OK, it’s not really news.
You already knew that tomorrow isn’t going to be much like the past, right?
But what will it be like?
Our most recent book, The Big Shift, tells you what we think.
And good news!
It’s now available.
Early reviews have been very favorable, and it looks like it’s going to be a hit.
We’re hearing comments like, “comprehensive,” “engaging,” “insightful,” and even “inspirational.”
Nice!
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The project to write this book got its start when I (Langdon) was teaching high school and college students. I explained to them how the world is changing, and what this will mean in terms of their personal choices, and in terms of the world in which they’ll be living and working.
As I interacted with them I really wanted them to see that what they’ve been led to expect isn’t much like the real world at all. I was thrilled when I saw how well they understood my message, and this inspired me to turn the whole thing into a book.
Structure of the Book
The book is structured as an inventory listing of the 83 most significant changes, or shifts, that are now occurring worldwide. “The Big Shift” is the aggregate of all them happening at once, which is driving us toward a brand new society in a new kind of economy. This is chaos we see all around us. Now, explained for you in this little book!
Each shift is presented in the book as two facing pages, so it’s a very easy read.
Dozens of graphs and tons of interesting quotes round out this compact little 200 pager.
Part 1 is “World Shift,” an inventory of 32 major changes, or shifts, that are now taking place. These include economic change, climate change, urbanization, digitalization, robotics, the blockchain, etc., and taken together it’s pretty clear that an entirely new world is emerging.
As the world shifts we also have to change our minds, our way of looking at the world, so Part 2 is called “Mindset Shift.” It looks at 13 shifts, including the structure of the next economy and new ways of thinking and managing.
Now that we understand how change is happening and how we have to adjust our thinking, Part 3 looks at “Skill Shift,” the 26 skills that will be most important for future success. These include strategy, leadership, organization, and innovation.
A Preview
If you’d like a preview of the book, please check out the YouTube video below. This was recorded on July 10, 2018 at the INCOSE Systems Engineering Conference in Washington DC, where I was delivering a keynote to the 1000+ attendees.
It was great fun – the group laughed a lot and hopefully learned a lot too. I heard later that it was one of the highlights of the conference.
Most of the graphics I used in the speech came straight out of the book, so if the conversation about exponential change interests you, then the book is certain to do the same.
(Strangely, the embedded video starts at the 16th minute of the talk, so you’ll need to manually set it back to the beginning to see the whole talk.)
If you like the book please post a nice review on Amazon.
If you don’t like it, please let me know how I can improve it!
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Upcoming Keynotes and Workshops
Langdon will be giving a keynote speech in Melbourne, Australia on October 3 naturally enough on The Big Shift, and following up with a half day workshop on “How to develop foresight.”
Emerging Innovation Summit 2018
Melbourne, Australia,
October 3 – 5, 2018.
http://eis18.org/index.html
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The photo at the top of the post shows two models of future cities as envisioned by the great architect Paolo Soleri.