We’ve all grown up hearing the idiom, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” But can you always convey everything you need to with a single photograph or drawing? Of course not. Pictures are great communication tools, but conveyance of some ideas requires the additional level of precision or subtlety that only the written or spoken word provides.

Bold predictions for the future have long captured American imaginations, and there’s no shortage of people willing to share their opinions, especially at this time of year. Serious prognostications are needed to help formulate future strategies in government, business, education, and other endeavors. On the other hand, some predictions are less earnest, designed to entertain or excite the imagination.

Everyone absolutely loves the end of the year, right? After all, holiday songs play non-stop on the radio. With our non-existent free time, we sprint through stores and stand in line to purchase gifts we neglected to order online by the final shipping date. There are turkeys to cook and parties to attend. And with a little luck, you can run into a visiting in-law as you both approach the bathroom in the middle of the night. Plus, just to keep it interesting, at work there are year-end reports to run, quotas to meet, and customers screaming that their accounts must be handled by the end of the year.

Would you consider yourself a trendsetter, always wearing the latest fashions or the newest hair styles? Or perhaps an innovator or early adopter, always surfing at the front end of the technology wave. If so, congratulations – you’re in rarefied air. But most of us need a little coaxing (or even convincing).

According to Merriam-Webster, “life cycle” was first used in 1855 to refer to the “series of stages in form and functional activity through which an organism passes between successive recurrences of a specified primary stage.” Wow, that’s certainly a mouthful. The point is that the term clearly originated to describe the stages of an organic life form.

People sometimes complain that we live in a world of instant gratification, where patience is no longer a virtue. But it’s probably closer to the truth to say that today’s managers and employees work in a time that has been profoundly affected by technological innovation. Where we once sent letters or faxes, and checked our messages when we returned to the office, we’re now accessible 24/7 by computers and mobile devices.

Some people might view a discussion of the insurance industry as the perfect antidote for insomnia – but not us. While we appreciate that reading and enjoying an insurance policy from cover to cover might be an acquired taste, all forms of contracting give us cause for excitement. Plus, it would be a huge mistake for anyone to overlook the insurance industry’s importance to and corresponding influence on the American economy.

The rate of technological growth around the world is truly transformative, and shows no signs of slowing down. According to Moore’s law, computer processing speed will double every 18 months, which in turn will result in greater capabilities for associated technologies. No one knows if this exact rate of growth will hold true, but it’s undeniable that technology has increased and innovated at an exponential rate in recent times.

Top concerns for today’s business leaders continue to include the storage, management, and safety of data. That’s not surprising, given that every time we pick up a newspaper (o.k., every time we open an electronic device and click on a news story), there seems to be a headline about hackers, ransomware, or another data breach. Heck, even the government is not immune, with investigations into election interference resulting in federal indictments against Russian nationals.