Things to Come – Predictions for the Future
Everyone is wondering what is going to happen in both the near and distant futures. The prophets of doom are everywhere, and they're selling their books, CDs and online classes by the truckloads. I'm no Nostradamus; but I do believe I have a pretty good handle on where things are going, based on history and observing our planet over the past 50 years. Care to hear my predictions?
THE INTERNET
This one is a no-brainer. I've heard the age we're living in called a lot of things, but I don't see how it could be called anything other than the Information Age. The Industrial Age, which we just left, was about the invention of machines that caused a boom in industry, thus creating the Industrial Revolution. Our own age is about the invention of the Internet, which has caused a boom in information, thus creating the Information Revolution. So, to be consistent, our age is the Information Age.
In 1990, when the World Wide Web was launched, we officially, though not practically, left the Industrial Age and all its trappings and entered an entirely new age. What that means is that everything that was part of that previous age is going away and something entirely new is going to take its place. (So, why bemoan the fact that our manufacturing has gone overseas? It was inevitable.) Let me give you a few examples of how things are going to change.
Howard Schultz Letter – Our Country Is Better Than This
There are two versions of this letter out there, each with a different signature, both claiming to be from Howard Schultz. Both letters may be authentic; but I'm guessing the second signature is the authentic one since it is on the "official" Upward Spiral Facebook page. But who knows - both could be faked. Regardless, they are both good letters, and I'm guessing mark a turning point between people just being frustrated with our government and the direction in which our nation is going, and their actually doing something about it. If you'd like to get involved in this discussion and movement, click the Upward Spiral link in the first letter or at the end of this article.
LETTER #1:
September 2011
Dear Starbucks Friend and Fellow Citizen:
I love our country. And I am a beneficiary of the promise of America. But today, I am very concerned that at times I do not recognize the America that I love.
Like so many of you, I am deeply disappointed by the pervasive failure of leadership in Washington. And also like you, I am frustrated by our political leaders' steadfast refusal to recognize that, for every day they perpetuate partisan conflict and put ideology over country, America and Americans suffer from the combined effects of paralysis and uncertainty. Americans can't find jobs. Small businesses can't get credit. And the fracturing of consumer confidence continues.
We are better than this.
Three weeks ago, I asked fellow business leaders to join me in urging the President and the Congress to put an end to partisan gridlock and, in its place, to set in motion an upward spiral of confidence. More than 100 business leaders representing American companies - large and small - joined me in signing a two-part pledge: