Blur. . .the speed of change in the connected economy
by Stan Davis and Christopher Meyer
© 1998 by Ernst and Young
"Whether you are an owner or an employee, working for a company or yourself, part-time or full-time. . .this book is a 'must read.'"
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@ the reviewer |
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Debbie J. Hyde is a Sr. Internet Architect/Designer for Maritz Inc. in St. Louis, MO. |
The price of gasoline is $1.35 @ gallon in the morning and $.97 this evening at the same station. Milk in your grocery store is $2.39 a gallon and $1.99 down the street. Today's market leaders are downsizing and forced into a merger tomorrow. Ever wonder why things seem to be in such flux these days? Because this is the pattern of today's "connected economy." Whether you are an owner or an employee, working for a company or yourself, part-time or full-time. . .this book is a "must read."
In this "future-is-now" marketing book, authors Stan Davis and Christopher Meyer have put their finger on what is happening in business, and why all this "change" is not going away soon - and perhaps will never go away. They call it "BLUR, the speed of change in the connected economy. It is the new world in which you and your children will come to live and work."
What is BLUR? The authors say it is "SPEED x CONNECTIVITY x INTANGIBLES."
- SPEED: Every aspect of business and the connected organization operates and changes in real time.
- CONNECTIVITY: Everything is becoming electronically connected to everything else: products, people, companies, countries, everything.
- INTANGIBLES: Every offer (what is available to buy, use or provide whether products or services) has both tangible and intangible economic value. Intangible is growing faster."
In their book, Davis and Meyer encourage people to stop trying to stop these changes so life will "become more normal." Instead, acknowledge the BLUR so that you will be able to successfully prosper in today's economy. Stop the BLUR, and you will never survive.
Enter Bill Gates and Microsoft with Windows '98. As Davis and Meyer state, "bundling a product is not enough. It's not sufficient to toss together a set of complementary goods and services and stick a price tag on the lot. The real value comes when these things are blended so that they can't be separated."
Question: Is what you build, sell or buy a product or a service? The answer should be both. Davis and Meyer explain that today's "automakers recognize that people don't buy cars and trucks; they buy safe, convenient, and enjoyable transportation. They don't want just a product and they don't want just a service." They further recommend that, "if they (automakers) can do it, you can do it."
But this doesn't just pertain only to something you build or design - it applies to YOU. You can no longer completely separate your work life from your home life - or whether you are a laborer or a consumer. You must become a "node," a "free agent" within a network of multiple other points such as companies, associates, friends and abilities, and here you will float between all of these. You need to live in the BLUR, so BLUR your business and BLUR yourself as well.
Want to know more? Visit BLUR online or go to Amazon and read all about it.
© Internet Technical Group
Last update: September 8, 1998
URL: http://www.sandia.gov/itg/newsletter/review_blur.html
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