Four worlds of 2035
The critical uncertainties facing the mid-market
Over the last 10 years, the global business landscape has been reshaped by a pandemic, shaken by political shifts and transformed by generative artificial intelligence (AI).
The broad brushstrokes of geopolitical volatility and technological evolution may have been anticipated, but the exact twists and turns were far more difficult to foresee.
Given the turbulence of the past decade, predicting what the years to 2035 could look like is a formidable challenge.
We’ve identified two critical uncertainties that we believe will define the landscape for mid-market organisations over the next decade: regulation and resource availability.
These key unpredictable forces have the potential to significantly impact the future, creating four distinct, yet plausible, future worlds – each with its own rules for survival.
Explore the four worlds
Select a world to explore a possible future
No single future exists
These scenarios are not predictions. In reality, the future will blend elements of more than one world or shift rapidly between them. Their value lies in helping leaders challenge default assumptions, explore risk and opportunity from multiple angles, and stress-test strategy against different conditions.
To understand how the next decade may unfold, we mapped the views of 1,500 mid‑market executives against these four worlds.
We found that business leaders expect regulation to become more onerous and to change more rapidly by 2035, while access to capital, talent and raw materials is expected to become more restricted.
When these expectations are mapped against our four worlds of 2035, they point most clearly to a compliance crunch environment – one defined by fast-changing rules, constrained supply and sustained pressure on costs and decision‑making.
This anticipated environment has important implications.
In a compliance‑heavy world with limited slack, growth becomes harder to generate through expansion alone. Decisions carry higher stakes, mistakes are more costly, and the ability to anticipate change becomes a source of competitive advantage.
There's more to The mid-market maze
What you have seen here are just the headlines. The full report goes deeper into the data, the insights and the real-world moves leaders need to make to get ahead.
Challenge your assumptions
Assess risk and opportunity from every angle
Stress-test your strategy for what’s next
