Recently, during the question and answer session of a keynote address I gave at the Staffing Industry Analyst’s Conference on the freelancer economy, I was asked, “Why is it different this time?” The attendee clarified the question by saying change is always here — it is the only constant. So, why should we pay more attention this time than we did 10-, 20-, 50 years ago? In this episode of the Future in 5, I discuss the three reasons why it is different this time. First is the speed of change. Change is happening much faster than we have ever seen before — not just on the technology side, but on the behavior side as well. Second, we are living in a connected world. It is easy to access information and people. Therefore, change promulgates at a much faster pace than ever before. Third and finally, change is happening in virtually every market and industry you can possible think of. In the past disruption was relatively gradual, happening in one industry at a time. Not so today. Look at how Uber is disrupting transportation and logistics, Square’s disruption of payments, Fitbit’s impact on medical devices, the freelancer and sharing economies impact on traditional models and forms of employment. New marketplaces, platforms and technologies are disrupting pretty much every industry you can think of. As the saying goes, “Either you disrupt or get disrupted,” and this is what we’re starting to see. Listen in as I expand on this topic, and let me know what are you seeing?

Comments