Author: Jeremie Averous

How value has shifted to the service economy in less than a decade

In the Industrial Age, extractive and manufacturing companies were the largest and the most powerful.

They were the absolute majority of the top companies until 1985.

They were the absolute rulers of the economy.

Then, in less than a decade, they became a minority. They got overtaken by service industries – banks, insurance companies, internet companies. Today they represent less than 30% of the top companies.

We still don’t realize how this shift is deeply transforming the economic landscape. We don’t realize how pure extractive and manufacturing value has decreased relative to the value of services and creativity.

When will we start realizing that the economic system has already started its Revolution? When will we start to realize that the bumps of the economy we are going through are but the painful adjustment of our economy to the Fourth Revolution value production system?

When will we start leaning into this new value system instead of trying to revert to the Industrial Age view of the economy?

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Creativity: the power of disciplined delivery

Already 50 posts in this blog!!

To tell the truth, at the beginning I doubted I would have inspiration for more than 20 posts!!

And then I gave me a rule – publish 3 posts a week.

Sometimes I am inspired and I can write 5 posts in a day.
And sometimes I am right there in front of my screen… stuck… what clever stuff could I talk to them about?

But because I need to deliver, I get my creative resources together and I do.

Of course all the posts are not great, have not the same appeal. But at the end – the discipline of delivery obliges to be creative. And I am quite happy about the overall result.
Salvador Dali
Wait… discipline and creative are two words that don’t go together?

The creative artist is often depicted as somebody who has no discipline in his life at all!..

But maybe that’s just what conventional wisdom wants us to think. Scratching the varnish, one often finds that successful artists are disciplined in their own way.

When do you start the discipline of delivering to enhance your creativity?

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The second part of the Fourth Revolution manifesto is on line!

Cheap, long distance interactive communication is NEW! Understand what has changed in the last 20 years that triggers the Fourth Revolution.

Fourth Revolution Manifesto part II cover

You can access the second part of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – Cheap, long distance interactive communication is NEW by clicking on the link. You can also read and share the document on Scribd – it has a great reader and can also be used as a backup if the above link does not work: the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – part II on Scribd .

Don’t hesitate to comment and bring in suggestions in the comments to this blog post!

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The case for collaborative consumption

This presentation by Rachel Botsman on TED about collaborative consumption is an eye-opener about the power of the Fourth Revolution in the field of consumption.

It gives revolutionary ideas in particular about what to do of the unwanted Christmas presents!

It also gives revolutionary ideas about how our day-to-day behaviors about consumption will be revolutionized.

When you think about it, consumption currently is in the broadcasting stage. The Broadcasting intermediaries are the stores and the department-stores. You buy what they have. They decide which products are being sold. They spend huge money in advertisement to try to influence tastes.

Like publishers will progressively disappear in the field of book and music publishing, so will the broadcasters of consumption. It has started. The infinite shelves of online stores like Amazon reference many more articles, and the collaborative platform of ratings and discussion gives the power to the consumers.

That idea is scary. But so real. We need to understand its intricate consequences.

Consumption broadcasters beware! The Fourth Revolution is on you! If you want to survive, anticipate!

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Choice and life purpose – the lesson of Matthieu Ricard

Do you know Matthieu Ricard? Matthieu Ricard

He is a great example to show that one’s purpose in life is often concealed and revealed only later. And also, that one must make real choices to reveal one’s purpose.

If you haven’t heard about him, you might want to take a few minutes to discover this personality. It’s a person worthwhile listening to with great insights for modern life.

One particularly interesting thing is that, being a young scientific researcher, son of a prominent philosopher, fully embedded in modern society’s elite, he decided as a young man to leave everything and seek spirituality as a Tibetan Buddhist monk. He left the comfort of Europe to join a spiritual quest. He became the disciple of great spiritual leaders there. He became prominent in the Tibetan Buddhist community.
Then around the year 2000 he somehow managed to reconcile his scientific mindset and his Buddhist monk experience, by being a key driver into the investigation of the brain activity of experienced meditators. Mind exercise is shown to change significantly the brain!
He is now a bestseller author, writing marvelous books about happiness and a number of other issues, gives talks worldwide.

Matthieu Ricard made a tremendous choice to leave modern society, living for 20 years with very little resources in remote places in Asia. He is finally contributing much more powerfully to the world and our understanding of ourselves than if he had stayed a PhD student and became a researcher like many others in a research institute. He probably could not anticipate this when he made his initial choice.

What a better example than this one to show that one’s purpose in life is often concealed and revealed only later? To show that one must make real choices to reveal one’s purpose? That otherwise it may stay forever latent?.

What REAL choice will you make in 2011?

