Buy land, advised Mark Twain； they're not making it any more. In fact, land is not really scarce: the entire population of America could fit into Texas with more than an acre for each household to enjoy. What drives prices rocket is a collision between uncontrolled demand and limited supply in the great metropolises like London, Mumbai and New York. In the past ten years real prices in Hong Kong have risen by 150%. Residential（住宅的）property in Mayfair, in central London, can go for as much as £55,000（$82,000）per square metre. A square mile of Manhattan residential property costs $16.5 billion.

Even in these great cities the scarcity is artificial. Regulatory limits on the height and density（密度）of buildings constrain（限制）supply and increase prices. A recent analysis by academics at the London School of Economics estimates that land-use regulations in the West End of London inflate the price of office space by about 800%; in Milan and Paris the rules push up prices by around 300%. Most of the enormous value captured by landowners exists because it is almost impossible to build new offices to compete those profits away.

The costs of this misfiring property market are huge, mainly because of their effects on individuals. High housing prices force workers towards cheaper but less productive places. According to one study, employment in the Bay Area around San Francisco would be about five times larger than it is but for tight limits on construction. Add up these costs in lost earnings and unrealized human potential, and the figures become dizzying. Lifting all the barriers to urban growth in America could raise the country's GDP by between 6.5% and 13.5%, or by about 1 trillion—2 trillion. It is difficult to think of many other policies that would produce anything like that.

Many westerners find it so interesting that they always see Chinese people carry a vacuum (真空) cup no matter which season it is. If you go to a restaurant in western countries, they usually serve you a cup of cold water, sometimes even with ice. And every time when Chinese people ask the waiter if they can change to hot water, actually they may receive a strange look from the waiter or people nearby. Hot water? Seriously? Why do Chinese people drink hot water? The answer may exist in the following aspects.

Actually, water quality became a matter of debate in the 1930s in China, when the water supplies were polluted. In order to prevent people from infectious diseases, the government suggested people drinking boiled water, because they considered it a way to kill off bacteria. They always boiled water daily and stored it in a kettle to keep the water warm for the day. Even now, you can find hot water devices everywhere, in schools, factories, and government departments across the country.

Besides, it is well known that Chinese people prefer hot meals every day. Therefore, some parents always teach their children to drink hot water with meals, because they think mixing cold liquids with hot meals is really bad for the stomach, and cold liquids may solidify fats in your stomach, which can cause digestive problems, while hot liquids aid in digestion.

According to the traditional Chinese medicine, health is due to an internal balance of Yin and Yang. In the Yin-Yang theory, water is Yin-type while hot stuff is Yang-type, drinking hot water can enrich Yin and tonify (滋补) Yang in your body, keeping Yin and Yang in balance. If you have cold symptoms or other Yin-type imbalances such as frequent chills, thirst, depression or sleepiness, hot water plays the role of the Yang and brings your body back into balance. Doctors of traditional Chinese medicine always tell patients to drink more hot water.

Most managers can identify the major trends of the day. But in the course of conducting research in a number of industries and working directly with companies, we have discovered that managers often fail to recognize the less obvious but profound ways these trends are influencing consumers’ aspirations, attitudes, and behaviors. This is especially true of trends that managers view as peripheral to their core markets. Experts from Harvard Business School give some advice to managers.

One strategy, known as ‘infuse and augment’, is to design a product or service that keeps most of the attributes and functions of existing products in the category but adds others that address the needs and desires unleashed by a major trend. A case in point is the Poppy range of handbags, which the firm Coach created in response to the economic downturn of 2008. The Coach brand had been a symbol of wealth and luxury for nearly 70 years, and the most obvious reaction to the downturn would have been to lower prices. However, that would have risked cheapening the brand’s image. Instead, they initiated a consumer-research project which revealed that customers were eager to lift themselves and the country out of tough times. Using these insights, Coach launched the lower-priced Poppy handbags, which were in bright colors, and looked more youthful and playful than conventional Coach products. Creating the sub-brand allowed Coach to avoid an across-the-board price cut. In contrast to the many companies that responded to the recession by cutting prices, Coach saw the new consumer mindset as an opportunity for innovation and renewal.

A more radical strategy is ‘combine and transcend’. This involves combining aspects of the product’s existing value proposition with attributes addressing changes arising from a trend, to create a novel experience - one that may land the company in an entirely new market space. At first glance, spending resources to incorporate elements of a seemingly irrelevant trend into one’s core offerings sounds like it’s hardly worthwhile. But consider Nike’s move to integrate the digital revolution into its reputation for high-performance athletic footwear. In 2006, they teamed up with technology company Apple to launch Nike+, a digital sports kit comprising a sensor that attaches to the running shoe and a wireless receiver that connects to the user’s iPod. By combining Nike’s original value proposition for amateur athletes with one for digital consumers, the Nike+ sports kit and web interface moved the company from a focus on athletic apparel to a new plane of engagement with its customers.

Once you have gained perspective on how trend-related changes in consumer opinions and behaviors impact on your category, you can determine which of our innovation strategies to pursue. Trends -- technological, economic, environmental, social, or political — that affect how people perceive the world around them and shape what they expect from products and services present firms with unique opportunities for growth.