Lessons from the Future: Making Sense of a Blurred World from the World's Leading Futurist [Hardcover]

Stan Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 11, 2001

"This unique and well-tested voice consistently arrives in the future much earlier than anyone else." Nicholas Negroponte, Co-Founder of MIT's Media Lab "Stan Davis is a master at linking abstract truths and discoveries to specific business applications. What could be more useful? He is a national treasure." John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends and Megatrends 2000 On Blur: "Blur is fast, smart, and useful-a decoder ring that any business person can use to make sense of the turbulence in the world of work today." Alan Webber, Founding Editor, Fast Company ".should be required reading for the millennium." Walter B. Wriston. Former Chairman and CEO, Citibank On Future Perfect: "If you want a hint of what's going on in the new economy, this vintage book will clue you in." Kevin Kelly, Executive Editor. Wired On 2020 Vision: ".a provocative masterpiece." Tom Peters, Author and management guru On The Monster Under the Bed: ".the single best book I've read in years about how all enterprises had better gain and deploy knowledge." Warren Bennis, Author and leadership expert ".a must for understanding how learning technologies are transforming our work and our play, our businesses and our schools, our entire lives." John Seely Brown, Former Director, Xerox PARC ".future visioning at its best." Peter M. Senge, MIT and author of The Fifth Discipline On Future Wealth: ".a valuable guide to the far-ranging, sometimes daunting financial and social transformations ahead." Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, Former Secretary of State ".maps out many astounding and profound societal changes likely to result from the Internet revolution." Frederick W. Smith, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Federal Express ".a mind-stretching look at how an efficient, transparent Internet-connected economy could work." Clayton M. Christensen, author of The Innovator's Dilemma ".a compelling vision of our financial future." Art Ryan, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Prudential Insurance Company of America ".a formidable manual on how to make sense of risk and opportunities. it will make you work smarter as well as harder." Rudi Dornbusch, Ford Professor of Economics and International Management, MIT ".this book is essential reading if you want to master the new economy." Ken Lay, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Enron Corporation ".stimulates readers to think about how the revolution in information technology opens up new contracting possibilities for their human and financial capital." Bob Kaplan, author of The Balanced Scorecard

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Davis is a futurist worth reading for his grounded insights on where the next business opportunities will come from. Exciting stuff by a compelling and authoritative guide." (The Director, June 2001 )

"This single inspirational volume contains some of the best visionary business thinking of the moment ....." (Business Monthly, June 2001)

"...a unique book...this book is worth reading.." (M2 Communications, 31 May 2001)

From the Inside Flap

lessons from the future Stan Davis is quite simply one of the world's greatest futurist. His books have sold over a million copies worldwide and are published in fifteen languages. They include the worldwide best-seller, Blur, Future Perfect (winner of the Tom Peters Book of the Decade award) and, most recently, Future Wealth. He has written for Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Fast Company and numerous other international business magazines. Lessons From The Future combines new writing with the very best of his unique body of work. In this single inspirational book, Davis addresses issues that are still playing out and still lie in the future, as well as the present. It contains some of the most visionary business thinking of the moment, including mind-stretching pieces on the information economy, the foundations of wealth, the next bio-economy, connectivity, emotional bandwidth and mass customisation. Lessons from the Future also includes a unique article by the author reflecting on his own work and the value of ideas in the new economy. Stan Davis is the world's highest profile new economy guru. He is 6'7" and prefers sitting on two stacked chairs. When people do a double take, he explains that chairs are built for average-sized people 5'7" who can't sit in kids' chairs built for 4'7"-size people. He looks at business the same way, finding opportunities by seeing situations in new ways. His creative thinking makes practical connections to new business opportunities. Lessons from the Future will help managers and entrepreneurs identify the business and social sea changes that are transforming everything, everybody and every enterprise.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Capstone; 1 edition (April 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841120707
• ISBN-13: 978-1841120706
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,482,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!, July 31, 2001

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lessons from the Future: Making Sense of a Blurred World from the World's Leading Futurist (Hardcover)

This collection of essays links futurist Stan Davis' previous works with some of his newer ideas about change and commerce. Believing that his ideas (Future Wealth, Blur, Future Perfect, 2020 Vision) have held up, he expands upon them to explain the philosophy he thinks underlies the next 20 years (or "the second half") of the information revolution. He delves into the next era he anticipates, one of even greater consequence - the Bio Economy. He explains not only the rise of biotech, but also the biological or networked economy, where everything is connected to everyone all the time. Moving from theoretical to practical, he advises judging your company's worth by its predicted rate of growth and change, not by traditional measurements. Then, Davis speculates about the more distant future, post 2050, when cloning, stem-cell research and such transcend theory and join the chaos of our everyday lives. If the future makes you gasp, we [...] say read on.

0 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lesons from the future, September 6, 2005

By 

Rosella L. Limon (St. Paul, Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lessons from the Future: Making Sense of a Blurred World from the World's Leading Futurist (Hardcover)

I was expecting a long wait. The book arrived within a very reasonable time. The condition is excellent. I am very happy with this provider.