News & Views
Learning lessons from the future
 We
stand at the cusp of a new age. What does the future hold and
what will our role in it be? Remember, you’ll spend most of your
life in the future and there’s no getting out of it alive, so
you choose.
With those words Thomas Jankovich of FutureWorld International
kept his audience spellbound as he highlighted examples of how
things have changed between 1970 and the present.
”It’s easy in hindsight,” he said. “We all have 20/20 vision
after the fact. For example, back in the 70’s there were very
few women in leadership roles. Now, however, the bookstores are
filled with information on women in prominent positions.”
Jankovich went on to look at possible changes that can be
expected to occur between now and 2020, most of which he says
are already happening in many ways. “The faster things change,
the more adaptable business – and government - needs to be,” he
said, “and that’s what companies call ‘strategy’.”
Citing the example of the difference between PW Botha and Nelson
Mandela’s leadership, his message was that companies need to
look at what needs to change, and change it. The alternative is
that if companies don’t change, someone will change it on their
behalf. It is the classic metaphor urging companies to eat -
itself if necessary - or get eaten.
Businesses become scared to take risks, once established, he
intimated. For example: Sony had the technology to produce a MP3
player, however they did not want to destabilise the Walkman
market, and they were overtaken.
Jankovich also highlighted how the VCR came and went in a very
short time. “Back in the 70’s, we didn’t have VCRs,” he said.
“Now, they have been and gone. Broadband will enable us to view
every movie ever made, in every language, at any time we want.”
“There are lessons to be learned from the future,” said
Jankovich. “People are socially networking online like never
before through technologies like Facebook and MXit. News is more
relevant than ever before – ‘mashed up’ and delivered in real
time with background information available and relevant links.
Consumer culture will continue to evolve, as Generations X and Y
come into their full potential. “
“We are heading for a knowledge-based economy, where knowledge
is the commodity,” he said. “Information and ideas will fuel the
marketplace, and as we move from centralised power to personal
power everything can be decentralised. The companies of the
future are the smaller enterprises, not the big megacorps. It
will be impossible to compete, so don’t. Redefine the rules.”
“You can no longer learn from experience,” said Jankovich.
“Experience is the past. It is not relevant. You have to learn
from the future.”
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