One Thing's for Sure - the World's a Blur

Seller, beware. Davis and Meyer foresee the emergence of what they call the "Value 500": organizations of consumers intent on "pooling demand, not supply, and on delivering the greatest value to consumers." That's already happening in lots of places: Working Today, an organization based in New York City, is negotiating group discounts on health insurance, office supplies, and computer software for its 35,000 free-agent members.

In a blurry world, here's one distinction worth making: Other pundits point out the disappearance of the old boundaries. Davis and Meyer do an uncommonly good job of bringing that hazy future into focus.

Daniel H. Pink dhpink@ix.netcom.com is a Fast Company contributing editor. His last article, "Free Agent Nation" was the December:January 1998 cover story.