What's Next?: Exploring the New Terrain for Business

By Peter LeydenGlobal Business NetworkEamonn Kelly, et al.

Book Overview

Who better to help us foresee how emerging trends will help shape the agenda for business in the first decade of the twenty-first century than Global Business Network, the renowned futurist think tank and strategic consulting firm, where some of the greatest minds from these fields converge and converse? In What's Next?, GBN's President, Eamonn Kelly, and its "knowledge developer," Peter Leyden, weave together fresh, new insights from expansive interviews with many of the Network's key thinkers, including: Stewart Brand on civilization, Mary Catherine Bateson on cultural change, Paul Hawken on the anti-globalization movement, Esther Dyson on Russia, Kevin Kelly on thinking globally, and Francis Fukuyama on biotechnology. The result is a thought-provoking, and inspiring guide to the ideas, concepts, and forces that will influence business in an era of increasing uncertainty-and opportunity. Visit the GBN website at www.gbn.org.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0738208558
• ISBN13: 9780738208558
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

shaping forces

A large variety of forces are shaping our future, and the book aims to explore the many forces. There are many views about many subjects, and the book provides interesting samples.

Futurism that's both thought provoking and relevant

This very readable book was given a favourable mention in last year's 'Wired' magazine. It presents informal, interview style responses to topical questions affecting the future landscape of business. The 'What' in 'What's Next' includes Economic trends, Public policy, Ethics, Biotechnology, Terrorism and many more. Futurism is often a distracted and boffinish business, in which little or no practical advice is offered as to how to use its predictions. This text however has a strong strategic skew. It targets a business reader with a view towards orienting long term business strategy to take advantage of emerging and yet to emerge trends. If you want informed medium and long term predictions this is a good resource, particularly if you have an interest in technology investment.

Start at the front

The first paragraph of the introduction says it all! The future begins....

Many big ideas about the future, as you'd expect from GBN

I really enjoyed this book. It is a collection of short 1-2 page quotes from one of the GBN members espousing their views on a given topic. The quotes are arranged by topic, so you get a whole range of viewpoints on the big issues that the world may face in the next 10 years. The GBN members make their points in a very entertaining fashion, full of good quotes and stories. I found it to be densely thought provoking. You want to stop and ponder after every few pages. You may not agree with all of what they say, but the GBN has an interesting world view.If you're unfamiliar with GBN, be sure to check out the GBN book club recommendations on their website. It is a collection of some of the most interesting books I've read.