Posted by The world starts to understand. It was almost too late and it’s not even yet enough, not big enough, not fast enough. We understand that the way capitalism works now is simply a route to failure and exclusion instead of cohesion and unity. This stupid idea that a company should be able to increase its profits day after day kills organizations, long term investment, and respect for people. The fact that consideration for profit became stronger over consideration for what profit brings to the world is not only stupid but criminal. Profit is not a goal. Profit is a way and a consequence. When profit becomes a goal, the world loses and a few people win. A world where a limited bunch of traders and investors win results in the death of humanity. A world where profit is the ultimate way to assess success over failure is killing employment, killing humanity, and creates the arena for a fight line between those who possess and those that are dispossessed and disenfranchised. When slashing jobs and reducing salaries is the only strategy for raising profit, there are only losers at the end of the day, including, eventually, the stakeholders demanding ever increasing profits.
At the other end the other economy killer has been the famous “purchasing power”. This idea, supported by politicians, suggests that offering people lower prices will enhance their life. Ever lower prices kill investment, long term strategy and sends jobs to emerging countries. This leaves the original country with reduced capacity and long term lower purchasing power. It’s all too short term.
This world should be dead soon. If not we will be all dead VERY soon. The uberization of the economy, the power given to consumers through internet, social networks, the transparency and speed of information is paving the way for a new world whose definition better matches a liberal model. I am a liberal and the capitalist economy we are living in is a fake liberalism that covers the ugly face of monopoly built by and for worldwide giants that kill competition and the developed countries (where they come from!) in a communist way. It’s a world where humans progressively were transformed into figures, such that corporations, divorced from humanity, regard with the same consideration they would show for things.
The world that the digital era is (may be) bringing is a different one:
Definitely not top down any more. Power and information flow is horizontal and multi layered, instead or depending entirely on what comes from the top. This generation wants to rule everything from politics to economy through an horizontal model. I don’t know if “the world is flat” but it’s clearly pushing through the sides!
Sharing and collaborating works better in the digital age instead of simply waiting for something to come from higher political and economical sphere of societies. Flexible because organisations should be able to form interested internal groups organically to reach a specific goal instead of a rigid society where it’s hard to change your role and environment.
Impatient because the world is a place where age or experience are not the differentiating factors any more. Now people with ability to combine talents and share skills and expertise are the winners. Talent is not a matter of time but must be proven every day. This is the end of a system based on passive investors, taking little risk, but calling the shots. This is definitely challenging a world where “white men over 60 in a suit and big office” were ruling the world.
Fast when the old economy moves too slowly for them.
More focus on meaning and added value. They value a world where profit is not as important as investment and market share. A world that brings something to people through people. Where people are important and rewarded at each level when they participate to success instead of rewarding a limited number of happy fews.
Definitely focused on what people think and want versus on what financial markets are expecting. Amazon is definitely the ultimate example of that. Amazon doesn’t care to lose money over a period of time, as their goal is to invest to be a leader.
Not everything is perfect in this digital and entrepreneurial society. Google is a living proof that you can be a wonderful company and success and a threat to competition, and even humanity at the same time. I think we have no choice as the world as we know it is dead and killing us with him. But it’s not too late to change the course of things.
Our only obsession should be to make sure that we take the best of it and prepare the world to welcome this tsunami whilst do it in such a way that violence and exclusion won’t be the dark side of the wave. That’s the essence of an entrepreneurial society through a digitalized world.
About the author:
Denis Jaquet started as a tax lawyer, but became a serial entrepreneur, mainly in training and e-learning in international markets. He has set up with others a growth accelerator scheme, currently helping over 3600 SMEs
This needs to be edited by Peter Drucker.