State of the New Economy

But then comes the next challenge: to assume higher levels of responsibility and self-discipline commensurate with that newfound freedom. We need to move with empathy so that technological progress can bring society at large up to its potential new level.

We haven't yet developed a "technology" of the spirit and psyche that matches what we've developed in terms of the technology of technologies. We haven't yet found a way for technology really to add to the social capital of the world.

My biggest fear is, What if we never do?

Rabbi Irwin Kula (jkirchheimer@clal.org) is the president of CLAL (the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership), an independent organization dedicated to preparing Jewish leaders to respond to the challenges of a new era in Jewish history. He is also on the faculty of the Wexner Heritage Foundation.

Caroline Soeborg Ohlsen

Chief Creative Officer
Cell Network
CEO Mousehouse
Copenhagen, Denmark

To me, the greatest thing about the new economy is that it frees us to create new stories about how the world can work -- and how we can work -- in this fast-changing world. That's how I think of new-economy builders: We don't build companies. We tell stories -- stories that make a difference for our employees, for our customers, and for the world around us. A new story about life and work is simply more exciting and fulfilling than a story about the industrial way of living.

So we had better be damn good storytellers.

At Cell Network, we like to say, "Together, we create the new beginning." To me, that's a vision -- a mission statement of sorts -- full of hope, ambition, and life. And that is exactly what should attract new employees and customers to the company: the idea that they can share in the creation of something, that they matter, that they can make a difference.

It's fantastic to be alive at a time when you can have an idea that, through its realization, can profoundly impact the way that commerce, communication, and society at large work. We can create products, services, or processes that will possibly affect the lives of our children and our grandchildren.

It's a rush! But it's also a tremendous responsibility -- one that requires a great deal of holistic consideration.

For example, we have to consider -- and be prepared to deal with -- the unintended consequences of our actions. What really troubles me is the fact that the technological revolution is not proceeding at a synchronous speed around the globe and, in many ways, is creating an enormous gap between the new-economy countries and the no-economy countries. That's not the kind of world I want to live in.

We have an enormous obligation to learn from the lessons of the past. The question is, Will we?

At the age of 23, Caroline Soeborg Ohlsen (caroline.soeborg.ohlsen@cellnetwork.com) founded the multimedia center MouseHouse. A year later, in 1993, she founded Space Invaders -- the first digital-design education program in Scandinavia. She was headmaster there from 1993 to 1995 and chairwoman from 1996 to 1998. In 1999, MouseHouse merged with Cell Network, becoming the world's third-largest full-service Internet consultancy.

Jonathan Hoenig

Founder and Portfolio Manager
Capitalistpig Asset Management LLC
Chicago, Illinois

The catchphrase "new economy" has been co-opted by consultants, contractors, and anybody else with an interest in touting the intangible. Along with stock prices, entire industries (including Fast Company) have sprouted up in response to this "new paradigm" of business that has come about through technological advances.

I don't buy it. And I get a kick out of watching everyone who does. At a time when most people are intensely focused on the future, I'm preoccupied with the past. Why? Because after a whopping 24 years on Earth, I'm ready to conclude that nothing really ever changes.

Once I stood on the floor and traded one commodity. Now I stare at a screen and trade 30 commodities worldwide. But in the markets, as in life, greed and fear still motivate. They always have, and they always will.

What information technology will help to illuminate, however -- and I think that a lot of people have forgotten this -- is that the most valuable commodity isn't soy-beans but service. As I build my own business, what interests me most is the incalculable equity inherent in employees who are able to attract and to retain clients. More than trading strategies. More than profit forecasts. Because in a deflationary environment where goods keep getting cheaper, the human touch is what's going to propel our "commodified" business models into the next century and beyond.

I feel terribly privileged to be alive at such a dynamic time in history. Sure, the markets will fluctuate, and technology will change. I don't know what the future holds. I'm just psyched to be along for the ride!

Jonathan Hoenig is portfolio manager at Capitalistpig Asset Management LLC, a Chicago-based hedge fund that he founded in September 1999. He is also the author of Greed Is Good: The Capitalistpig Guide to Investing (HarperBusiness, 1999).