Do you want to know more about Matthieu Ricard?
There are a lot of resources by him on internet – videos, pictures. You can visit for example Matthieu Ricard’s website or watch one of his videos on Youtube. For example, his video on “changing your mind – changing your brain” is a great insight into brain modification induced by training.

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Publication of the first part of the Fourth Revolution manifesto!

The Fourth Revolution Manifesto part I – a short history of humankind – 100,000 years in 3 Revolutions is finally out !

This is also to announce the kick-off of the publication of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto!

Fourth Revolution Manifesto part I cover

You can access the first part of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – a short history of humankind – 100,000 years in 3 Revolutions by clicking on the link. You can also read and share the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – part I on Scribd .

Don’t hesitate to comment and bring in suggestions in the comments to this blog post!

Note on the future publication of the manifesto

Because of the amount of information and to make it more readable, I have decided to split it into 8 parts. These 8 parts will be progressively released over the next 2 month.

Why?

  • Each part will be more readable, being around 30-40 pages.
  • The reader can focus on the sections he or she will want to read… and skip the rest!
  • It is expected that the progressive release of the Manifesto will foster its wide communication.

The first Part of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto is published for the New year 2011 as a good start for an exceptional year!

… and the plan is to publish one part every week for the next weeks, around Sundays!

To discover all parts of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto, here is the link access the Manifesto page on the Fourth Revolution website

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Let your light shine. Happy new year!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?”
by Marianne Williamson, American Author and Peace activist, in “A return to love”, 1992

At the time of the new year when we are thinking about the year ahead and possibly forging some new year’s resolutions or writing down our objectives for the year, what could be a better inspirational quote?

Happy new year and I wish you great, meaningful undertakings in 2011.

“[…] And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others”

Let your light shine. Contribute to the world. And help us get free.

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A great example of what developing countries can bring to the world

A great example of what developing countries can bring to the world is explained in the TED talk by Shahi Tharoor on India’s soft power. This great talk is a great example of how developing countries – India in this instance – could bring a different view and approach to the world.

It is also a great example to meditate on the power of the new cheap long distance interaction in the daily life of people, even in the poorest countries.

The interesting paradox is that Shashi Tharoor was finally dismissed from his political position because he was a bit too transparent in his usage of Twitter. Some institutions still have it hard to face modern realities – and Indian bureaucracy is certainly a great example of institutions that will fight modern technology to death.

Nevertheless the Fourth Revolution will prevail. This is the direction of history. Whether the road will be smooth or bumpy is another story. We all can decide on that.

Take the 20 minutes or so to listen to that enlightening talk. It is worth it. It might change your view of the world.

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Developed countries are joining the collaborative community

I just return from a trip in one of the World’s poorest countries – Laos (181th country on 229 for per capita GDP according to the CIA’s world factbook). A great country to visit!

What is always amazing in all these countries, on all continents, including Africa, is how well connected people are today. The tuk-tuk drivers and the women selling vegetables on the market all have their mobile phones – and chat often. Cybercafes with reasonably high speed internet dot the urban landscape.

More than that – I could book my internal flight tickets or hotels in advance on the web on very good quality websites.

Cheap long distance interactive communication not only empowers those in developed countries that have something to say but could not publish before (‘the power of the long tail’), it also empowers citizens of developing countries to contribute to the debate. To interact with each other. To open to the world. To contribute without being discriminated against, because in the virtual world, people are much more equal.

We should not underestimate the power of this new interaction. Opening to “developing” countries contribution will make us realize how much these countries have to bring to our too westernized vision of the world. The diversity of their views will be an eye opener. This will drastically shift our worldview.

Are we ready to listen to the developing countries’ people voices? Are we ready for the shift?

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Giving is the basis of the new collaborative value creation

Giving always was valuable. It created connections in the real world, and sometimes -rarely- through the post.

The value of giving for free has exploded. Today, more people are giving more value for free than ever before.
giving out to the world
When you post anything on the internet, you give out to the world. The entire world.

I’m sure many people don’t even realize that.

But, why would you implement complex systems to deter people from using what you give out?

Everyday I use contents posted by other people to nourish my thinking.
Everyday I use contents posted by other people to better communicate my ideas to other people.

And, everyday, I give out to the world. On my blog, on the contents of my website, on the links I recommend.

The value of the Collaborative World is based on free giving. What is preventing you from starting, today, right now?

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Giving is the basis of thriving relationships

Giving is the base of relationships. Any relationship.

giving

When you stop giving, the relationship fades.

When you give more, the relationship shines.

Connection is through giving first.

You will always receive more than you give. But you need to give first to establish confidence and the relationship.

So, when do you start giving for free?

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