Sheryl Connelly has one of the most intriguing and unique positions in the automotive industry. Connelly is global consumer trends and futuring manager at Ford Motor Co. But contradictive to her title, she doesn’t believe anyone, including herself, can actually predict the future.
DETROIT, MI - Sheryl Connelly has one of the most intriguing and unique positions in the automotive industry.
She is global consumer trends and futuring manager at Ford Motor Co. But contradictive to her title, Connelly doesn’t believe anyone, including herself, can predict the future.
“The art of futuring isn’t about predicting the future,” she told MLive during a recent phone interview. “It’s much more about reminding people that no one can predict the future and shifting the conversation so people start to become aware that we have deeply embedded assumptions.
“So the first thing we can do is identify them, and then you have to challenge them.”
Connelly explores trends up to 20 years in the “future.” She analyzes everything from public policy to social behaviors to determine how, or if, future consumer trends will impact not just the automotive industry, but the global economy because “the world is more connected than ever” nowadays. A lot of what she examines is what she refers to as “STEEP” – social, technological, economic, environment and political – trends.
Sheryl Connelly, Ford Motor Co. global consumer trends and futuring managerConnelly and her team, following months of research and reviews, then determine possible outcomes related to everything from a natural disaster to booming automotive sales. It’s not exactly being a fortune teller, which Connelly does not believe in, it’s creating a series of potential outcomes to pick from once a situation occurs.
“These stories are not an attempt to predict the future, but just to stretch the boundaries of what is possible,” she said. “Not even what is probable, but just entertain every possibility. And if you do that well and give it enough rigger, comparably you’re just going to run into things that happen.”
And Connelly, who modestly gives credit to hundreds of colleagues at the Dearborn-based automaker, has become very good at “not” predicting the future.
Since starting her position in 2004, Connelly has led numerous projects to help guide Ford through rough times. From developing a business case to invest in compact utility vehicles during the early 2000s – ahead of many in the industry to leading a project that examined the possibility of an economic collapse on the U.S. auto industry four years before the Great Recession, helping Ford avoid bankruptcy.
“Our One Ford global employees are extremely bright and creative, and Sheryl is one shining example of the talent that goes into building world-class products our customers love,” said Hau Thai-Tang, vice president of engineering, Ford global product development, in a statement.
Regarding the economic downturn scenario, Connelly gave credit to the “brain trust” at Ford. With the downsizing of the auto industry, Connelly said numerous events foreshadowed that, including consumers thinking more about consumption after 9/11 and the technology industry moving toward sleek, smaller designs.
From 2005 to 2012 sales of small utilities rose 155 percent. Today, nearly 7 million compact utilities are sold every year, accounting for more than 16 percent of all vehicles sold worldwide.
For her work, Connelly has been a featured at numerous national events, including TEDx talks, and this year was named Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative Business People. She was the only member of the automotive industry named to list and the first woman from the auto industry to make it.
Tonight, Connelly is scheduled to once again give a keynote speech examining what she does and ways any company – big or small – can anticipate what the future may hold. The speech, called “How to Think Like a Futurist," is for the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest’s annual fall dinner from 6-9 p.m. at the Townsend Hotel, 100 Townsend St. in Birmingham.
Connelly was invited to speak at the dinner by Ford Vice President, Global Programs & Purchasing Operations Birgit Behrendt, who is also a member GACC Midwest-Michigan Board of Directors.
“I am looking forward to a memorable evening with the GACC members and friends and, I’m delighted to that Ford’s own, Sheryl Connelly, will share her vision of how to expect the unexpected. Her counsel has been invaluable for guiding the way Ford views future consumer trends,” Behrendt said in a statement.