Product Description According to super pollster John Zogby, whom The Washington Post calls “the maverick predictor,” the conventional wisdom about the United States–that we’re isolated from the world, politically fragmented, and inclined toward material pleasure–isn’t just flawed; it may be 180 degrees from the truth. In this far-reaching and illuminating look at contemporary American life, Zogby reveals nothing less than The Way We’ll Be. Drawing on thousands of in-depth surveys conducted especially for the book, Zogby points out where we’re headed–politically, culturally, and spiritually.
The American dream is in transition; it is rapidly being redefined by four meta-movements: living with limits as consumers and citizens; embracing diversity of views and ways of life; looking inward to find spiritual comfort; and demanding authenticity from the media, our leaders, and leading institutions. Spearheaded by today’s eighteen-to-twenty-nine-year-olds–the “First Global” generation–Americans are becoming more internationalist, consensus-oriented, and environmentally conscious and less willing to identify themselves by the things they do to earn or spend their money. But this is more than a youth tide. Americans of all ages are moving beyond old divides–red state/blue state, pro-life/pro-choice, beer drinker/wine connoisseur–to form a new national consensus that will shape the nation for decades to come.
Zogby’s cogent analysis of the data yields an astonishing perspective on Americans’ thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, now and in coming years. Understanding this emerging reality will be key for
• leaders in all fields who want to reach audiences that are more media-savvy, better informed, and more technologically enabled than ever before
• individuals in search of rewarding and fulfilling careers in tomorrow’s growth fields
• politicians and CEOs looking to marry policies and practices to the rising demand for social responsibility
• anyone who wants to market to the emerging new American consensus
Beyond telling a fascinating story, the conclusions in this book are a must-read for everyone from Main Street to Madison Avenue to Capitol Hill. Filled with expert analysis and insight from one of today’s most successful predictors and trend spotters, The Way We’ll Be will redefine how we view America’s future.
Dubious polls and Zogby's biases and ignorance make for a poor readNovember 12, 2008 John Zogby is a tireles self-promoter. His flacks flog him as a "super-pollster', though his real-world results don't separate him from the herd.
Here, Zogby attempts to articulate the "transformation of the American dream". Essentially Zogby tells you what he thinks and then, magically, produces poll results to support his contention. Who needs objectivity? Not Zogby.
Zogby's personal biases, particularly political, and his ignorance are on display. He claims that Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and Kennedy didn't campaign to the "lowest common denominator". First of all, Lincoln didn't campaign. Back then Presidential campaigns were waged entirely by surrogates - and Lincoln's campaign was particularly nasty. Roosevelt reveled in the dirty campaign and he was personally vindictive as well. Kenendy campaigned on a platform of lies, such as the non-existent missile gap. Nixon could not respond because it would have revealed our intelligence secrets to the Soviets.
Zogby claims the three "offered broad visions and empowering promises; they appealed to the best in the electorate, not the worst". Zogby could use massive education in this regard - and yet he lectures the rest of us.
Overall, this is nothing more than the posturing of a self-promoter. It is not a serious or scholarly work and is certainly devoid of any scientific value. It isn't very entertaining either.
Jerry
An Objective PollsterNovember 11, 2008 Good read. Ultimately encouraging results. Would be interested in seeing his results using the same queries after this economic mess we are in gets resolved.
tedious, with pre-determined outcomesOctober 24, 2008 1 out of 3 found this review helpful
great premise but falls way short with little useful future insight and plenty of opinion vs. legitimate analysis
Zogby goes past daily polls to go for deeper themes. This is provocative; thoughtful.October 23, 2008 In the media John Zogby parlays his political polls to promote his somewhat (I use the word reluctantly) maverick role within the spread of political opinion researchers. Four years ago I felt his observations were right on the mark, and he was picking up on undercurrents before anyone else. In this election I've found his insights to be running against the tide by insisting (at the time of writing this review) that the presidential race is still close. He knows that our unfolding history can turn on a dime, but all other evidence I've seen suggests quite a large seminal change is going on. But either way, as an opinion researcher (in New Zealand) I continually admire the work of this man. He clearly wears on his sleeve a lifelong interest in our changing society - and his is a curiosity that gets piqued whether he's running political polls or the marketing surveys which make up 75% of his work. Everything fascinates him. He's certainly a colleague I'd happily do lunch with.
In this book he takes a bite of a mighty big topic: where is society shifting, and what will be the dominant values in a few years time?
Unlike many other trend-spotting books (remember the Greening of America in the 1970s?) Zogby eschews the frenzied "this just in from the heartland!" tone and instead thinks about all the bits of jigsaw he sees in his opinion research work. As he points out in chapter one: there can be interesting connections between quite disparate fragments of research.
Now how does he piece together the changing social puzzle? Overall Zogby sees evidence of at least 6 big themes. I'll mention two but all are about a return to values of co-operation, authenticity, acceptance of diversity. As he says: he means none of this in a Pollyanna kind of way.
Trend. Society will become less divided, not more so. People will tend to seek common ground rather division. As he points out, investors (this is before Wall St feel) were great supporters of Bush in 2004, and also of Eliot Spitzer (and that was before HE fell also.) These investors, who were actually the majority of Americans, weren't hidebound by party colours. They sought values that were offered at both ends of the main political spectrum. He sees this kind of reach-across-the-aisle middle ground increasing.
Second - we have an increasing demand for truth. As Zogby points out, we're in the age of spin doctors and we've moved past cynicism (ignore what they say) toward a much more active demand for real, authentic truth. Our demands of companies (don't spin, just tell the truth) and of politicians is creating a new climate for authenticity. As Zogby says: "we're saying goodbye to smear and smash."
Overall I think the book mostly succeeds, especially in terms of drawing out big themes and chewing these around and giving examples to illustrate what's going on. There are implications for marketers, but the ramifications are far wider than that, and I wouldn't pigeon-hole this book as being a business book. It is for anyone interested in the way we're heading.
What I feel the book lacks - and perhaps this comes from Zogby's natural pollster's caution - is any sense of certainty about his conclusions. The way we'll be ...is what the title talks about. In five years? Ten years? 20? Zogby is vague about the rate of change. There's certainly a sense that there are some big changes going on, and yes, Zogby articulates them well, but I didn't emerge with a confidence that these changes are necessarily long-lasting let alone permanent.
In research we often argue over what makes a fad versus a trend; and by my definition at least, a true trend reflects an underlying fundamental human need in the way that a hoola hoop does not. Zogby, I feel, argues from the position that society naturally tends towards these deep-seated needs - working together, being authentic, living a good life rather than a materialistic one - but in my lifetime I've just seen too many aberrations from this norm to have full confidence in his thesis. If Zogby is saying we're trending toward being less greedy, less materialistic, less selfish, then I wonder why our societies did that bad power-suited greed thing in the 1980s, and again earlier this decade when Hummers looked such a success and Fortune was singing the praises of Enron. Can it happen again? Will the social chemistry be any less volatile?
To this extent, the author doesn't really test his over-arching themes. Even so, the book made me stop, made me think, made me re-evaluate and in quite a few patches made me professionally envious too. In an admiring way. It is an engaging, readable and in many places a quite personal book.
I give it four stars and warmly recommend it.
Upbeat futureOctober 12, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Heard author's interview on the Radio (NPR) and liked the upbeat information on how the country is changing. Most of the time you hear about the wingnuts of the left and right. This was a positive message and based on facts. The only reason I did not give it five stars is the small amount of "inside the industry" (polling) that felt like filler. More info would have been better. But really liked the book and its factual information.
