Institutions and Revolutions | The Fourth Revolution Blog

The Hospital – another Institution that will not survive the Fourth Revolution without a deep transformation

The modern hospital is a Health Factory, and Institution of the Industrial Age. We seek there maximum effect of scale for producing a product called “health”. It is centralized, and even more so that the increasing complexity of modern healthcare, coupled with easier transportation, leads to a concentration of facilities and the disappearance of smaller, more local healthcare centers.

Hospital, the health factory — The hospital, the health factory, will be replaced by new institutions

Hospitals are there to solve situations where the sickness or the trauma is already declared. Without asking its opinion to the patient, because doctors have the knowledge of what needs to be done, it brings people into a system designed to be as efficient as possible in healing them. Tools designed by science – efficient medicines- are used.

How will healthcare transform through the Fourth Revolution? Like in other institutions of the Industrial Age, many of its foundations will be shaken and buckle:

through internet, patients know a lot about their conditions and doctors cannot handle patients like they did before – today they need to open a conversation with the patient, listen and convince
the ability to record data on iPads and all sorts of modern communicating devices makes home monitoring much easier than before
the same apps on ubiquitous devices can play an increasing role in prevention and monitoring, thus preventing cases to become so severe that hospitalization is unavoidable.
soft medicines, traditional medicines and other aspects of everyday life like one’s diet are recognized as increasingly important and powerful in preserving health; and they do not happen in hospitals

Where the Industrial Age concentrated health production in a factory called an hospital, the Fourth Revolution will again decentralize the production of health in the palm of everyone’s hand.

The medical world is one of the most conservative. Will they realize that this wave of change is coming to them before the hospital institution succumbs to the crushing forces of the Fourth Revolution?

How having ‘skin in the game’ is necessary to grow and do incredible stuff

As I am struggling with some aspects of my new entrepreneur life, I was reading “Uncertainty: turning fear and doubt into brillance” by Jonathan Fields, an excellent book about what it takes to lean out of one’s comfort zone, and how to survive it. A quote struck me particularly:

“Risk of loss has to be there. You cannot create genius without having skin in the game. Kill the risk of loss and you destroy meaning and one of the core motivations for action” – Jonathan Fields

Right now I am facing activities which I must absolutely do for my new business to live further but that I don’t like doing: networking, meeting people to pitch products. I rather prefer to write clever reference documents and books in front of my computer! Still, that’s what I seek to learn; and because I now have skin in the game (the success of my venture, my family’s comfort, my money), I’ll force myself to do it. And I’ll do it for sure. That’s quite compelling in fact: if I don’t do it, no new business, no more adventure!

Because I have skin in the game, I’ll go up the steep learning curve and lean outside my comfort zone much deeper – another justification why creating one’s company is much more powerful than doing and MBA or an expensive education program.

Having skin in the game... and what sometimes happens

Because I have skin in the game I’ll also probably get hurt some place down the way – or at least get some hard knocks. But that’s probably what’s going to teach me resilience and patience, two other important learning points for me.

Yes, definitely I have chose to have skin in the game. That’s tough, but three months down the road I am already amazed at the way I’m gone. That’s probably the only way to really do things that you didn’t think you could do. The only way to create amazing things that will astonish the world.

And you, did you put your skin in the game? How could you do that?

The Open Data movement: how governments are already transformed by the Fourth Revolution

In May, the Obama administration announced a Roadmap for a Digital Government.

President Obama launches digital government

This comes after many moves in the UK and Canada toward Open Data and changing how government handles data.

The idea is simple – and it implies to redesign completely how data is handled and made accessible inside the government agencies’ data repositories. Data is to be isolated and collected; and Application Programming Interfaces (API) can then be put in place for both government, and also the public, to exploit and make sense of that trove of data.

Some administrations and agencies will resist to this new approach. But the approach is so fruitful and effective in enhancing government’s effectiveness – and allowing citizens to access and find new ways to use the data – that most developed countries are now moving quickly in this direction.

Why will it work? Because the Federal CIO is reporting directly to the President. And because it is such a pressing, necessary need that those governments that will not do it will die of excessively expensive infrastructure to maintain. In the current context of debt crisis it is certainly an excellent economic decision!

Open Data – public data made accessible to the world, is not just a dream. It is driven by need. And it will reveal unforeseen value to the citizens.

If your government is not yet ready to Open Data, tell them they should do it… or lose precious competitive advantage! And be ready for Open Data to be used to enhance significantly your daily life. People will find ways to use it in unexpected forms and will just reveal the treasures hidden in this trove of information!

Beware! Your life on social networks meshes increasingly with what happens to you in your real life!

Yes, what you are doing in this virtual world of social networks increasingly impacts what happens to you in your real life – because of what people – anybody- can know from your virtual life at the touch of a screen.

And I am not just speaking about dating or meeting with people that you’ve met on a social network. Not even about vendors collecting your clicks and maybe even your location to propose to you products that are ideally suited to your habits and your current situation (which is a bit scary but theoretically should be very practical).

