Patrick Dixon (born 1957) is an author and business consultant, often described as a
futurist
Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abou ...
, and chairman of the trends forecasting company Global Change Ltd.
[Ciaran Parker, ''The Thinkers 50''. ]Praeger Publishers
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...
, 2005. He is also founder of the international AIDS agency ACET and Chairman of the ACET International Alliance.
In 2005, he was ranked as one of the 20 most influential business thinkers alive according to the ''Thinkers 50'' (a private survey printed in 'The Times').
Dixon was also included in the ''
Independent on Sunday
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
s 2010 "
Happy List
The ''Happy List'' is a list of 100 people in the United Kingdom "who give back, volunteer, and who make Britain a better balanced, happier country." It has been published annually in April by the ''Independent on Sunday'', a British national Sund ...
", regarding ACET and his other work tackling the stigma of AIDS.
Medical career
Patrick Dixon studied Medical Sciences at
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
and continued medical training at
Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central Lond ...
, London.
[ In 1978, while a medical student, he founded the IT startup Medicom, selling medical software solutions in the UK and the Middle East, based on early personal computers. After qualifying as a physician, he cared for people dying of cancer at St Joseph's Hospice and then as part of the Community Care Team based at ]University College Hospital
University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College London ...
, London, while also continuing IT consulting part-time.
In 1988[ he launched the AIDS charity ACET, following the publication of his first book ''The Truth about AIDS'', which warned of an unfolding catastrophe that has since hit many nations in ]sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
. ACET grew rapidly, providing home care services across London and other parts of the UK, and a national sex education programme in schools which reached more than 450,000 students.
Dixon no longer practices as a physician but remains actively involved as Chairman of the ACET International Alliance. This is now a network of independent national AIDS care and prevention programmes, sharing the same name and values, active in 23 countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Trends analysis, business consulting and writing
Patrick Dixon now advises large corporations in many different industries on trends, strategy
Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...
, risk management and opportunities for innovation
Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entity ...
, giving keynote
A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...
s to thousands of business leaders at corporate events each year.
Since the 1990s Dixon has written 15 books covering a wide range of issues and macro-trends, including social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
, multichannel marketing, consumer shifts, demographics
Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...
, rise of emerging economies
An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or were ...
, health care, biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
, social issues, sustainability
Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...
, politics and business ethics
Business ethics (also known as Corporate Ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics, that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business co ...
.
''Futurewise'', first published in 1998, uses the word FUTURE as a mnemonic standing for "Six Faces of the Future," which will impact every large business: Fast, Urban, Tribal, Universal, Radical and Ethical.[ Dixon is optimistic about the capacity of human innovation to solve complex challenges: ]This millennium will witness the greatest challenges to human survival that we have ever seen, and many of them will face us in the early years of the first century. It will also provide us with science and technology beyond our greatest imaginings and the greatest shift in values for over 50 years. ''Futurewise'', page xi
''Building a Better Business'', published in 2005, describes a new approach to leadership, management, marketing, teams, brands, customer relations, innovation, strategy, corporate governance and values. The book applies lessons from volunteering
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group wikt:gratis, freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. O ...
and non-profit organisations in motivating and inspiring many people to achieve great things. In it, Dixon argues that all successful leadership derives from an appeal to a common desire for a better future—for customers, workers, shareholder
A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...
s and communities
A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place (geography), place, Norm (social), norms, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Identity (social science), identity. Communiti ...
. He attacks the "dangerous" obsession with shareholder value
Shareholder value is a business term, sometimes phrased as shareholder value maximization. It became prominent during the 1980s and 1990s along with the management principle value-based management or "managing for value".
Definition
The term "shar ...
in many global corporations:
''Sustainagility'', published in 2010 and co-authored by Johan Gorecki, describes green technology
Environmental technology (envirotech) or green technology (greentech), also known as ''clean technology'' (''cleantech''), is the application of one or more of environmental science, green chemistry, environmental monitoring and electronic devic ...
and innovations across a wide range of industries, which Dixon believes will help to transform and protect the world.
Personal life
Dixon is married to Sheila, with four grown-up children, including the pop artist Paul Dixon (known as Fyfe, previously David's Lyre), and lives in London, where the family is active in the local church and community life.
Works
Patrick Dixon publishes video messages on his web TV site. He claims over 15 million viewers, and YouTube shows over 5 million video views on his channel there.
Books
''The Thinkers 50'' noted Dixon's relaxed attitude to his own intellectual capital, in that he makes much of it available from the Global Change website without charge.[
*''The Truth about AIDS'' – Kingsway / ACET International Alliance 1987, 1989, 1994, new edition 2004
*''AIDS and Young People'' – Kingsway 1989
*''AIDS and You'' – Kingsway / ACET Int. All. 1990, 2004
*''The Genetic Revolution'' – Kingsway 1993, 1995
*''The Rising Price of Love'' – Kingsway 1994
*''Signs of Revival'' – Kingsway 1994, 1995
*''Out of the Ghetto'' – Word 1995
*''The Truth about Westminster'' – Kingsway 1995
*''The Truth about Drugs'' – Hodder 1996
*'']Cyberchurch Internet church, online church, cyberchurch, or digital church refer to a wide variety of ways that Christian religious groups can use the internet to facilitate their religious activities, particularly prayer, discussion, preaching and worship serv ...
'' – Kingsway 1996
*''Futurewise'' – HarperCollins 1998, 2001, Profile Books 2003, reprinted 2004, 2005, 4th edition 2007
*''Island of Bolay'' – HarperCollins 2000 – thriller
*''Building a Better Business'' – Profile Books 2005
*''Sustainagility'' – Kogan Page 2010
Selected articles
*Wake up to stronger tribes and a longer life – Financial TimesWake up to stronger tribes and a longer life
''Financial Times'', 31 October 2005
References
External links
*
*http://pdixon.blogspot.com – blog comment on recent events
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Patrick
British non-fiction writers
British thriller writers
Futurologists
British business theorists
British businesspeople
Business speakers
English writers
Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
1957 births
Living people
HIV/AIDS activists
Alumni of Charing Cross Medical School
English male novelists
Male non-fiction writers