The advancements of IE will come from the application of its fundamental principles to new industries and tasks.
Random prediction with only sporadic observation:
A fundamental principle of IE is work measurement. We break down tasks to its smallest component, measure it, and improve it. Consequently, this is the concept for understanding and explaining complex issues.
Albert Einstein on Sifting the Essential from the Non-Essential
If you, the IE, can help others understand and improve complexity in this way, you're on to something. This principle also puts us in a good position to become the next wave of Business Analysts. Writing a scope of work for a technology solution must be broken down into its components.
Another principle is the application of statistics. As Big Data gets more press, using basic statistics to explain companies' small data is very valuable. I am consistently amazed at the number of good organizations that let the averages drive decisions because, they don't know what variation is much less how it impacts their processes.