Commentary & Recap: Futurist Libey Examines the Present at MeritDirect Event, Part 1 of 2

Since we prefer not to make our online stories terribly long, here are six of his 12 points. Next week, we’ll offer up the other six.

1. Margin. This is “biblical,” he said. “Nothing happens without margin, which is being eroded by all kinds of things, none of which are under your control.”

He noted that marketers who rely too heavily on China could get burned, because it’s going to become much more expensive. In fact, “anyone who expects to run a business with less than 54 percent gross margin is delusional,” he said. “The question is: Where are you going to get the five points you need? How will you generate gross margin over the next three years? It’s your No. 1 concern as always. Nothing happens without margin.”