SECOND WAVE
Apr 30, 2025
Author
John Hale
John Hale is The Strategy Guy. He works as a Speaker, Consultant, Visiting Professor and Author. He has taught in business schools, spoken at global conferences, educated hundreds of start-ups and advised some of the worldโs biggest firms.
“Should I book a futurist or strategy speaker? What’s the value of each?”
I replied, “Not all futurists are the same. And not all strategy speakers are the same. You want a speaker who connects with your audience and leaves them with something valuable they will remember and can apply long after your conference is over."
Broadly speaking, Futurists are great at keeping one eye on the next horizon.
Futurists spot trends. Strategists shape them.
If your audience is out of touch with what’s happening in the world or overwhelmed by the noise, then a good futurist can be invaluable. A futurist will help your people make sense of what’s next.
But if your audience already senses their industry well, a strategist will add more value. Helping your people act with intent.
There can be a big difference between watching the future and making it.
It’s the difference between observation and prediction or creation and ownership.
Some futurists suggest that the world is something that happens ‘to us’. A series of inevitable waves.
Strategists? The best strategists understand the world also happens ‘by us’ and ‘through us. They empower clients to act accordingly and to wait for the second wave.
As I wrote in The Strategy Book, my mate Mario and I learned this lesson on long, lonely roads out west in NSW. We’d slow down for the kangaroos crowding the road at dusk. But when an emu ran across, we hit the brakes—hard.
Why? Because emus travel in pairs. And experience had taught us: if we could only see one, the second emu would be coming fast, and often out of nowhere.
This idea of the second wave speaks to both the future and to strategy.
The first wave of technology grabs the headlines. That’s where the hype goes—and the risk capital. Only one or two early players survive.
But the second wave? That’s where the real opportunity lies.
Self-driving cars were hyped back in 2014. Everyone overestimated how fast they’d arrive.
Yet here we are, a decade later—and they’re finally reshaping highways, cities, and whole industries.
The second wave is
> Quieter
> Deeper
> And far more consequential
If you’re not paying attention, it’s the one that sneaks up on you when you’ve stopped looking.
That’s why strategists don’t just watch for signals, waves and trends.
They ensure clients build the capabilities needed to ride the second wave as it rolls in.
Strategists help their clients ask:
> How predictable is our industry, really?
> How adaptable are our customers?
> What strategic posture makes sense now?
A futurist can help you see the future.
A strategist can help you win.
Because the future doesn’t belong to those who speculate.
It belongs to those who act.
#StrategicLeadership #TheSecondWave #FutureByDesign