Change is Coming
Wednesday: March 5, 2008 6:37 AM
Watching the news coverage last night of the election, I was intrigued by one particular segment that talked about how, despite unemployment and interest rates being historically low, we seem to be concerned with the economy. The analyst provided many other economics components that when put into historical perspective are quite good. Yet, we all feel like it's the "worse economy in 10 years". So what's going on? While conservatives might blame the panic inducing media, I think something else is actually happening.
Thinking back to the time where the majority of people farmed for a living, people worried. Even when they had a great year they worried because something told them time was running out on this style of living. Indeed, technology emerged where the little guy just couldn't compete with the larger equipment based farms. The transition from an agrarian society to an industrial one was not as smooth as most people think. The same think happened when the majority of us worked in the factory. Despite long hours and enormous productivity gains, we worried as jobs moved over seas. While NAFTA gets the media and many voters excited, the reality was the transition from industrial productivity to one that is information based is just as bumpy. We are still seeing this transition happening right before our eyes.
So what is happening now? Information and service jobs are being outsourced and automated at an alarming speed and we are worried. The growth of information jobs are simply a result of us "paving the cow paths" and now we are seeing the cow paths don't lead to where we want to go and we are worried. The numbers tell us one story and our emotions tell us another. There is a fourth transition that is happening and unlike the agrarian one, these changes are coming faster and faster that most of us can't keep up. The next generation will be the knowledge society where information is not controlled by hierarchies or power hunger managers but open to all and only the best will thrive. The organization, which is really only a few hundred years old, is dying. Merger mania is simply the last ditch effort to obtain those synergies but this too will have it’s limit.
The individuals with talent will thrive while others will not. Mr. Obama does have one thing right; change is coming. Yes, the rich are getting richer and the poorer are poorer. I am not just talking about money here but rather rich in skills and knowledge. I am not sure where I am and if I should be worried or not. I do know that I wouldn’t have wanted to be the last farmer to move off the field and into the factory.
Watching the news coverage last night of the election, I was intrigued by one particular segment that talked about how, despite unemployment and interest rates being historically low, we seem to be concerned with the economy. The analyst provided many other economics components that when put into historical perspective are quite good. Yet, we all feel like it's the "worse economy in 10 years". So what's going on? While conservatives might blame the panic inducing media, I think something else is actually happening.
Thinking back to the time where the majority of people farmed for a living, people worried. Even when they had a great year they worried because something told them time was running out on this style of living. Indeed, technology emerged where the little guy just couldn't compete with the larger equipment based farms. The transition from an agrarian society to an industrial one was not as smooth as most people think. The same think happened when the majority of us worked in the factory. Despite long hours and enormous productivity gains, we worried as jobs moved over seas. While NAFTA gets the media and many voters excited, the reality was the transition from industrial productivity to one that is information based is just as bumpy. We are still seeing this transition happening right before our eyes.
So what is happening now? Information and service jobs are being outsourced and automated at an alarming speed and we are worried. The growth of information jobs are simply a result of us "paving the cow paths" and now we are seeing the cow paths don't lead to where we want to go and we are worried. The numbers tell us one story and our emotions tell us another. There is a fourth transition that is happening and unlike the agrarian one, these changes are coming faster and faster that most of us can't keep up. The next generation will be the knowledge society where information is not controlled by hierarchies or power hunger managers but open to all and only the best will thrive. The organization, which is really only a few hundred years old, is dying. Merger mania is simply the last ditch effort to obtain those synergies but this too will have it’s limit.
The individuals with talent will thrive while others will not. Mr. Obama does have one thing right; change is coming. Yes, the rich are getting richer and the poorer are poorer. I am not just talking about money here but rather rich in skills and knowledge. I am not sure where I am and if I should be worried or not. I do know that I wouldn’t have wanted to be the last farmer to move off the field and into the factory.
