The Top 10 Shifts to Make in the Information Age

Originally Submitted on 6/15/99.

To paraphrase what Einstein said regarding the atomic age: 'The Information Age has changed everything except our way of thinking.' According to many, if not most, credible historians and economists, the world of the Information Age is ten years old. It began in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall an event that marked the end of the Cold War era and the start of the Information Age, i.e. an era of globalization wherein many walls came a tumblin' down not just the ones made of concrete!

1. A shift in metaphors

If the Cold War era was like a "wrestling match" between two giants, i.e., United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Information Age is more like a "hundred yard dash" that never ends!

2. A shift in symbols

The Cold War era was symbolized by the Berlin Wall that separated East from West; but the Information Age is symbolized by the Internet and the World Wide Web that unites everyone along the Information Highway.

3. A shift in anxieties

The underlying fear of the Cold War era was the nuclear weapon and the accompanying doctrine called "Mutually Assured Destruction" (i.e. MAD!). Today, the underlying fear of the Information Age is that a terrorist group might one day explode a nuclear device high enough in the atmosphere to melt down the capacity of every computer system in an entire nation like the United States with charged electrons!

4. A shift in control

In the Cold War era, everyone in the world knew that the two super-powers were going to have their way once their two leaders conferred and agreed over "the hotline" between the Kremlin and the White House. In the Information Age, people log on to the Internet for instant access to the global village. The playing field has been leveled, so that people's access to information can no longer be controlled by any one nation or government.

5. A shift in priorities

In the Cold War era, people wanted to know the size and capacity of a nation's nuclear missile technology and warheads. In the Information Age, people want to know the speed of your modem and the capacity of your bandwidth.

6. A shift in health

In the Cold War era, the relative stability of international financial markets made its patterns clear which were undergirded with mineral reserves of gold, silver and platinum. The Information Age has changed the rules, so that rapid changes in market conditions can cause great amounts of wealth and power to shift in milliseconds.

7. A shift in consumer sensibilities

The old ways of advertising products and services are definitely outdated. In the Cold War era, it was enough to promise that your product or service was "new" or "improved" or "brighter" or "more effective," etc. In the Information Age, consumers respond with, "Prove it!"

8. A shift in power

In the Cold War era, CEOs and others "in charge" of an organization could take a page from President Harry Truman's legacy and place a sign on the corner of their desk that read: "The Buck Stops Here!" However, in the Information Age, the sign will have to change so as to read, "The Buck Starts Here" because leaders will be the "big picture people" who get the ball rolling but many others will be "in charge" of refinement and implementation along the way!

9. A shift in politics

In the Cold War era, the political question for every nation was, "Which operating system will you choose to embrace? Communism? Socialism? Totalitarianism? or Democratic Capitalism?" In the Information Age, the only operating system that works is one that is based upon globally integrated, free-market capitalism. The choice for nations today is, how and to what extent will you choose to make this operating system work for you?

10. A shift in thinking

In the Cold War, people's thinking was quite linear. People were either "left brained" or "right brained," "visual, auditory or kinesthetic," "straight or gay," "red, yellow, black, white or brown," etc. Management was "by objectives," and TQM (i.e. "Total Quality Management") wasmore of the same at every level. In the Information Age, people are evolving to see that the old stereotypes no longer "fit" because globalization in the Information Age is driven not by trade, but by technology. There now exists a "glut" of information. What is needed is wisdom. In an age of "information overload," wisdom and common sense intuition is a premium product, i.e. to paraphrase St. Francis, "O Lord, give me ... the wisdom to know the difference."

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