Looking ahead at the specific industry of which your service business or professional practice is a part is also important.  To determine which trends are significant to you, explore the marketing elements of your industry.  These include the following: general changes in your industry, changes in services in your field, pricing changes, changes in the way your service is distributed or delivered to your clients, possible changes in promotion, changes in the clients themselves.

-Jean Withers and Carol Vipperman, Marketing Your Service

Part of looking ahead as a service provider is asking a simple but compelling question:  What is happening that will affect my service business in the next year?  From the information you collect in answer to this question, you can make assumptions that will help you anticipate the short-term future.  The question should be asked about the following outside influences: the status of the local or national economy, a threatened strike in a related industry, the inflation rate, the status of major competitors, the economic well-being of a major industry or your client in that industry, a major technological innovation that may be either expected or unexpected.

- Jean Withers and Carol Vipperman, Marketing Your Service

Flight attendants in the United States have asked for special federal legislation, called ‘air rage laws,’ to protect them against unruly passengers.  It could be that airlines (both management and cabin crew) need to look at how to make the whole flying experience more friendly, rather than blame their customers of which it is estimated only one in three million engage in air rage.

- Janelle Barlow and Dianna Maul, Emotional Value

"Go with your gut"- we've all heard this advice before, but do we regularly apply it, or do you talk yourself into sorting through all of the facts so you can follow your head?  We all know the battle between determining when to use our head or to let our gut lead the way.  You are stuck between two choices, need to make a decision, or are at cross roads, and you desperately wish you had a crystal ball or psychic intuition to tell you what to do.  Following our instincts so we can make better, smarter decisions, which lets your experience and expertise guide you, can help you to excel the success of your career and business.  Did you know that about 50% of big decisions in businesses end with the gut?

Surely you have heard Oprah talk and write about "being your best self," "living your best life," and "living in the moment."  Once I had my kids, I found that these messages meant so much more because I found myself constantly being swallowed by the chaos of balancing work and family, and I was not appreciating each moment as it was occurring.  Like many working parents, I continue to struggle with my balance and worrying about where I am falling short rather than focusing on what I am excelling at and what I did to the "best" of my ability that day.  Now how do these messages of being our "best self" in our "best life" while being fully present in the moment apply to how you do business and work each day?  I firmly believe that how you show up at work directly reflects who you are and how you live, so Oprah's lessons are extremely important for your professional life and in your business.

The [Apple Store/iPhone] television ads are effective because in thirty seconds they paint a picture of a problem and offer a solution.  For example, in one ad for an app called Shazam, a narrator says, "You know when you don't know what song is playing and it's driving you crazy?  With the Shazam app, you just hold up your iPhone to the song, and within seconds you will know who sings it and how to get it."  The taglines are always the same: "That the iPhone.  Solving life's dilemmas one app at a time."  The ads prove that establishing problems and offering solutions need not be time consuming.  Don't spend too much time getting to the punch line.

- Carmine Gallo, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs