“Almost President” Book Mirrors “MINITRENDS” Book on Value of Losing Presidential Candidates Platforms for Finding Trends

by John Vanston on December 8, 2011

Almost President by Scott Farris

In the “Where to Search for Minitrends” section of our book MINITRENDS: How Innovators & Entrepreneurs Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends, Carrie Vanston and I note that an interesting indication of emerging trends can be found by examining the platforms of losing presidential candidates. Although most people pay little attention to the platforms of these candidates, a great deal of insight can be gleaned from inspection of these platforms. From this insight, Minitrends may be found that lead to positive business opportunities.

A new book, Almost President: The Men Who Lost the Race but Changed the Nation, by Scott Farris, expands on this issue. Mr. Farris mentions, for example, Tomas Dewey’s changing the focus of the Republican Party from opposing the New Deal to accommodating it, Barry Goldwater’s vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that converted the South from the Democrat Party to the Republican Party, and the role of William Jennings Bryan in shaping the Democratic Party into the progressive one. These ideas reflect the ones described in our book, i.e., Adlai Stevenson’s 1956 advocacy of a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty which was signed in 1963, Barry Goldwater’s laying the ground work in 1964 for the Reagan Revolution, and Al Gore’s emphasis on Global Climate Change which not only raised awareness of environmental concerns around the world, but also led to his winning an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and Nobel Peace Prize.

Robert K. Landers does a nice review on the book entitled Influence Instead of Victory for the Wall Street Journal.

Carrie and I are looking forward to other authors writing about the other eight Minitrends discovery sources we describe in our book.

John H. Vanston, Ph.D.
Chairman, Technology Futures, Inc.
Author, MINITRENDS: How Innovators & Entrepreneurs Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends

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