Workplace Trends London November 2008

1. Ever decreasing Circles
Wikinomics – Parallel impact of
Mass Communication

2. This presentation was given by Kim Burt & Rob Wright at Workplace Trends 2008
The animated version can be found on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SfuexOSpGI

3. Ever decreasing
Circles
Wikinomics – Parallel
impact of Mass
Communication

4. The Free Market Rules „OK‟
The Global Economy is a reality
"There is a growing recognition that
the current turmoil in the financial
system cannot be solved through
piecemeal responses at the national
and regional levels but requires a
coordinated effort at the global
level,”
UN General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto 22.10.08
“As the world economy moves steadily
away from production of goods in
specific geographical locations, into
production of services in the electronic
ether, it moves away from products that
historically have been held to
standards by public law and toward
activities where the unfettered market
rules.”
The Globalist 23.10.08

5. Paradox of Plenty
- So what is different?

6. Paradox of Plenty
- So what is different?
• In 4.5 decades of US agriculture productivity increased by 82%
• In the 10 years between 1957 & 1967 1/3rd fewer farmers, 1/9th
fewer acres, 1/5th more production
• 1920 –13,432,000 US farms 1960 – 7,118,000
2007 – 2,080,000 US farms
• “abundance should be a success story, not a liability”
Orville Freeman Secretary of Agriculture 1967
• Net farm income for 2008 forecast at $95.7 Billion, 10% above
2007- 57% above the 10 year average

7. What is a Wiki Company?
- What’s the same, what’s different?
“perhaps the most overlooked dimension in developing a business
model is the dimension of speed to market”
Supplier
Wholesaler Retailer Buyer
Manufacturer
Manufacturer Buyer
Supplier
“the second most important dimension is cost”

8. The Cloud
- Platforms & Structure
API API
API
API
API
API API
API
API
API
API
API – Application Programming Interface

9. Second Life is „Real‟ Life
• Virtual Career Fair in Second
Life
• Second Life training
• How to have an interview on
Second Life
• Second Life Land Deal ends in
law suit
• People aspect: where do we
get our business skills from
now? How is that changing?
Blue Pill – the story ends
Red Pill – you stay in wonderland

10. The Technology versus
Human Nature Paradox
What appears intuitively to be the logical
outcome is often not the case.
• Technology increases efficiency >
efficiency increases consumption
• Saving your money during hard
times increases unemployment
• Groups often decide on an action
that is desired by no one in the
group
• What is Beautiful is Good – the role
of Branding and people’s perceptions
The theory of supply and demand assumes
that markets are perfectly competitive…..
People live in a society with an innate desire
to belong, which can promote conformity
even when no one actually agrees with a
group decision.

11. Power Politics People Progress
– Communication is the key
• The way the organisation of business has changed throughout history
echoes changes in society - Thomas Malone – The Future of Work
• Individuals gave up some freedom for economic stability & security
• Technology provided increased communication – Printing press to the
telephone to the internet
• Progress has been underpinned by the declining cost of Communication
Bands Kingdoms Democracies
(Independent) (Centralised) (Decentralised)
The major ways human societies have been organised throughout history reveal a
remarkably simple pattern that foreshadows how businesses are now changing.

12. Power Politics People Progress
– Communication is the key
• The way the organisation of business has changed throughout history
echoes changes in society - Thomas Malone – The Future of Work
• Individuals gave up some freedom for economic stability & security
• Technology provided increased communication – Printing press to the
telephone to the internet
• Progress has been underpinned by the declining cost of Communication
Small Businesses Corporate Hierarchies Networks
(Independent) (Centralised) (Decentralised)
The major changes in how businesses were organised throughout history echo the
changes in how societies were organised.

13. Power Politics People Progress
– Communication is the key
• The way the organisation of business has changed throughout history
echoes changes in society - Thomas Malone – The Future of Work
• Individuals gave up some freedom for economic stability & security
• Technology provided increased communication – Printing press to the
telephone to the internet
• Progress has been underpinned by the declining cost of Communication
Independent Centralised Decentralised
Three basic decision making structures used in Society and Business.

14. Paradox of Power
-shifting demographics
The free market worlds’ working
population doubled when
China/India/USSR opened their
doors to join the world economy.
• 1980 – there were 960 million
workers in the global economy
• 2000 – by 2000, the number of
workers had risen to 1.46 billion
• 2000- when China/India/USSR
joined they added 1.47 billion
“Today India launched their first
moon mission” – BBC News 22.10.08

15. What is a Wiki Company?
- So what is different?
• What will make wikis succeed? Scale of large
organizations-human benefits of small ones
• Web is the great equalizer – big budgets don‟t
automatically mean better design or marketing
• Economy is now Consumer driven- Communities &
corporations being replaced by individual self-interest,
self-care & self-help groups
• Power is now lateral not vertical
“I have seen the future and it works” Lincoln Steffens

16. • Corporations are getting larger but fewer
Ever decreasing
in number Circles
-Where do we go
• Society is now a „network‟ not a structure
from here?
• Power & politics are drifting apart and will
not re-unite in a single nation state- if
they unite it will be at a planetary level
• We must seek local solutions to global
problems- there is no place further to
expand on this planet
• “universality of rules” is a must – both
personal and political
• We are still creating the tools for
constructing a global economy