The advance of technology
We often don't understand the resources we have due to the advance of technology.
We hear about the latest industrial revolution, industry 4.0, the rise of automation, but is this the biggest change happening? Maybe not.
"The best way to create value in the 21st century is to connect creativity with technology", Steve Jobs.
This week's article will be different from my usual writing. It's a reflection on an concept I thought it would be cool to share. The ideas came a book called Entrepreneur Revolution.
The author's question is — Are we still in the industrial revolution? Or has the advance of technology taken us even further?
According to the Author, yes — we are in the Entrepreneur Revolution.
The entrepreneur revolution
First, let's get things clear. I am not talking about owning companies. I am talking about the entrepreneur mindset, the courage to take ownership of whatever you do.
An entrepreneur is someone who get things done and you don't have to own a company to do this. You can be an entrepreneur in your job and life.
This term has been used so heavily, that its original meaning was lost. An entrepreneur is an individual who acts. It comes from the Latin phrase “inter prehendere”, meaning “seize with the hand”, in the sense of physically mastering something, to take control.
The difference this time, is that the tools that appeared are designed to empower not only businesses, but people themselves.
- Today, a farmer in India has access to more computing power than NASA had when it launched Apollo 11.
- Today, a teenager has more tools for building a business than Coca-Cola did when it expanded internationally.
- Today, your ideas have more potential to be massive than ever before in history.
But to understand how we can benefit from this, we must first understand how we got here.
The 4 H's of human evolution
To grasp this concept we must go back in time and understand the 4 H's of human evolution.
The first H? Humans. Our own very selves. Following the birth of Humans, we had the age of Hands, the age of Heads, and finally — The age of Hearts.
The industrial revolution seems to have dehumanized us. We tuned out from our desires to do any task that was assigned to us. As a result, we literally forgot how to be human in the industrial world. We got away from our humanity to such a great extent, that it's probably no coincidence that epidemics of depression have affected humanity.
"A big part of the entrepreneur revolution is to rediscover our humanity, our passion. At the center of it there is love.", Daniel Priestley.
We love the all the streaming options available, we love Amazon's quick delivery, we consume what we love. Lately, if love is missing from a business, it might not survive in the future.
We need to enjoy what we do. Teams have to enjoy working where they work. Clients must love buying from businesses. Communities must want to have businesses around them.
The age of hands
For thousands of years we thrived because of our hands. Humans evolved to become brilliant tool makers. We made weapons that could take down bears, we made tools to turn land into fertile soil.
The most admired man in society were those who were strong with their arms. Kings were judged on their ability with swords and warriors were worshipped by their battle skills.
In the 1500s humans produced fine art through Michelangelo and Da Vinci. Then, at the beginning of the industrial revolution something weird happened — we created machines that could surpass us.
1 sewing machine could outperform 100 tailors. 1 tractor could outperform 100 farmers. 1 engine could outperform 100 strong men.
The age of heads
Then came the thinking men. Bessemer with his new steel process, Rockefeller with his oil distribution and Morgan Stanley with his financial expertise. Suddenly the most powerful man on Earth were not particularly talented with their hands — they were brilliant with their minds.
The 2nd round of big thinkers came with Sam Walton and his Walmart megastores, Bill Gates with his Microsoft operating systems and Jobs with his cool Apple hardware.
Then once more, something strange happened. We built machines that could outperform us for a second time — we created computers.
1 piece of software could do the work of 100 accountants. 1 website could do the work of 100 managers. 1 automated system could outperform 100 scientists.
The age of hearts
Now we enter the age of hearts. Just as machines became better than us at dexterity, and computers are now better than us at thinking, a new type of technology took over — the technology for connection.
Connection is about knowing what someone is experiencing, thinking, feeling, and what their interests are. Social media, social networks, digital marketing, all of these tools allowed us to do things we couldn't before — understand what our audience wants, needs, feels and thinks.
People have access to so many options nowadays, that we need to offer something beyond the product. We need to offer an experience. Treat them like you would treat a friend, and you will find your business is booming beyond your imagination.
"We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It's our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.” Jeff Bezos.
Starbucks will do well if it continues to create the best coffee experience. Apple will do well if it continues to create the world's best consumer technology. BP Oil Company might come back if it realizes that it needs to power the planet in a way that makes sense for everyone.
Focus on connection
The age of hands allowed low cost manufacturing of products and the age of heads created technology to help us think better. We can now gather the product and the technology, and use our hearts to focus on the people. On their experience.
All that is left for us, is to approach our industry with more love than anyone else. We need to become more connected with the people in our industry. We need to make them part of our vision — if we want to succeed in the age of hearts.
We could have been born any other time in history, and our battle would be against disease, hunger, or war. Any other time in history, and we wouldn't have had a voice or a platform to share our message. Any other time in history, and our ideas would live and die in our heads without seeing the light of day.
We are living in a time when anything is possible, where we do have a voice, where our ideas can come to life. We're here in the right time and place to make a difference to the first H of the evolution. Humans.
