It’s quite possible that the market is in a pre-recessionary environment. Or, according to the antiquated definition of recession, we might already be experiencing one. We could also be in a pre-depressionary situation, or even a pre-revolutionary environment.

Regardless, we’re about to experience something – there’s little doubt about that.

There are at least four primary drivers of marketplace change, or marketplace drift: Economics, Politics, Demographics, and Technology. Each one of these domains is experiencing major, if not radical, change. In the US, if not globally, our political systems are shaky, unreliable, and untrustworthy. Economically, our debt to GDP ratios are off the charts, literally. Economic inequality is at extremes. Technologically, advances in AI, robotics, and applications are opening up massive new space of possibilities to innovate and crushing industries and professions simultaneously. Demographically, business professional’s are experiencing radical transformations in how they grow income, build wealth, and prepare (or not) for retirement.

Other drivers of marketplace drift include cultural norms, social expectations, religion and spirituality, and family dynamics.

It’s safe to say that most domains of marketplace drift are experiencing massive change. Innovation drives much of this change as humans grasp for new ways to live, work, play, and worship. Much of this change has been and continues to be driven by computers and other associated technologies. In my opinion, we’re still in the early stages of this ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ with much of the spoils going to the early adopters.

As humans evolve their interpretation’s of these drifts, new and better solutions and unique innovations will surface.