Chapter 1. Efficient Technology = Velocity

IF YOU STOP AND THINK ABOUT IT, YOU’LL REALIZE that nothing has changed the dynamics of how an organization operates more than technology. No other variable can decimate existing structures and create changes in markets at the lightning speed that technology does. In fact, no other manmade variable will have more impact on our lives. Even the poorest people in the poorest countries are beginning to benefit from advances in medical, transportation, and communication technologies. People who can barely find enough food to eat often have a cell phone in hand. In the developed world, we are quickly integrating technology into every minute of every day. We depend on it to stay healthy, to earn a living, to communicate, and to prosper both as human beings and financially. And as it does all this, technology is also reorganizing how we operate organizations.

Technology is the main catalyst behind the increasing velocity of change in our world. It allows us to replace many human tasks with automated systems that perform much faster and more accurately. This has been true since the invention of the wheel, which helped humans increase the velocity of their transportation systems and cut down on the number of people needed to move products. The speed of technological innovation has been increasing over the centuries, but it took off exponentially with the advent of the mainframe computer. Then the PC altered our lives by making technology personal. Next, the Internet increased the velocity of change once again. I love going fast and I know how quickly things change, and even I am stunned by how many new web-based applications come out each week and how rapidly people adopt them into their daily processes. And the velocity of change is only going to increase.