a stand that you’ve taken, or a belief or something that you’ve put out in the world as core to your identity, the less likely you are to change.

Dan Hill – Episode 151: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/dan-hill-phd-on-the-facial-coding-of-trump-hendrix-prince-gretzky-and-the-beatles/

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