How Klout impacts real life... photo by Garry McLeod in Wired (link in the text)

Do you know there is a lot of controversy regarding Klout. It is a service that supposedly measures your online influence. Of course, there is a bit of controversy about how that’s measured (but then the tool is still “beta”). However the biggest issue is how this unique number that measures influence can be used in real life.

This astonishing paper in Wired shows that even if you don’t know what it is, your Klout score might actually already change your life: it might be looked up by prospective employers or even the hotel clerk (to check if you could really damage their reputation). So you’d maybe better want to know what it is!

A good summary of the issue of the public availability of these indicators can be found in this paper by Jason Falls “The Problems with Social Profiling”.

Of course such a subject unleashes passion: someone computes a score that is publicly available and measures your power of influence or annoyance. This is much more pervading than the recent trend of prospective employers to ask candidates to show them their Facebook page.

The debate on personal data on the internet is now superseded by the debate on those abstract indicators that measure your overall activity – without any hint as to what your activity is. And because these data are available to everyone, increasingly, social network and real life network spaces become intermeshed.

We still need to learn how to benefit from that opportunity while avoiding the main risks. The quest will be long and bumpy. It is unavoidable. The Fourth Revolution is expanding.

Fourth Revolution in action: online universities are becoming mainstream!

Online universities are becoming recognized and deliver more and more degrees.

We had touched upon this issue in the post “Another Institution under Siege from the Fourth Revolution: Universities – Will they Reinvent themselves in time?” with the example of Udacity, a revolutionary online university.

online university — Online universities are becoming mainstream

Traditional universities are now coming into play. The MIT had its courses available online for a while, but now it is a real rush towards the ever growing market of university degrees online.

Recently, the MIT and Harvard announced the creation of edX, a platform for online studying and learning (visit the edX site here and read the edX press release here). This platform has an exciting ambitious growth plan, offering classes online for free for millions (but probably paying degrees!).

This excellent post by OnlineUniversities.com, “8 nations leading the way in online education” summarizes the situation and what are the most advanced countries in the field of online education: USA, India, China, South Korea, Malaysia, UK, Australia, South Africa. Many of these countries are geographically very large or serve as a hub for a large region, offering education opportunities for many.

Online education cannot probably replace face-to-face education in all disciplines but it can in many scientific ones. It is an incredible occasion for people to grow themselves for free. It is an incredible occasion to grow the knowledge base of humankind into the remotest corners of the planet.

Those countries and those universities that will miss this revolution will trail behind and eventually disappear into oblivion. When online universities will do more than just broadcasting, when they will unleash the power of collaboration, they will dwarf Industrial Age universities. This will happen soon.

When will you start taking the classes you always dreamed of taking online, for free?

The Motivation Revolution: how to move from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation

I loved reading the book “Drive” by Daniel Pink. We already referred to it a few months ago in the post “what motivates the K.E.E.N.“.

Daniel Pink uses a framework for the evolution of motivation in history that is similar to the ‘fundamental revolutions’ familiar to the readers of this blog:

Motivation 1.0 – 50,000 years ago – survival
Motivation 2.0 – extrinsic motivators: seek reward and avoid punishment (which lead to put some barriers for social life (don’t steal your neighbor’s wife), etc).
Motivation 2.1 – empowerment in organizations, greater autonomy
Motivation 3.0 – intrinsic motivators: autonomy, mastery, purpose. (the drivers of the Collaborative Age)

It is a real revolution to switch from extrinsic to intrinsic motivators. Yet as our live example of the Collaborative Age organization shows, in these organizations, only intrinsic motivation is at work.

How can we change our extrinsic motivation mindset? No, above a certain level, people won’t stay because you pay them more to do the same boring job. They need to find purpose and fulfillment. How can you give it to them? Only by allowing initiative, failure and releasing control. That will be the secret of success of the Collaborative Age organization. Are you ready for it?

(And for those that have not seen the RSA animation drawn from the book, here it is – and if you’ve seen it, watch it again because it is so fundamental:)

Organizations that launch themselves only half-way in public social media destroy their brand

Social media is trendy. It is where companies can meet consumers, in particular the young generations. A lot of companies launch themselves for marketing purposes. But those who do so half-heartedly, thinking they can just broadcast their message without engaging with the people, are in fact lowering their brand reputation.

Overwhelming tall building — Are you overwhelmed by the Corporation?

As this paper “Lessons of the Exterminator: Transforming Your Social Media, One Customer at a Time” argues, nothing makes more of a difference than not responding to consumers complaints and remarks. If you’re claiming you’re social and you don’t react to consumers observations, you’re doomed on the long term. Unhappy consumers that get a response on their twitter or facebook complaints, and are then engaged in a meaningful conversation will, on the contrary, give the company the benefit of the doubt, and might even become one of their most fervent supporters.

