"One of the problems with MBA programs is that students are not asked to look ahead. At the Powertrak MBA program at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, we have addressed this issue through TRENDS. Students are assigned an industry and are asked to make a presentation on three questions: How do these trends affect the business environment in your industry? Using the five forces, who would be a winner, who would be a loser because of each trend? What are the implications for strategy?

Students love this assignment and there is always lively discussion and high level learning because of it."

"TRENDS gets my thinking out of the rut from the perspective driven by my job.  It helps me to be a more strategic, long-term thinker.”

--David Goldstein, Foxworth Galbraith

"TRENDS keeps me up to date with the latest issues.  I can either read or listen to the information.”

--Fernando Barrera, West Hills, CA

"I was preparing for a speech in Boston and TRENDS gave me lots of great reference material that helped me launch my topic.”

--Bradford Nelson, Advanced Communication Techniques

"The information provided in TRENDS is relevant to me both professionally and personally.  It has provided insights and perspectives that have allowed me to make better decisions."

--Doris Maitland, Fort Myers, FL

"I have a long commute, and I appreciate the short interesting synopsis of issues in TRENDS.  I've used information from TRENDS in my career." 

--Eugene O'Bryan

 “TRENDS offers a good analysis of current trends.  It has helped me make more informed investment choices."

--Daniel Socoloff, Brooklyn, NY

"After the upheavals of the past few years, we’re all looking for clear insights into the future.  It’s crucial to strip away the “fog” and see what really happening and, more importantly, where it’s likely to lead.  That’s why I listen to TRENDS every month and recommend it to all my clients.  In fact, a typical issue is so rich in ideas and facts that I usually listen to it several times and highlight the printed transcript to make sure I comprehend all the ideas that are relevant to me and my clients.”

--Carolyn Thur, Senior Vice President, UBS Paine Webber

“Never in my career have I seen things change so quickly and completely.  As a result, I found my career, my investments and my business getting repeatedly blindsided.  That’s until I started listening to TRENDS.  Now, I see the big picture more clearly and I know their implications  before my competitors do.  – As an added bonus, the insights garnered from TRENDS have helped me sound like the smartest and best informed guy in the room.”

--Alan Mitchell, President, Mitchell Productions

“Business and investing have been tough for the past several years.  However, since I’ve been listening to TRENDS, I’ve become increasingly aware of the major themes behind the changing environment.  It’s given me ideas and insights to make bold investment and business decisions.  TRENDS has paid for itself hundreds of times over.

--Ron Baade, CEO, RBI International Trading Company

“As a banker, I’m always trying to understand the long-term trends that are effecting my business and those of my clients.  I listen to TRENDS as I commute to work.  It turns that wasted time in the car into the most valuable part of my day.  There is truly nothing else like it.”

--John Hutchison, Chairman, Iroquois State Farmers Bank and President, Illinois Bankers Association