Preparing for the new normal

By David Wee, CEO and Founder, DW Associates and Asia Speakers Bureau | Aug 24, 2009

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David Wee

The new normal is the new ways to solve old problems on an individual’s new state of mind.  The new normal is about connecting future, creativity, new social media into our present life, hobbies and business in the new web 3.0 age.  It is a new way of life.  Facebook, link-in, twitter, google, speed, multi-tasking, giving, CSR, global warming … is the new normal.  Building on networking and platform, building communities, active, lack of time, interconnectedness and individual power is the new normal.

If you are in Human Resource, you now not only looked in the applicant’s resume, you will be asking, how fast can you learn, what are you reading, who are your connections, how many friends do you have ….

When people have infinitely powerful personal devices, connected to infinitely fast networks and servers with lots and lots of content, there will be a new kind of application and it will be personal.  It will run on the equivalent of your mobile phone.  It will know where you are via GPS, and you will use it as your personal and social assistant.  It will know who your friends are and when they show up near you.  It will remind you of their birthdays.  It will entertain you.  It will warn you of impending threats and it will keep you up to date.

Broadband technology is linking individuals across the globe as never before.  Many of the interactions in which these people participate are for enjoyment.  However, a significant and growing number use this technology to connect professionally with other individuals, share knowledge, and collaborate on work projects.

The harsh message is that everything will happen much faster. Every product cycle, every information cycle, every bubble, will happen faster, because of network effects, where everybody is connected and talking to each other.  So there's every reason to believe that those who are really stressed out by the rate of change now will be even more stressed out.

According to Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt, you're going to select executives who like the rush of the intensity.  They're going to be drawn to the sense of a crisis.  The sense of speed.  And they are the ones, ultimately, who are going to rise to the top.

Free is a better price than cheap.  There are business models that involve free with adjacent revenue sources. 

There's a lot of evidence that groups make better decisions than individuals.  Especially when the groups are selected to be among the smartest and most interesting people. The wisdom of crowd’s argument is that you can operate a company by consensus.

Many companies now invite their customers to rate products and recommend improvements.  Not only is this a good way to keep customers engaged with the brand, but these streams of data also give companies powerful new insights on how to position products, create new ones and decide on pricing strategies.

BIO: David Wee     is Founder and CEO of DW Associates & Asia Speakers Bureau (ASB). He is the primary developer of Entrepreneurial leadership and creating new space in a crowded market™ (ISBN: 981-05-2338-6). 

DW Associates is organizing 2010 – The NEW Normal conference in Singapore, 16 & 17 Nov 09. For more details, registrations and event sponsorships, Call +65 96791106 or http://www.apesnap.com/event/TheNewNormal