Scient's Near-Death Experience (p. 99)
FC Article

• How does the next economy compare to the new economy? How do organizations and business models transition from the principles of the new economy to those of the next economy? What are the implications of Sapient's prediction that 'today, technology is the transforming agent rather than the business itself'? What are the new rules for business in the 'next economy'? How will these new rules affect your organization?
• Explain Sapient's metaphor of the evolutionary process of 'water' to 'tidal pool' to 'land'? How does the next economy reinforce the importance of flexibility and adaptability in organizations? What kind of organizational structures or processes need to be considered in order to achieve this mobility and flexibility? How does one create an evolutionary model for companies in the new economy?
• Who will prove to be the winners in the next economy? How can an organization prepare itself to successfully respond to this kind of paradigm shift? How can businesses mobilize their capabilities to take advantage of the opportunities of the next economy? How can an organization prepare itself to target a range of possibilities for emerging technologies? What models or strategies does your organization use to predict market or consumer behavior? How would you rate the response capabilities of your organization to shifts in market or consumer behavior?
• How does your organization communicate with consumers or customers? How would you improve this communication or correspondence in response to the idea that in the next economy 'competitive advantage stems more and more from identifying and satisfying customer needs'?
• What does 'real-time management' mean to you? What kind of 'real-time management' structures does your organization have in place? How could you improve this system to work more effectively? How would you define 'enterprise mobilization' in terms of your own organization? 'If success is all about the ability to continue to create and to self-transform, businesses will have to rethink the ways that employees work and interact.' What are the organizational implications of the 'next economy'? How do you design strategies for your organization as a whole to cope with constant change?

Marc Andreessen: Act II (p. 110)
FC Article

• What are the keys to leadership in the next economy? How does this contrast with the concept of leadership in the new economy? What are the significant changes or shifts in thinking?
• Andreessen poses the question: 'Has the culture of the company been built on the concept of change from the very beginning?' How does your organization respond to this? In what ways does this make your company strong or weak in the next economy? What structures or systems can be created within your organization to aid the response to change?
• What would be the 'Ten reasons we are going to go out of business' for your organization? How does this exercise refine the thinking process of your organization's mission and goals? What inspirations for strategy and change in your organization come out of this exercise? Create an individual list along the same lines, say 'Ten reasons why I will be dissatisfied in the future.' What does this list teach you about your personal mission and goals? How can you translate the implications of this list into strategies for change within your organization?
• Do you agree with Adreessen's theory of dictatorial management? How does this work or not work? In your opinion, what is the most effective way to bring about organizational change? What is the most effective way to foster ideas? How does an organization effectively capitalize on its strengths? How does this redefine leadership for the next economy?
• How does an organization maintain a vital spirit of innovation? Andreessen talks of the perils of conventional wisdom; yet how does an organization stay involved with its environment or audience without 'defiling thinking'? What are the dangers and benefits of developing in isolation? If 'every day that you're not learning from an actual paying customer is a day that the market is moving further away from you,' how does an organization stay involved without losing mission and focus? How does your organization handle the issues of community involvement versus idea contamination? How does an organization avoid 'second system syndrome'?

Ann Karash contributed this month's Flash Points.

February 2001 Connexus | Flash Points | Next Steps

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