We are in the midst of a period of immense and intense change. Change brings resistance and fear and in order to succeed you need to embrace what is unfolding because resistance is useless. The network will rule and computing power, the Internet and the upcoming revolution in cloud computing will fundamentally alter the way we all live, work, play and interact.
Like all previous industrial revolutions there are winners and losers and hopefully the thoughts following will encourage you to face the new world order with courage and conviction.
Creativity and Innovation will drive the future; I am convinced that connectivity, collaboration and networks will be central to success in the new world economic order.
The old business assumptions of consumption and quantity are finished as I see it, as we continue to wake up to the fact that we have all consumed too much and become too fat on our voracious appetite for discretionary spending we will work out that we need to have a balance on the production of quality rather than blind consumption.
Our existing way of doing things is fundamentally misplaced and we need to make some shifts in order to recalibrate what we will pass on to the next generation.
Increasingly we will work locally but connect globally and experience a sense of inclusion.
We need to change our expectations and our hopes. Globalisation has ushered in many changes and technology will continue to be front and centre as we strive to make ongoing breakthroughs in energy resources and medicine.
The aging demographics of the western world will also be an ongoing challenge for Governments and society in general.
Cloud computing will revolutionise how the world transacts and gets it’s information, as the costs of computing fall our access and capability increases exponentially. More and more people will continually connect across the globe, from Melbourne to Mumbai and Sydney to Stockholm.
This connectivity will increase pricing transparency. Comparison websites will update you to the best prices available across the world. Margins will continually be subject to compression and companies will need to compete more and more on a global basis in order to remain relevant.
Sophisticated technology and software will be available to all parts of the globe and a new global infrastructure will be created with many more services available due to the impact of the Cloud. Communicating cost will be almost free and assets such as teamwork, collaboration and cooperation will be crucial for success.
We have already seen the power of the Facebook generation across the Middle East and the UK in recent months. Education will improve as more and more access is granted to the current crop of have not’s.
Until recently the monopolies of the worlds largest corporations were firmly entrenched, the cost of moving goods across the world has fallen dramatically and companies like Amazon have surged as their collaborative and inclusive models have engendered consumers the world over.
Consumers now have choice, not just locally but globally.
The impact will not be sudden but gradual, the economic tremors will continue like aftershocks and we need to build models to withstand and sustain.