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Volume
9, Issue 12 - December, 2008
Robert
(Bob) Cannon
In
the beginning, God (a benevolent dictator) created an idyllic garden
for Adam and Eve. He wanted them to be safe and happy forever. He
warned them not to eat of the tree of knowledge
(milepost 1.0) because it contained the knowledge of good and evil.
They ate the apple and gained knowledge. He expelled them from the
garden of Eden because that was His law. The benevolent dictatorship
ended. Adam and Eve and all of their offspring were subjected to
the never-ending conflict between good and evil.
Time passed and Tribalism evolved into Feudalism as the primary
form of government. That was up until about 570 years ago when Johann
Gutenberg perfected the printing press and moved us to the next
milepost, The Tree of Knowledge 2.0. His invention made possible
the mass availability of the Bible thereby spreading knowledge of
good and evil. Other books were also made available that resulted
in new ways of thinking and new forms of government including Marxism,
Socialism, Fascism and our own representative democracy. The level
and complexity of the conflict between good and evil escalated.
Today, with personal computers and the Internet we have arrived
at The Tree of Knowledge 3.0.
First, look at what is happening on the web. There are about 1.5
billion users on the internet and it is reported to be growing about
18% per year. Statistics vary, but there are over 100 million blogs
online and over 77% of internet users read blogs. Today it takes
less than 5 minutes and no financial investment to start a blog.
In Gutenberg’s time, printing a book
was faster than transcribing but still very time consuming and the
number of different books published was limited. Today publishing
on line is cheap and fast. It is available to the world at the push
of a button because distribution is “digital.” This
truly is The Tree of Knowledge 3.0 and with it, I fear we have ratcheted
up the level and complexity of the conflict between good and evil.
It didn’t happen overnight. It needed the computer, the internet
and the technology of Blogger and Word Press to make it possible.
It is being promoted via Social Networking technology such as Twitter,
Technorati and others to come. The truth is, we are still on the
leading edge of this expansion.
If you don’t think it is a Reformation, think again. Look
at what is happening around you. Our world is changing very rapidly.
Old institutions like newspapers, magazines, the postal service,
banking, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler are expiring right before
our eyes while the new digital world is flourishing.
Even our governments locally and internationally are floundering
and with good reason. Socialism has failed every where it has been
tried. Representative Democracy is failing because politicians and
citizens have learned they can vote benefits for themselves ignoring
the good of the whole. The one good thing here is we know that self
interest works. How we direct self interest in a positive direction
is still to be determined.
The Tree of Knowledge 3.0 is the milepost of the New Reformation.
Many governments including our own, are trying to prolong the life
of the old institutions with bailouts and government regulations.
They will lose in this effort because the transformation is inevitable.
Our politicians don’t get it either. They try to prop up parties
and failed solutions with the same old rhetoric.
While I can’t predict the future, I am convinced that:
- Individual freedom and voice is more important to people than
ever before. Look at the the blogs, YouTube, Twitter, MyFace and
the rest of the web.
- Specialization drives us towards ever increasing fractionalization
in our society. We have moved from broadcasting with 3 major TV
channels to narrow casting with 400 channels.
- There is something to be said for James Surowiecki’s “The
Wisdom of Crowds”.
Hold on tight, we are free falling into an incredibly new and important
part of history!
Thank you to the readers of Taking Aim for subscribing to this newsletter.
From our house to yours, Have a joyous and happy holidays and may
2009 be your best year ever!
Start 2009 with one of my programs developed to help enhance performance
in organizations just like yours. Call me toll free at to discuss how a program could be tailored from
a one hour presentation to full fledged workshop dealing with your
issues to enhance performance in your organization.
If you have a subject that you would like to see covered in future
issues of “Taking Aim,” please send me an email at aim@CannonAdvantage.com.
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Robert E. Cannon
Management Consultant
13985 Aquilla Road
Burton, OH 44021 USA
866.598.8450 phone/v-mail
440.834.1052 facsimile
aim@cannonadvantage.com
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"When the people fear their government, there
is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."
~ Thomas Jefferson
“Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it.”
~ Unknown
“In general, the art of government consists of taking as
much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to
the other.”
~ Voltaire (1764)
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what is required of him; it is the amount and excellence of what
is over and above the required that determines the greatness of
ultimate distinction."
~ Charles Kendall Adams
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