9 Successful People Share Their Predictions For 2015

Jordan Strauss/Invision/APKabam cofounder Kevin Chou thinks "brands will be more like Kim Kardashian" in 2015.As 2014 comes to an end, you may find yourself reflecting on the past year and daydreaming about what's to come. 

To find out what some of the world's most successful people expect to see in 2015, LinkedIn asked its network of top minds across all fields - also known as Influencers - to answer the following question:

What one innovation, social cause, business shift, or event do you think will define 2015? 

Over 70 Influencers wrote about their predictions for LinkedIn's most recent Influencers editorial package, titled "Big Idea of 2015."

Here are a few of the boldest ideas and predictions for 2015:

Global Business Editor of Newsweek and Daily Beast Daniel Gross sees 2015 as the time everyone finally gets a raise.

"Too many companies simply came to believe that they should never raise wages, that life is a zero-sum game in which every penny given to employees in compensation is one less penny for shareholders, that their businesses would suffer irrevocable damage if they were to loosen the reins on compensation," he writes. "And they could get away with it because the labor market was so feeble." 

But each of these conditions is changing, he explains. "The ground has been slowly shifting over the past 12 months. And next year, many of us are likely to get higher wages."

Campbell Soup Company CEO Denise Morrison believes the convergence of innovative digital technology and the consumer's increasing focus on health and well-being will be a powerful force in 2015. 

"A force that will shape people's lives and help them keep their commitment to fitness, diet, and nutrition," she writes. "I see more people taking charge of their well-being through the use of data and digital sensors, wearable health bands, and smartphone apps that can track and quantify everything from their heart rate, blood pressure, and sleep quality to steps walked and calories consumed.

As our nation aims to reduce obesity, heart disease, and other health problems through exercise, balanced nutrition, and a focus on prevention, Morrison says she believes "we are moving closer to a future where quantified lives will become the norm."

Bain fellow and author Fred Reichheld thinks businesses will start firing bad customers in 2015.

"We live in the age of the empowered customer," he writes. "Consumers share their restaurant and travel experiences on Yelp, Facebook, and many other sites. They rate hotels, tour operators, and even historic landmarks on TripAdvisor. Companies ignore these empowered customers at their peril."

But isn't it about time for more companies to start rating their customers? He asks. "Wouldn't we all be better off if feedback from some customers were ignored? That is the one big idea I expect to start spreading in 2015."

Kabam cofounder Kevin Chou thinks "brands will be more like Kim Kardashian" in 2015 - and that mobile games will play an increasingly central role in a brand's growth and development. 

"Whether you consider Kardashian a paragon or a punch line, her free-to-play mobile game, 'Kim Kardashian: Hollywood,' is an example of a brand leveling up in terms of both reach and revenue."

He points out that through mobile games, fans have an entirely new way to interact with their favorite brands. " The mobile app is always with the audience and always connected. There is always an opportunity to engage," Chou writes. "In 2015, we'll all be keeping up with Kim Kardashian, and we'll be better for it."

Yahoo! Chairman and former Ebay COO Maynard Webb sees 2015 as a year for increased productivity.

It will come from several advances in technology, like electronic payments, wearables, and on-demand services, he says, but it will remind us to "retain our humanity" and to "think about how to spend our newly gained time and resolve to give it back to the world." 

Getty Images/BloombergYahoo! Chairman and former Ebay COO Maynard Webb.Careerealism CEO J.T. O'Donnell says employees will finally gain the upper hand in 2015.

She predicts that the tables will turn in the war for talent, favoring workers for a change. "With that switch will come a major shift in how companies approach attracting, hiring, and keeping top talent," she writes.

To attract would-be workers in 2015, companies will need to improve their "hot factor." The problem is, they may be tempted to exaggerate how cool their workplace is. "Just like someone who has been out of the dating scene for many years, many companies will stumble, bumble, and ultimately fumble their initial Employment Branding efforts."

President and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Adam Goldstein is optimistic that 2015 will be a year when "political leaders actually work together to address the nation's challenges."

In his post, Goldstein lays out a few key topics he hopes the country can move forward on: "What idea could produce such a far-fetched outcome? In a word, leadership. That is the missing element between fantasy and reality."    

PBS CEO Paula Kerger predicts that the brands that will do the best in 2015 will "recognize the human need to be a part of something larger than themselves, to participate in a bigger community."

She writes: "Mass media will return to its social roots. Successful companies will leverage the power of new platforms to build online and live communities, bringing people together to share in experiences and events."

The Tapscott Group CEO Don Tapscott thinks 2015 will be the time to "finally launch your own startup."

"Around the world we are facing unprecedented unemployment - even in the developed world," Tapscott explains. "Unemployment gnaws at an individual's well-being, and makes them feel surplus to society's needs. But traditional methods of job creation are stalled. One of the keys to solving this problem is entrepreneurship."

He says the need for entrepreneurs has never been greater, in both developing and developed countries. "When given the right conditions to flourish, entrepreneurs are the foundation of growth, prosperity, and even innovation. They bring fresh thinking to the marketplace and fuel the creative destruction that makes market economies prosper."

Read the full posts here.