There are plenty of new "thought leaders" out there... One good example is Lawrence Lessig....

Lessig is a Stanford Professor in Law and a good friend of Barack Obama since they were on faculty together in Chicago...

People like Lessig are moving on way beyond the old ideas of excellence, quality, analogue coded systems, and people-based organisations. They are not on about "people" they are on about "you" and "me"'... and much more importantly for me they are on about the future world my kids and their kids will likely inhabit....

They are on about networks and sharing. Sharing ideas through YouTube or through many other new digital formats without breaching the old world's copyright laws. They accept that the C21st world is networked and our new digital technologies enable sharing on an unprecedented scale.

They also acknowledge that our C20th mindset of "commercialisation" is making criminals of our kids who use these new technologies to share. They share copyrighted materials in new ways but the old laws of "commercialisation" can not keep up. So many of these creative people are branded criminals in fact or in law.

We have to find ways to break free of this nonsense. We have find ways to be able to produce and to share in new ways. The old ways of Drucker and his contemporaries no longer suffice in a digital networked world of 6 Billion people who are all becoming interconnected through the internet and mobile phones. .

One C21st challenge is to come up with practical new copyright laws so that we can protect the idea generator or creative artist yet enable that idea to be shared freely around global networks. These are entirely new topics for a new era of business.

This new era of business is here and growing in influence on our individual and collective lives. In this emerging world of business there is a lot that is free - Linux, Firefox, Skype, Google, etc.

Those of you out there who are interested in stretching your mind and thus in doing some really hard thinking about the emergence of what Lessig calls a "hybrid economy" might enjoy his book.....

Lawrence Lessig..."Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy..."

The world is changing.  It is changing in ways that I never would have thought possible when I was a child.  The new world order for children today offers so much that it is hard to reconcile the fear and angst that many of their parent feel right now about matters economic.

Here is just one window into what changes are happening and what is possible in this wonderous digital age.

The window is provided by the those who hold to the notion of global unity and especially those who work on the "one laptop per child programme"..... To learn more use this link...  http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9553

Next year you give up living in a silo.  You give up your analogue business models.  You give up your C20th mindset.  You give up the pursuit of growth.  You give up control.  You give up the idea that you need more staff.  You give up manual processes full stop!

Next year you embrace living in a networked community with their emphasis on cohesion.  You embrace your new digital business models with their emphasis on speed of transaction and quality of outcome.  You embrace your customer networks which are inclusive and scale quickly with huge profit margins.  You embrace your new business model that has you a member of customer clusters that are loosely connected to each other and you.  You embrace the idea that customers are your new talent pool and thus your staff requirements are shrinking.  You embrace automation and self-service!

2009 could prove to be your year of opportunity.....

Set standards. Model those standards. Hold people to those standards. If people do not want to meet the standards set then simply fire them – that includes customers.

Recognise talent ahead of skills. Talent is the ability to focus above and beyond the others around you. To have fun doing what you are doing and to keep doing it when most others would quit. To enjoy what you are doing even when it is not going that well. To bring passion to what you do. To listen to critical feedback. To learn by watching the best do what they do.

Close the door on the old culture. Develop a new culture rather than change the old one. Be sure this new culture runs on passion, heart, and brainpower. Be sure the new culture is the result of purpose-driven groups. Be sure that the new culture is tribal and thus self-regulating.

Get the best out of people. Recruit people with talent rather than skills. Be sure to utilise all the talented people on staff and within your customer base. Be sure you encourage all your talented people to set new standards of behaviour and performance. Be sure to reward your talent in line with their achievements. Be sure that your talent rewards system is transparent and equitable.

Provide use value to customers. Provide more use value to your customers than they pay you for your service or product. Be sure you encourage negative feedback. Be sure you can handle criticism in a positive and affirming way. Be sure you know the value of whatever you provide to your customers. Be sure you are thinking about the future value of what you provide. Focus on use value for customers and work out new ways to provide it at a low cost. If the use value to customers is high and the cost of provision is low consider providing it free of charge.

Whatever happens with this global economic crisis one thing is sure we have entered a new era in business.  Ahead is a time when business models are based on managing from the outside in not inside out. 

What does that mean exactly?

