We Are We Are

Listen.. people be askin me all the time,
"Yo Mos, what's gettin ready to happen with Hip-Hop?"
(Where do you think Hip-Hop is goin?)
I tell em, "You know what's gonna happen with Hip-Hop?
Whatever's happening with us"
If we smoked out, Hip-Hop is gonna be smoked out
If we doin alright, Hip-Hop is gonna be doin alright
People talk about Hip-Hop like it's some giant livin in the hillside
comin down to visit the townspeople."
-- Mos Def from Fear Not of Man

WE ARE THE ECONOMY.
Here is my list of the top 5 guesses about where I see us going.

(1) Collaborations and Partnerships
While the old economy relied heavily on contracting work (and potential liability) out; the products and services of the new economy will bring innovative collaborators in. Sub-contracts: out; participation agreements: in. Work product will be held in “common spaces” (such as Box.net) where various entities come together to work for the right to attach his or her name to the product. Giant food stores with no-name produce providers: Out; Farmer’s Markets: In.

[example: AT&T & iPhone both companies’ images are on the line for the whole of the product and the service. ]

(2) My Story is My Product
Alright, so this is old news. But it is another compelling argument as to why the strictly low-bid sub-contractor is on his way out of some markets. Companies, large and small are realizing the increasing role that image plays in cornering market share each player’s “story” stands to bring much more to the bottom line than being a low-bid contractor or service provider without a name. Your story and your company's logo will be front-and-center on the future’s product.

(3) Phase Out the Fee
The days of getting a pay-check just for showing up no longer compute. That old style economic structure does not encourage us to be competitive in the global market-place, it does not encourage us to produce our best work. Where possible, we will be moving to more commission-based and partner/member buy-in based kinds of pay structures. Not to pick on the big guys, but why can't fund managers be paid based on a percentage of their funds' performance; why can't corporate executives be paid based on a percentage of their companies' (reported) profits?

(4) URL is the New Y’ALL
And if you don’t know what URL stands for, yes, you need to go look it up right now. If a feature of your business does not have its own clearly coded location on the internet, does it exist? If you aren't sure sure, why don't you google it and find out? ...Okay, but seriously, I'm not just talking about computer and internet technology here but rather the technology of coding, storing, sorting and accessing information. This may sound like boring work, but remember: the New Economy's Librarian is HOT! So get at it! In the future every single document relating to your business will be accessible to you, your employees, your partners, and, whenever possible, the public all on the instant. You can no longer rely on Sandy in accounting to find that schedule to your 1994 tax return -- Let the woman retire already! The sooner you get your stuff organized, the easier your future will be.

(5) So Many Different People = So Much Fun!



Yes, that is the photo of the Spanish Men's Basketball team making "asian eyes" in their photo for the Olympics in China. Yes, the future will be a crazy, diverse mash of peoples and languages and cultures and hilariously charming customs. Yes, Asia will be increasingly more important as will the Middle East. And yes, cultural faux pas are inevitable. And Yes, I am so excited!!

The New Normal

I promised to get to the bottom of this "New Normal" phenomena. In a nutty shell, the New Normal is just a bad name for the same old ....

1. Consumer Patterns.

Per ABC News (who has a series of articles and videos on the subject):
“The New Normal: How has the recession changed the lives of average Americans? The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and the ensuing recession have forced Americans to change their lives in ways large and small. It's a world of "new normals," with more belt-tightening, less income and, in many cases, a newfound gratitude for the most basic human comforts: family, home and health.”

It is true that American’s are cutting-back and saving more. But, to ABC I say: There is nothing “new” about a mother foregoing her three-figure salon appointment for a 15-minute stop at the Hair Cuttery. A bad haircut is not News. Selling a beamer in exchange for a Volvo is not news. National Lampoons Go to the Community Swim Club…. is. not. news.

Trust me, I come from a long line of coupon cutters and bargain shoppers. My great Nana Hildabidel and my pig-tailed cousin Madison could both tell you, there is nothing new about this normal.

For a more gruesome reminder of the Old Normal of shop-thriftiness: do you remember the WalMart stampede back in those sunny forecasted days of November 2008. Sorry for posting.

2. Ways of Doing Business

Per an article written by Ian Davis in the McKinsey Quarterly
“We are experiencing not merely another turn of the business cycle, but a restructuring of the economic order.”

Davis’ “New Normal” for businesses includes: (1) less financial leverage; (2) an expanded role for government; (3) a struggle between financial transparency and financial protectionism (he and I both rooting for the former); and (4) Asia.

I’m in agreement. Though I am not sure whether these four points fully constitute a “restructuring of the economic order.” More change than this is coming, I’m sure of it.

Finally, if people and businesses really need to bone-up and adapt to a New Economic Order, we really need to come up with a more encouraging name than the “New Normal.” This isn’t Joe’s Economy people, it’s ours.