Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy. - Review - book reviews

HR Magazine, Dec, 1998 by Stacy Van Der Wall

Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy implores readers to accept and embrace the reality of "blur" in their business and personal lives. Written by two futurists from the Ernst & Young Center for Business Innovation, the book argues that the meltdown of traditional boundaries is changing the way business is done. In the new "blurred" economy, boundaries are eliminated and adaptability is essential for survival. The lines between buyer and seller, product and service, employee and entrepreneur are blurred beyond recognition.

Blur is defined as speed multiplied by connectivity multiplied by intangibles. Enhanced speed means shortening product life cycles and doing business in "real time." Connectivity via the Internet will help get you there. But, what sells this book is the theme of intangibles, such as emotion, intellectual capital, brand name and customer loyalty to sell products.

The authors cite Harley-Davidson Inc. and Amazon.corn as models of companies that use intangibles successfully. Harley-Davidson CEO Richard Teerlink told Fortune Magazine in a June 1997 interview, "There's a high degree of emotion that drives our success. We symbolize the feelings of freedom and independence that people really want in a stressful world."

Amazon.com tailors its products to customers based on specific information they provide online. For example, customers can ask to be notified when their favorite author publishes a new book, and they can view other books similar to the one they are considering purchasing. Amazon.com epitomizes blur because the company receives feedback directly from customers instantly and uses it to improve its products and services.

Blur also provides some intriguing ideas about how individuals can capitalize on this new economy. For example, individuals can securitize themselves by selling shares in their future endeavors. Singer David Bowie did just that when he sold personal bonds entitling investors to receipts from future sales and royalties on previously recorded material. Prudential Insurance Company of America purchased the entire issue of bonds for $55 million, according to the book.

In the same tradition, Blur advises people to become "free agents," or independent consultants, and market themselves accordingly. By selling their knowledge, individuals are letting the market, not one particular company, determine their worth. This encourages individuals to become more entrepreneurial rather than subject themselves to a company's potentially hierarchical corporate culture. With the web and the proliferation of temporary employment agencies and consulting firms, becoming a free agent is even easier.

Despite these intriguing ideas and the authors' obvious enthusiasm for their product, the book falls short by failing to examine the big picture. To be fair, Blur is not intended as a how-to book but a compendium of ideas and observations to spark creativity. But while its thesis that business is changing due to enhanced speed, connectivity and intangibles is acceptable, the book never explores the consequences of this change.

For example, the authors plug the Internet as one of the best ways to do business today, but they never address the issue of privacy. Web sites take extra security measures to ensure privacy, but many consumers are still skittish about putting their credit card numbers online.

The only companies that will succeed in a blurred economy are those that frequently reinvent themselves and evolve to meet the constant demands of the marketplace. The authors hold up MCI Communications Corp. founder William G. McGowan, who reorganized the company every six months to encourage innovation, as a role model for this kind of strategy. But, they never discuss how much it cost the company to employ it.

While change is both necessary and healthy for growth, the authors take it a little too far by advising companies to constantly reorganize and restructure. For many companies, this is an extreme proposition that is easier said than done.

The last chapter suggests 50 ways to blur your business and 10 ways to blur yourself. Some of these suggestions include putting emotion into your business, customizing your business to meet consumers' needs and forgetting the "old" rules of business such as the law of diminishing returns. Readers also can log on to the web site at www.blursight.com with their own suggestions and can view more examples of the blur phenomenon.

Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy is easy to read, entertaining and thought provoking. However, don't expect answers or reasons why business is changing.

Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy by Stan Davis and Christopher Meyer, Perseus Books, 1998, 265 pages, $25.00. ISBN: 0-201-33987-0.

Stacy VanDerWall is editorial assistant for HRMagazine.