C20th business was based on the Henry Ford business model of mass production through specialisation.  Ford established a model that last 100 years - the inside out business.  His premise was simple - get your people-based systems right and drive down the costs of unit production through economies of scale.  His assembly lines were fast and efficient at producing a specific product - a black T model vehicle.  It could be a car, truck, van, etc but it was always black.  Later this mass production model was adapted so that customers could choose different options including colours but the core unit was mass produced nonetheless.  The essence of the inside out business model is the notion of economies of scale - produce more units and the cost per unit drops and so more customers can afford to buy your product.  Later finance innovations enabled customers to borrow to purchase their goods and so the C20th business model advanced through the two key factors that Peter Drucker identified 1) marketing 2) innovation.  Always it was an inside out process.  Those inside the business created the marketing and innovation to spark customer demand.

C21st business is different.  It is a network activity.  The network is the customer base.  That base is doing the marketing and innovation.  The marketing is viral - it is based on word of mouth or chatter over the net.  The innovation is also conducted outside the business - it is customer driven and networked by users.  The best example of this new business model is Linux software development.  It is marketed exclusively by its users.  It is innovated exclusively by its users.  Google is another example of a C21st business model - it lets its users market its products and its relies on user feedback as the spur for innovation of products and services.

Is your business model outside in or inside out?

Theme --- Prepared yourself to make a difference through personal sacrifice?

One thing is clear - the next decade is going to be very different to the last. This difference will have a universal impact and yet it will also impact directly upon you as an individual.

We all have to make sacrifices if we are to reap the enormous benefits of these times. By way of helping you to set your agenda for the next 10 years, let me pose a few simple questions to each of you.

How much education do you have? How much knowledge do you possess? How creative are you with ideas and change? How do you intend to live and work over the next 5 to 10 years? How much do you think you have to change - your habits, mindsets, and ways of thinking about your world if you are to fully benefit from the emerging global economy?

If you are deficient in education or work choices or flexibility of mind and habit then you will have to sacrifice more than you might have been expecting to reap the huge benefits coming our way over the next 10 years.

Ahead is a period of great opportunities. These opportunities are greater for the fact that they were almost completely unexpected just 5 years ago. The challenge ahead for those of you who want to make the most of your opportunities are few but nonetheless important.

First and foremost you have to embrace new technology. This might well mean you have to sacrifice as you are forced to retrain, move jobs, move location, and generally rearrange your life's priorities.

As I stand before you as your newly elected President there is one self evident fact - the new digital global economy is here to stay.

This digital economy is forming a new middle class that lives in China, India, Asia, Africa, and South America. Americans have to workout where we fit in this new global schema. You have to work out where you fit and what you can bring to the table so that your family might benefit from all the new prosperity that is coming our way.

Second all Americans, and that includes YOU, must now accept the challenge of living, working, and doing business on a green planet. A planet that has to dramatically and quickly lower its carbon footprint.

Accepting this challenge is not easy because it means taking on some real sacrifices. It means changing habits, mindsets, and ways of thinking that have been with you all your life. It means becoming a minimalist where carbon is concerned which, in turn, means having and using less of most of what you take for granted today. Are you preparing to go green in your life, at work, and within your community?

Third some of you have to be prepared to put yourselves in "harms way" as we continue to engage our enemies wherever they may be.

These are not conflicts of our choosing and if we can negotiate a peace to end them then we will BUT, be assured sometimes we have to fight for our freedom as others have fought for on our behalf in the distance and the recent past.

Fourth we all have to sacrifice if we are to build a new sense of "social cohesion" across the length and the breath of America. The gap between our haves and our havenots must be closed. We can no longer merely continue to "paper over" these gaps with increased entitlements or earmarked grants from Washington.

Instead all Americans must now adopt a "zero tolerance" for any lack of transparency, accountability, or equity within our Governments, businesses, or communities.

We can no longer tolerate the "self-centered" actions of those who like to paper over the cracks to make themselves look good, those who want to deny inequality of opportunity because they fear competition, or those who are not prepared to be held fully accountable for their own actions.

Finally my administration will be transparent, accountable, and equitable in all its dealings with you and your community. Together we can and we will rebuild America....  Yes we can...  Yes we can....