Ever since Pop Art’s first year in business (1997-1998), I
have held onto a magazine advertising insert published in the March, 1998
version of Wired Magazine.
The piece is the “Encyclopedia
of the New Economy”written by Browning and Reiss and published by Wired and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). The “encyclopedia”
is loaded with exuberant consultant-speak, but simultaneously, it’s a prophetic
piece about the modern economy and the use of technology an knowledge.
Shortly after its publication, an entire magazine was built around
the “New Economy” theme when Business 2.0 launched in July of 1998.
On one hand, Wired and Business 2.0 were prophets of our
modern economy. 10 years ago, they were leaders in mass-promoting concepts
ranging from “Convergence to E-Commerce to Emissions Trading to Virtual
Communities" - concepts that have since skyrocketed in popularity. Much of the enthusiasm of the current Web 2.0 rallies concepts from
the New Economy.
And now 10 years later, Business 2.0 will publish its final
issue in October of 2007.
So, what has the
business community learned about knowledge and technology in the past 10 years?
If you could send a message to yourself 10 years ago, what would it be? What
were the biggest surprises in business, marketing and technology?
Here is my list:
- Global
free trade is changing the world more rapidly than most people imagined; we all
need to invest internationally. We also need to acknowledge the unprecedented
risks and capital investments required to bring an idea to market, and we must
allow the market to work its magic by rewarding smart risks and punishing bad
ones. The amazing growth of the private equity industry and the hedgefund
industry during the past decade may have been a result of the market’s need for more smart
risk-taking.
- Managing
risk and government regulation is more important than ever. The Enron debacle
and subsequent Sarbanes Oxley regulations have increased the importance of CFOs
and CIOs.
- E-commerce transaction volume has exceeded even the rosiest projections of 1997.
- Sites like Google and Wikipedia are having a huge impact on the growth of human knowledge and access to information.
- Programs like Google AdSense makes it possible for any web site to monetize traffic.
- People will pay for certain types of digital content (like iTunes and ringtones).
- 3G wireless networks have been slow to develop in the USA. Weren’t we suppose to be on 5G
by now?
- In 1997 everyone was talking about virtual communities and user-generated content; however, we missed the brilliance of social networking (think Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace) and the value of the relationships (the glue) that links content together.
- Great ideas aren’t enough; business models, cash flows and market planning really count!
- Making technology easy-to-use is still one of the biggest challenges!
As we say in business today, “You must grow, or you will
die”. So, what can we learn? Above all, we must continue to respect all of our
stakeholders:
- Capitalists must be rewarded for smart risks (and held accountable for bad ones).
- Companies must support Workers through constant learning and growth while rewarding workers for taking on increasing risks and responsibilities.
- Customers must be respected as the driving force of a market economy.
- Communities are the sustenance of any corporation. Companies must invest in their communities to nurture current and future generations of stakeholders.
Computers have done little to help us communicate complex
thoughts that we can’t articulate to begin with. The glue of a firm is its
ability to facilitate dialog and interaction amongst its stakeholders.
Investments in communication and design will lead to stakeholder alignment and the growth of knowledge
capital, producing the “network effects” that Browning and Reiss identified as of one the
foremost benefits of the new economy.
What are some of the biggest changes from the past 10 years that surprised you?