Warp Speed

I jotted down the following syllogisms re the dynamics of our era back in 2003! Still relevant today.


Things getting out of hand is a characteristic of this globalised environment.

Problems and the decisions they require appear today harder and more complicated than ever before.

Few, if any, strategic positions seem to be defendable in a playing field that appears to be flatter than ever.

Various parameters, such as globalisation, deregulation and meta-capitalism, have lowered barriers to entry and exit in most markets.

We live in a new era. Or don't we?

Those among us who have been around longer point out that problems and decisions have always been hard and complicated.

Globalisation is not a new thing.

So what is so new? Is this mere "media-hype"?

Following a century with two world wars, two nuclear bombs, immense technological developments, can we, in 2002, claim that things are now too complicated?

Maybe it is a question of speed.

Sit in front of a monitor and start playing a video game.

As you increase the speed of the game, you find out that things become harder, although nothing else really changes.

The tricks of the "game" are still the same, but speed makes a great deal of difference. It is a totally new ballgame.

Surviving in the game requires taking many more decisions per second, minute and hour. It requires faster analysis and response to the moves of your competitors and the developments in the game environment.

Could this help explain why things appear much more complicated in this global information era?

Are they? A matter of perspective.

The bottom line is that you cannot survive playing the game the same way as before.

That does not mean you have to throw away both the horse and the carriage. What to keep and what to change is a key strategic issue, be it 2003 or 2009 or 2011!