Watts Wacker, a Westport, Conn.-based lecturer, author and director of the FirstMatter LLC think tank, said “futurists” typically declare themselves fit for such work, but it is the rest of the world that gets to decide if the title sticks.


In Wacker’s case, the reception of books he co-authored — “What’s Your Story?,” “The Deviant’s Advantage,” “The Visionary’s Handbook” and “The 500 Year Delta” — along with his lists of consulting clients and speaking engagements, suggests the world responded favorably to his pitch. 


Career Highlights: co-author of four books; futurist roles with Yankelovich Partners and SRI International; vice president of marketing, Hasbro Inc.

Education: master of business administration, University of Texas, Austin, Texas; bachelor’s degree, cultural history and psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans
Hometown: Detroit

Personal: married, with two children

Wacker, a self-described social scientist, will present a keynote speech, “The Future of Business: Crack the Code on Possible,” sponsored by Service Management Group during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference Oct. 3-5 in Orlando, Fla. He recently spoke with Nation’s Restaurant News about some of his ideas and observations.



You’ve written and spoken about the importance of “deviants.” What do you mean?


Any invention, innovation or, for that matter, creative act is powered by deviance. That just means that someone is thinking in a way that other people haven’t. Anything that makes it into the mainstream begins out on the edge and migrates through very discrete steps that cause a larger and larger audience. 


You go from a micro audience to a cohort to multiple cohorts and then, of course, to the mass-market level. Even if you took something that today is as ubiquitous — [and] if it is in McDonald’s, it is ubiquitous — as coffee, and I mean not just a cup of “Joe,” but all of the lattes and so forth, even that began on the fringe.



Any thoughts about restaurant developments that you would classify as deviant but that appear likely to progress through the cycle to become “next big things?”


I’m actually paying attention to fish tacos … and size: The whole tapas [small-plate] concept, but not necessarily just based on tapas, but the reorientation to size.



What about fish tacos?


[We’re talking about foods] that will adjust your mood both up and down. It seems to be something that is fitting the kind of movement [we’ve seen with] nutraceuticals. 


I wouldn’t be surprised if we actually see a category develop called “Condition Management,” and it will be more than just the 5-Hour Energy drink. 


[The] combination of neurosciences, cognitive sciences, behavioral sciences and pharmacology is going to lead people to have insight into their moods and emotions and how to manage [them]. And I think we will see [restaurant] food play a big part in that.



You’ve said we’re in the “epoch of uncertainty” and a time of “auto catalytic change.” What does that mean, and what does it mean for business?


Everyone has heard for 40 years about the acceleration of the pace of change. I’m not talking about the amount of it or the pace of it, but the fact that change is actually feeding on itself. 


People have never been more open to things — well, at least since the industrial revolution. The only certainty is this constant string of uncertainty. People are finally getting that, and so you can attract new people; you can take new approaches to marketing; you can play with menu options perhaps you never thought about before or thought were too avant-garde before. It is really a time of great opportunity. 


Contact Alan J. Liddle at aliddle@nrn.com.

To register and find out more about the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference visit www.mufso.com.