There is a famous case-study involving DELL in 2005 (see this article on Dell’s hell as a summary). Dell took an inordinate amount of time to react and could only see the damage to the brand. They’ve taken the initiative since then and have become one of the brands most engaged in social networks (see a paper written late 2011 on “why Dell is still a great case study“), with a dedicated team engaging with customers and most of their employees trained in social network. Today they’ve learnt their lessons and they leverage social media to the benefit of the brand.

That’s why you can’t really engage in public social media half-way. If you are not setup to respond immediately to consumer’s remarks, if you don’t empower your social network team to exceed expectations and give them the power to get the organization to react, you’re doomed.

Still 70% of the companies engaged in social media today don’t get it!

Don’t engage in social media just for the hype and the impression that it is trendy. If you engage, engage completely and be ready for challenge from the outside. A challenge, that taken positively, can lead to substantial improvement in your business and your brand.

That is – are you ready to be challenged?

Get a glimpse in how the organization of the Collaborative Age will work, today!

Once upon a time there was a company that had no boss. There were quite more than 100 people in the office, and they just organized themselves fluidly around temporary projects: who has the best idea got the support of others.

Pages from Valve Employee Handbook — Extract from Valve Employee Handbook

Desks had wheels so that project teams can join spontaneously. Just unplug, replug, and there you could work next to your new buddy.

Failure was accepted as a learning opportunity and very quickly, new hires worked directly on the main products where they could wreck havoc so easily!

Employee evaluation was based on peer evaluation; a constant stream of feedback was organized to each employee from the feedback of peers; and even salary increments were based on a peer-review ranking.

Do you think this company exists in another galaxy or is just in the Fourth Revolution’s author imagination? No, it’s a company called Valve and its employee handbook is accessible here. Get a glimpse of how the workplace of the future will look like, it is absolutely eye-opening! A real MUST-READ!

Also stroll on the company website, where all current employees are displayed alphabetically. Even the founder, Gabe Newell, is just listed there as any other employee.

Brace yourself because the workplace is going to look more frequently like that: we will be expected to take initiatives in an unstructured environment and let our contribution shine in the eyes of the others. No more boss, no more instructions. Pure initiative, pure entrepreneurship.

Are you ready for the Fourth Revolution in organizations?

The link to Valve’s employee handbook was originally in a blog post by Seth Godin with various other useful references.

VIDEO OF THE QUARTER: Kevin Kelly on the next 5,000 days of the web

In this stunning video from TED, Kevin Kelly describes the revolution of the last 5,000 days of the Web and what is coming in the next 5,000 days. Knowing that the video was shot in 2007 we can already see some predictions coming true!

Fasten your seat belts, the world is now changing amazingly!

How the web will become a ONE machine and we will all be the ONE. How in 2040, the processing capability of the web will exceed the combined processing power of 6 billion individuals. And more insight about the tremendous changes that are happening in the world!

School does not interest people in entrepreneurship… except in China!

The graph below is an extract from the report “Entrepreneurship in the EU and beyond” by the European commission. It shows that overall, school does not make people interested in entrepreneurship.

school education and entrepreneurship — did your school education make you interested in becoming an entrepreneur?

Did you remark the funniest thing in this graph? School makes people much more interested in entrepreneurship in China (CN, at the bottom) than in most European countries, and even than in the US!

Isn’t there something wrong here?

How Crowdfunding redefines the future of Creation for million of artists

The International Herald Tribune published an amazing infographics about Kickstarter. According to these stats, this leading crowdfunding site gathered in 3 years more than 200 million dollars of funding!

Amanda Palmer and the future of creation

Most of the funding happens to be for the creative arts. Yes, because crowdfunding redefines the future of all creative arts. Before, government subsidies were the only way to get funded when the big companies that controlled the market did not want to hear about you. Today, ordinary citizens vote with their feet.

Check out the example of the video of Amanda Palmer, a musician. As of early May she had already gathered more than 500K$, thanks to some viral diffusion by Seth Godin and others. The computation is simply awesome: 10,000 backers put on average 50$ to help her get her album out. And it’s not finished!!

Crowdfunding is changing the world. It redefines the economics and the possibility of Creation for millions or artists. And if you don’t believe it, just listen and watch the excitement of the creators. Go on Kickstarter. And enjoy the video below!

Crowdfunding… a local bakery!

Crowdfunding is a very trendy idea. And crowdfunding a local shop using your customer base as an investor base? Look at how a local bakery got funding through a ‘soft’ crowdfunding initiative linked to the products!

That form of crowdfunding is almost quite close to a a cooperative approach (investment upfront in exchange for cheaper products later), but it works and can serve to produce win-win solutions locally! What’s interesting is that people got involved into the project after they had been touched via social networks, as the bakery project did not have any storefront at the beginning.

So, social networks and crowdfunding can work at different scales, from the local to the regional to the global. How can we leverage these different scales?

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