The future of Europe – a short repost

Looking back on what I wrote about some time ago I found a text I wrote in 2005 about how the European project might crash. The context then was the French riots which sent an echo throughout Europe. I often find it interesting to read foreigners who observe and comment on your own behavior. In Peter Schwartz’s … Continue reading The future of Europe – a short repost

The folly of digitalization strategy

A digitalization strategy is dangerous and mainly wrong approach. Why? Because it draws the attention to today’s models, structures and systems and how they can change and become digital. And why is that wrong? Just ask yourself these questions: Would the bookstores have survived if they pursued a digitalization strategy? Would the newspaper industry thrive … Continue reading The folly of digitalization strategy

The possible long term potential of Blockchain

What is Blockchain and what are the possible consequences for the future? Blockchain is the key innovation behind the cryptocurrency Bitcoin and have lately come in focus almost everywhere. Blockchain itself can be described as a technology with the ability to displace the need for other (e g human, legal, governmental…) layers of trust between any … Continue reading The possible long term potential of Blockchain

It is our stories, not technologies, that shape our future

We are drowning in news about new technologies every day. Technologies that are solving difficult problems as well as opening new possibilities. It is easy to see them as the most powerful forces transforming our world. But we forget one important aspect. We perceive these technologies through the stories of our time. These stories are much more important factors shaping our future than any technology. It is … Continue reading It is our stories, not technologies, that shape our future

Nine areas of change, which are “rewinding” our society (to the Middle Ages)?

Since we can trace the birth of many of our defining concept of this society back to the end of the middle ages, why not try to mirror what is happening today in how the world looked like then? Here is X things that I have collected which sometimes seems to be rewinded: Organizing The decline of the nation state as the dominant organizing principle Hierarchical structures are challenged by the open spaces and market way of organizing things - innovation Knowledge and world view Increasingly relativistic view of knowledge - broadcasting model is challenged and is losing it's politically and socially defining qualities The decline of the idea of a better future - the idea of progress The text-based knowledge society is challenged by a world of verbally told stories and images Breakdown of the quantitative perspective and re-emergence of a qualitative world view and geographical perspective - death of distance, valuing the people and the experience of a specific place without so much romancing about how far away it is from home' Re-emergence of the risk society - the world out there is a dangerous place and we need to be protected Value creation Re-emergence of a non money value exchange systems - open source, make, prosumtion Break down of the immaterial ownership logic, where   

Automotive industry and the future of mobility

What about the future of the automotive industry? It doesn't look good from an American (or Swedish) horizon, but where is all this going and how are we going to transport ourselves tomorrow?? Yesterday I held a speech at a local conference of entrepreneurship. As usual I talked about scenario planning and it's virtues of … Continue reading Automotive industry and the future of mobility

The organizational silo confirmed

In July this year HBS published a working paper by the name: Communication (and Coordination?) in a Modern, Complex Organization where the authors analyzed e-mails from 30.000 employees in a large company over a 3-month period. It is really interesting that this has been done, even if I wonder why it wasn't done before (or … Continue reading The organizational silo confirmed