Welcome to the Next Evolution! This site is a resource for those always exploring what’s coming next. Start here for an overview of the resources available to you here on the site.As a Strategist, it’s important to keep abreast of emerging concepts, understand their implications and make decisions that keep your organization at the forefront. With the amount of disruption occurring today, never has being a Strategist been more challenging. Smart homes and cities, cars that drive fly themselves, buildings that produce more energy than they consume, robots that replicate the human brain, regenerating human tissue and an end to aging. These surreal scenarios are the result of a new general purpose technology platform that’s emerging from the combination of such exponential technologies and innovations as crypto-currencies, peer to peer sharing, the energy internet, the circular economy, advanced robotics, 3D printing, the internet of things, nanotechnology and cognitive systems. These technologies and innovations are creating a great many mysteries for strategists.
You can find the following resources:
Flipboard Magazines
Keep abreast of futuristic topics with broad-reaching implications as I collect articles daily on my Flipboard Magazines page. You can browse the magazines or follow me David Kish on flipboard for automatic updates to your flipboard account.
Presentations
Here you’ll find the most recent versions of The Next Evolution presentations. Feedback and questions are welcomed.
Recommended Reading
The Recommended Reading page includes books that have shaped my point of view on the future or I’ve found meaningful and interesting.
Blog Posts
Throughout this blog, I’ll be seeking to contribute to the unravelling of these and other emerging mysteries. Here are the key things I see emerging and the topics I’ll be exploring. I’ll also be sharing information I find on these topics on my social media accounts using the hashtags denoted below:
The Exponential Progression of Society and Technology
There is strong evidence that technology advances and social development are highly interrelated. From spoken language and fire, which ensured our survival, to nano and biotechnologies, which are radically extending life, we humans have created technology to amplify our lives in an endless quest to meet an increasingly complex set of life conditions and needs. I’ll be exploring the evolution of human needs and their ability to predict where technology and business will go next.
Transition to Ecosystems
If business is fundamentally the process of people exchanging value, then there’s no question that in a highly networked world of ubiquitous information, we are all on a level playing field. Individuals today have more opportunity to create and exchange value with each other than ever before. So, what does this mean for business? A business’ ability to motivate customers, employees, partners, suppliers to be a part of what they are doing will be important as networks increase transparency and the number of individual options. I’ll explore how structuring work around meaningful, purpose-driven initiatives can lead to success in the highly networked and transparent world that’s emerging.
Momentous Shift in Human Values
There is mounting evidence that values are shifting in the direction of minimalism, the environment, sustainability, and social impact. The tide is turning from viewing these things as altruistic endeavors to integrating them into the fabric of business. Conscious capitalism, impact investing, sustainability, the circular economy, the energy internet are emerging as important considerations for business strategists. I’ll be exploring how businesses can align their strategy with emerging values and go beyond corporate social responsibility to take the lead in making a difference in the world.
Accelerating Toward Abundance
As the exponential progression of disruption propels us into the future, many wonder what life will be like in a hyper-productive world with artificial intelligence and human-like robots that do most everything humans do today. It brings to mind this quote from John Maynard Keynes’ Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren:
“Thus, for the first time since his creation, man will be faced with his real, his permanent problem – how to use his freedom from pressing economic cares [] to live wisely and agreeably and well. It will be those [] who can keep alive [] the art of life itself and do not sell themselves to the means of life, who will be able to enjoy the abundance when it comes.”
Keynes predicted that by 2030, humanity would shun it’s materialistic ways and focus on the art of life itself. Throughout this blog, I’ll explore just what abundance might look like and how societal and technology disruption is propelling us toward it.
These are truly exciting times if you are a business strategist. I’m looking forward to exploring these topics with all of you. I invite your insights, comments, and questions.