I hope we didn’t forget anything.
That’s what I always ask myself after we publish our Annual WatchList issue. Honestly, tracking the trends, companies, and people to watch in the coming year is risky business. There are obvious selections, and we do our best to be as complete as possible with the trends, although after the issue comes out, we sometimes find we neglected to reference something meaningful. The companies and people to watch are even more challenging because we will often be asked why a company or a particular executive was not included on this year’s list—even if they were included in previous WatchList issues.
The other danger is honesty. I know honesty is the best policy, but no matter how much truth there is as to why we are watching a company or a specific person, if there is any negativity as to why that person or company makes the list, we occasionally hear about it.
We are not purposely trying to stir the pot, and sometimes, life would be much easier and less stressful if we only focused on flowers and rainbows. The thing to remember is these are our perceptions, and right, wrong, or somewhere in the middle, we believe they make for a more honest and compelling list.
While the WatchList is the centerpiece of this issue, don’t miss Frank’s Forecast for 2024 or Petra Diener’s recap of the PRINTING United show. You may also find Kate Gragg’s hiring outlook for 2024 fascinating. In addition, we asked the office technology OEMs to share with us their greatest hits of 2023. Surprisingly, some of those hits focused on more than just hardware and encompassed solutions and dealer programs.
If you’d like to share your feedback about what else and who else should have been included in our WatchList and why, we’re listening. Email me at scullen@cannatareport.com with your thoughts and we will publish those online sometime in January.
Happy holidays and a safe, rewarding, and gratifying new year.
