Meet Dion Chang
"Dion Chang is an innovator, creative thinker, a walking ideas bank and professional cage rattler.
Dion is one of South Africa’s most respected trend analysts and takes the unique view of “trends as business strategy”. While his feet remain firmly planted on African soil, he uses a global perspective to gauge the zeitgeist, track ahead-of-the-curve trends to identify shifting business templates. In a world struggling to adapt to a new world order, his trends analysis company – Flux Trends – specializes in understanding consumer mindset and identifying unexpected business opportunities within shifting trends, ensuring that global trends have relevance when translated for African, and South African businesses.
He has 20 years experience in the magazine industry as a journalist and media spokesman, which enables him to provide insights into the ever-changing relationship between brands, consumers and the communication channels that bind them.
He has devised and hosted 3 trend conferences and published 3 trend books (the last being, “New Urban Tribes of South Africa”). Flux Trends currently releases industry specific trend reports every quarter. Apart from being an information source for cross industry trends for many journalists, he also writes columns for City Press, SAA’s Sawubona magazine, Acumen (a C-suite business quarterly for GIBS) and has a monthly radio slot on MetroFM, and contributes to eBizRadio, an online podcast portal.
He lectures a “trends as business strategy” module for executives and senior management at various business schools including: UCT’s Graduate School of Business, GIBS and Duke CE. He specialises as a disruption management consultant and is passionate about embedding a culture of innovation into corporate operating systems. He has a deep affiliation for youth trends and subcultures, their impact and influence on our new world order, as well as innovative ideas for greater good."
Read about why Dion is proud to be Chinese and proud to be South African.
Name: Dion Chang
1. Where were you born?
Pretoria
2. What schools/colleges/universities did you go to?
I went to WHPS (WaterkloofHouse Prep School), St Albans College (secondary school) and DUT (then Durban technicon).
3. What is your fondest childhood memory, growing up as a Chinese child?
Going to the Pretoria Chinese school for communal events: Saturday night kung Fu movies or for basketball and Tai Chi lessons on a Sunday morning. The sense of community was amazing.
4. What is your favourite Chinese food?
Going for Yum Cha
5. Where do you live?
Johannesburg
6. What work do you do?
I run a trends analysis company called Flux Trends, which I founded in 2006. We look at “trends as business strategy”, and as a result consult mainly to corporate companies about business disruption and advise them on business strategies that are ahead of the disruptive curve.
7. What do you love about your job?
Always looking into the future. It keeps me up to date with everything from politics, technology, and pop culture.
8. What is your proudest achievement?
Publishing four books, writing various columns (I write for City Press, Sawubona/SAA’s in-flight magazine, and Acumen/GIBS quarterly), and lecturing to senior managers and executives – all without having studied journalism, or having an academic background.
9. Why are you proud to be South African?
It is my country of birth, and in the field that I am in, being part of an emerging global market is also being at the forefront of a new world order.
10. Why are you proud to be Chinese?
The determination that our great grandparents (in my case) had to have to come the African continent to create a new life. The pioneering spirit and work ethic they had to ensure that future generations would benefit from the sacrifices they made. Each generation in South Africa has done that. However, I am not proud if that same determination is to the detriment of others – especially other race groups.
11. Name one Chinese tradition that you’d like future generations to continue with?
The sense of community and especially the strong family bonds that we have here as a result of being a minority group. Don’t lose the connectivity.
12. What advice would you give to the Chinese youth today in South Africa?
We live in a multi-cultural world and a global village. It’s important to be part of the cultural melting pot, and yet retain a sense of identity. It’s a tricky balance but important, especially in a South African context. The Chinese community played an important part in South Africa’s history: we need to claim that, but that said, we also need to contribute to South Africa’s multi-cultural future. My question is: do you see yourself as a South African Chinese, or a Chinese South African? There’s a subtle difference. Think about it.
What to contact Dion?
Visit his website: www.fluxtrends.com (you can sign up for free trend newsletters that will keep you up to speed about new business trends).
Dion also lectures a trends module for various programmes at the Graduate School of Business at UCT, and conducts masterclasses on innovation for GIBS (Gordon Institute of Business Science).
