Whether you’re a small-town car dealer or a corporate CEO you’ve got to know where you’re heading. Which is easier said than done these days.

What’s the ultimate result of the ongoing technical and business transformation … what’s the most desirable destination, and how do you manage the turmoil before getting there?

This obviously gets trickier as change accelerates and your planning horizon comes too close for comfort.

A few decades ago, companies made detailed tactical four year marketing plans, and ten year strategic forecasts. A somewhat surrealistic belief in predictability, even then. Especially in light of the ongoing transformation from traditional retail stores to hypermarkets, department stores, and huge shopping centers. Not quite as fast as today’s serial, seemingly endless digital revolutions but equally challenging.

The go-to guru at the time was Alvin Toffler, most famous for insightful books like The Future Shock and The Third Wave. He didn’t claim to predict the future but he made sense of the chaos, suggested some roadmaps, and actually turned out to be right about much of the future too. If you have read something similar about today’s uncertain future, please let me know.

One thing is certain: There will be no ”New Economy” like the one preached by some enthusiastic dotcom entrepreneurs before the Millennium crash. Products and companies based on real needs, real solutions, and proven ROI will be at least as successful on the other side of the chaos as they are today.

Rolf Andersson
Phyron Writer and Editor