Rohit Bhargava is on a mission to inspire more non-obvious thinking in the world. He is a three-time WSJ bestselling author of 10 books on marketing, innovation, diversity and trends, including his No. 1 bestseller "Non-Obvious Megatrends." Rohit has been invited as a “non-boring” keynote speaker to events around the world and is a monthly columnist for Inc. Magazine and founder of the Non-Obvious Company.
Rohit will be bringing his insights to CalCPA’s Members Club Summit on July 31 as a keynote speaker, where he’ll share strategies on how being a non-obvious thinker can help you and your firm or business thrive.
You encourage people to shift their perspectives so they can see what others miss and “win the future.” What are some practical ways that we can start doing that?
When you think about gifted detectives from movies and books, they usually solve the case through their ability to see that one detail in a scene or the incongruous moment in a story that everyone else missed. My term for this skill is non-obvious thinking and what I've discovered over the past 10 years of studying this is that it can be taught.
One practical way to start doing this is to reduce the distractions that often prevent us from seeing this sort of detail. Removing notifications from your phone, choosing to look around and making a mental commitment to pay attention to things that most people walk past unknowingly are other great ways to start doing this. For example, challenge yourself the next time you're walking from one point to another (especially if it's a common route for you) to mentally catalogue everything that is blue. The next day, pick yellow. This sort of mental game is perfect for training your brain to stop skipping over the things that you may always have dismissed as unimportant background details.
Tell us about your recommendation to use unexpected resources, such as magazines, to keep a broad perspective and “step into someone else’s world.”
Yes, I do love magazines as a way to create empathy for someone not like yourself. They are printed celebrations of a niche passion, and you can learn the most when you choose to buy and flip through one about a topic or category you never would otherwise be interested in. Some of my favorites, aside from Teen Vogue, are Monocle, Modern Farmer and The Walrus.
The other key thing, particularly important for professionals like CPAs who have a deep expertise in a specific area, is to consume media from outside your own industry. Read updates on luxury retail or cloud computing or makeup and fashion. Anything you choose to read that opens your perspective is always a good use of time, even if that little voice in the back of your head keeps insisting it's not relevant.
How did you realize that seeing the unexpected was unique and something you should start teaching people about?
There are daily examples of people who are unable to see beyond the world they inhabit. It's not because they are bad people. It just takes work to escape the algorithm that keeps your perspective locked into a certain frequency. The more we hear the same ideas over and over, the cheaper each of those insights feel. And so we get frustrated by the sameness of what we consume and feel like originality is harder to find. That feeling was what started me down this path to try and put more original thinking into the world. I want to challenge my audience to see things they haven't seen before. And the more I teach this method, the more fulfilling it is when people come to me and share all the new ideas and energy they have as a result of breaking themselves out of their fixed thinking.
What motivates your mission to inspire non-obvious thinking in the world?
I feel there's a danger in the world that with ease of content generation and all the people who want to capture our attention and use it for their own benefit, we will no longer be able to think for ourselves and separate fact from lies. To some degree, that is already happening. It would be nice to create some sort of technology solution to filter out the noise. Unfortunately, this will never be good enough. The only real solution is for all of us to build our own skills to be able to consume media more intelligently, think for ourselves and refuse to be manipulated. To me, that's the most important part of this mission to teach and inspire more non-obvious thinking in the world. I want everyone to have the confidence to think for themselves, form their own beliefs and refuse to be easily manipulated.
Does this mission ever feel like a burden?
I'm not sure I would use the word burden, but it can feel overwhelming. The more stories we see or actions that seem to push the world toward disaster, the harder it can feel to maintain a sense of optimism and believe that positive forces can win. Sometimes the evidence doesn't really support that belief. What helps me most are the conversations I have with amazing people who are doing something to move the world in a more positive direction. They need support, funding and for their story to be told to the world. No one wakes up every morning wanting to feel outraged or hopeless. These positive stories and the people behind them are what give me hope, but it can still feel like an overwhelming challenge to get them out in the world.
What are your favorite topics to think about at the moment?
I do a lot of trend research and one of the most exciting areas of development here is in the world of immersive storytelling. The ability for people to live inside a story, experience something in a mind-altering way (with or without the aid of psychedelics!) and the push to create these types of experiences is exciting. This encompasses everything from Google's recent release of the digitally upscaled and remastered Wizard of Oz film at the Sphere in Las Vegas to the popular music show in London featuring digital avatar versions of the legendary ‘70s Swedish rock band ABBA. The future of how we will not just be entertained, but the crossover between this sort of entertainment and travel, financial literacy, education, retail and health care is fascinating.
Can you give us a sneak peek of what you’ll talk about at CalCPA’s Members Club Summit on July 31?
My goal is to inspire members to bring non-obvious thinking into their practices and the way that they approach their work and life daily. I believe we all have the capacity to be more open minded and evolve our mindsets. Particularly when you are a successful person, this is even more important because it helps you get to the next level in your work and as a person. I’ll share stories of why this matters, how to navigate the noisy media ecosystem of today, what impact AI will really have on the world that we live and work in, and specifically the four habits of non-obvious thinkers that can help you win in the future. The future belongs to non-obvious thinkers. I can't wait to share some insights on how to use this thinking to succeed in 2025 and beyond.
