Pattern recognition is a skill every entrepreneur must develop. First, let me define pattern recognition. This pertains to the ability of a person to spot small changes in the environment and make sense of it. Over the years we have seen many changes that have happened, like martial law, coup de tat, economic downturn, boom in the IT and nursing industries. We have noticed them and labeled them because they are big events but these events have originated from little spark of events. In the book Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell, he said that small events will lead to a tipping point and after the tipping point, events become viral and hard to stop. These group of small events are like small ripples in the sea that expand and eventually go big over time. These Events can be anything from disease to fashion. The role of the entrepreneur in such events is to spot the wave of trend early; to either exploit the opportunity or protect the business from the threat. The key to unlocking the trend is Pattern Recognition. 

 Let us use typhoon as an example. Before a big typhoon comes to an area, it is spotted by weather experts. As the typhoon arrives, the strength, speed and time of downpour is reported on radio, TV and Internet. The person who hears it and prepares for it has a bigger chance of surviving, as compared to the person who neglects the announcement. This is also the same in business, everyday we come across different events, and these events lead to bigger events. Being sensitive to events will give us insights that will help us in our business.

A business case is Apple’s iPod. In the late 90’s downloading music was very rampant. Each music lover would have at least a thousand music in his hard drive. Steve Jobs saw this event as an opportunity. Because he was sensitive about the trend, he came up with an iPod. The gadget became an instant hit to music lovers, these people can now carry thousands of music in their pocket instead of leaving it inside the hard drive.