It's that time of year once again! It's the season when pundits such as myself get up on our soapboxes and make pointless predictions for the coming year that are little more than rehashed and half-baked versions of the same predictions our peers are making right now. Nobody wants to read those. I like my predictions to be a bit more provocative, so with that I give you my thoughts (some rational, some requiring a bit more explanation) for the next 12 months as we drive into 2011.

If you are in media and have been honored enough to be in the room with Tom Deierlein, a leader among us -- accomplished ad executive, U.S. Army Major and founder of the Tom Deierlein Foundation -- you might find yourself blown away by his record of military as well as civilian service. Though it's a lot to summarize, if you don't know Tom's story, it went something like this:

Groupon is killing it. It's experiencing meteoric growth and (as of this writing) is on the verge of a $6 billion dollar acquisition by Google. The "deal-a-day flash-sale group-buying coupon service" is rewriting the rules on local business advertising and marketing. #

This week began with the extraordinary disclosure, orchestrated by WikiLeaks, of hundreds of thousands of once-secret U.S. diplomatic communications. Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission called for a do-not-track List to put Internet users in control over what information is captured and stored about their Web browsing habits. In a world of ubiquitous digital networked communications, will secrecy and privacy ever be the same? Just because both involved the Internet, will some confuse the issues of personal privacy with the purposeful leaking of state secrets? Probably.

Unbeknownst to you, many of the executives you know engage with a business and/or life coach. These coaches are there to help make sense of the chaos that is everyday life, and can help execs learn the best way to address career issues, maintain work/life balance, and even mentor the employees who work for or with them. Coaches are valuable and effective -- and if you ever get the opportunity to work with one, I certainly recommend you do it.

The Internet is without a doubt the most transformative medium of our time. It has given voices to millions who can now easily share their own stories and ideas with the world, and given access to information to many millions more. The Internet has been, and will continue to be , a force for positive change in society. But, as with all tools, there are negative implications we must be aware of, even when discussing something as seemingly positive as a "free flow of ideas."

When it comes to the theme of excess this time of year, we're generally talking about too many depressing, blatant consumer marketing gimmicks -- or too much promotional email. Or, too much play on a particular news story. And we're digesting all this after having consumed too much turkey and stuffing over the weekend. Still, as we pick our particular excess on which to reflect, we see the one clear thread: too much.

I've recently come to terms with the fact that the agency business is almost 100% commoditized as a result of its own ineffectiveness and unwillingness to adapt. The agency of the future will be 90% automated, with only minimal human curation of the data and the systems that are put in place, and a modicum of strategy applied as well. The human component will exist for top-level strategic thinking, and to develop research and POVs on data opportunities and evaluate new platforms -- all of which serve to further automate the media planning, buying and execution process.

It occurred to me recently that our industry has a particular tendency to lump a lot of stuff into an aspirational name or title, often without really committing to the tough work that needs to be done to make the aspiration a reality.

It doesn't matter if you're a CEO, a senior manager, a middle manager or an entry-level employee -- even a freelancer. In the end, all workers report to someone or some governing body. That's how businesses work, and that management dynamic is a good thing. This relationship organizes workers and drives focus and accountability. It enables companies to set and enforce benchmarks and goals. It drives efficient and effective deployment of worker capital and resources.