The Future Arrived Yesterday
The Rise of the Protean Corporation and What It Means for You
Michael Malone
- A
- bold
- vision
- about
- the
- ways
- companies
- will
- adapt
- and
- be
- reborn
- in
- a
- revolutionary
- world
- where
- business
- models
- implode
- and
- the
- search
- is
- on
- for
- what
- will
- work.
- .
- .
- .The
- fate
- of
- newspapers
- and
- the
- music
- industry
- is
- a
- harbinger
- of
- what
- awaits
- every
- company:
- an
- aging
- business
- model
- in
- its
- death
- throes
- as
- people
- finally
- wake
- up
- to
- the
- grim
- fact
- that
- their
- products
- and
- the
- way
- they
- deliver
- them
- are
- completely
- out
- of
- sync
- not
- only
- with
- what
- customers
- want
- but
- how
- they
- want
- it.
- But
- Michael
- Malone–the
- author
- who,
- when
- the
- Internet
- was
- still
- the
- domain
- of
- technical
- experts,
- enabled
- his
- readers
- to
- see
- clearly
- the
- opportunities
- of
- the
- then-emerging
- digital
- age–is
- back
- and
- once
- again
- making
- sense
- of
- a
- future
- just
- around
- the
- corner.Business
- considerations
- such
- as
- the
- wireless
- World
- Wide
- Web,
- billions
- of
- new
- consumers,
- and
- an
- entrepreneurial
- ethos
- are
- all
- converging.
- How
- a
- corporation
- is
- organized
- and
- how
- people
- will
- be
- managed
- and
- employed
- will
- change
- more
- quickly
- than
- anyone
- realizes.
- With
- technology
- poised
- to
- connect
- a
- billion
- new
- consumers
- from
- the
- most
- remote
- parts
- of
- the
- globe,
- corporations
- will
- enter
- a
- volatile
- economic
- era
- marked
- by
- unprecedented
- threats
- and
- opportunities.
- Survival
- will
- require
- companies
- to
- be
- “protean”–nimble
- shape-shifters
- able
- to
- change
- direction
- and
- identity
- in
- response
- to
- a
- rapidly
- evolving
- international
- marketplace.
- They
- must,
- in
- other
- words,
- act
- like
- perpetual
- entrepreneurial
- start-ups.In
- our
- Web
- 2.0
- world
- “the
- future
- arrived
- yesterday,”
- since
- the
- tools
- for
- success
- already
- exist
- and
- are
- the
- means
- for
- companies
- becoming
- protean.
- Malone
- provides
- remarkable
- insights
- into
- how
- this
- emerging
- corporate
- form
- will
- work
- and
- why
- it’s
- the
- key
- to
- competitiveness.
- Find
- out:•
- Why
- the
- traditional
- CEO
- as
- master
- of
- the
- universe
- will
- be
- extinct.
- The
- CEO
- will
- be
- a
- chameleon,
- adapting
- management
- style
- and
- attitude
- to
- each
- company’s
- constituency.
•
- How
- to
- identify
- a
- core
- group
- of
- employees
- who
- will
- provide
- stability
- through
- their
- knowledge
- of
- the
- company's
- history,
- values,
- and
- culture.
•
- How
- to
- effectively
- recruit,
- manage,
- and
- retain
- the
- best
- talent
- in
- an
- increasingly
- nontraditional,
- entrepreneurial,
- and
- peripatetic
- workforce.
•
- Who
- stakeholders
- are,
- why
- they
- matter,
- and
- how
- they
- will
- extend
- beyond
- any
- comparable
- business
- organization
- to
- this
- point.
•
- Why
- the
- rigid
- boundaries
- between
- for-profit
- and
- nonprofit
- ventures
- are
- likely
- to
- dissolve
- through
- alternate
- forms
- of
- value
- creation,
- resulting
- in
- hybrid
- enterprises.By
- embracing
- impermanence
- and
- becoming
- true
- shape-shifters,
- protean
- businesses
- will
- not
- only
- endure,
- they’ll
- come
- to
- dominate
- large
- segments
- of
- the
- global
- economy.
- Provocative
- and
- pragmatic,
- The
- Future
- Arrived
- Yesterday
- is
- a
- dynamic
- blueprint
- for
- a
- tumultuous
- economic age.