Customer Reviews

New Rules for the New Economy

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I just finished Kevin Kelly's book, New Rules for the New Economy; it is provocative--"trenchant," as it says on the book jacket. I should preface my next remarks by saying that I'm glad I read the book and will recommend it to certain of you. Some of what Kelly says is compellingly true, and of that part, some of it was relatively new when the book was first written. At the same time,...

I guess it is hard to show what you know in relatively few pages. As a writer, Kelly is clearly his own worst enemy. He uses cryptic graphics that sometimes convey a lot, sometimes convey nearly nothing. He writes oddly--his language is often imprecise, and since he is sort of terse, that occasional vagueness is pretty deadly. Often, too, he reduces what he has to say to sound bites. I'm wary of people who do that. They might be smart, they might be covering up dumb. They oversimplify, and usually end up sounding partly goofy. In this case, some of what Kelly says is sufficiently goofy that I don't know whether he is unaware of what has been written, doesn't understand what he has read, or doesn't believe what he has read.

If you know what you are talking about, you are likely to be interesting. I think Kelly might be an interesting guy. He's no academic, but he's an educational omnivore. He shows evidence of having read some serious work in technological forecasting--but evidence, too, of not having read deeply on the subject. For example, he appears to be unaware of much of econometric and psychometric--that is, measurement--literature, and some of his statements make it appear that he is unaware of fairly well-known literature pertaining to diffusion and substitution in high-technology markets. At the same time, he appears to be intellectually and professionally very much in the center of the transformation of our economy from industrial to informational.

I thought the book was thought-provoking. I recommend it primarily for the relative newcomer to information-economy writings, with the caveat that readers will have to identify for themselves facts, opinions, conjectures, overstatements, baloney, and a few really good ideas.

Why do alliances among firms kindle increased innovation? Why does the law of diminishing returns not work the way it used to? Why are so many firms giving away their products? Why should some firms abandon their most successful product at its zenith? Why is the value chain becoming less important than the value web? What is the value web?

These are but a few intriguing questions that New Rules answers for business strategists. This tightly written tome offers a lucid explanation of the radical changes in the economy wrought by connected, networked communication systems. Kelly explains how and why the economic rules of the industrial age are being turned on their heads and elaborates 10 rules for the new information-based economy. He explains and offers familiar examples of each rule in action.

This is a must-read for anyone who would understand the changes taking place in post-industrial economies fueled by information technologies.

Fortunately I read the book before I read the "official" reviews. I know people from a Presbyterian pastor in Baltimore to a union offical in Tallahassee who operate as if these rules are already in effect. This book is about the real world. Its challenge is to dare readers to measure the potency of their decisions against the "new rules." These are the the rules that business can use to validate its decisions. Violate these rules, and you put your profits at risk.

Kelly's rules are a network (central theme of the book) of guiding principles. Each principle functions to serve each of the other rules in the network. Therefore, in contrast to the pop-press hodge-podge of futuristic notions, "New Rules" serves the reader by forging clearly stated relationships between the guiding principles of our increasingly technologically driven economy. This book will trigger ideas whether you are in a smokestack industry, financial services, or hi tech.

The book adresses almost all of the questions that one can wonder about the concept of "new economy". It not only addresses the questions, but also gives strategies for success in this new economy. As you go further in the book, you understand that the concept is not actually new but it is another stage of the continuously changing/improving economic and business world. The most important lesson that I have derived is, understanding the external environment and its dynamics is vital for designing the corporate strategy. Moreover the businessmen must learn that adoption to the new business world is not enough, but being able to adopt to the world that is in a continuous flux is also important. After you read and understand the logic behind this book, you become a good analyst of other different models that are proposed by others.

I bought the book about a year ago and thumbed through it, it was a little boring at first, it gets better towards the end. It's not a long book. It's interesting to have read it again after the dot-com bust, to see how many of his points are still valid. Check it out.

I tend to give a book **** stars when it should be read and ***** when it must be read. This book remains a good read even after the dot-com implosion. Perhaps even a better read afterward since the hype and frenzy are long since gone and the work can better live and die on its own.

Kevin Kelly, as founding editor of Wired magazine, has long been one of the new economy's chief advocates. In New Rules for the New Economy, Kelly tries to encapsulate the characteristics of this emerging economic order by laying out 10 rules for how the wired world operates. It is very well thought out and well written. A superb synthesis of new economy thinking. Right or wrong, it does a phenomenal job of putting forth the premises and substantive arguments that make the new economy such a provocative topic. Kelly manages to do this while maintaining a fluid and natural story telling style. Here is a representative sample excerpt:

"Communication is the foundation of society, of our culture, of our humanity, of our own individual identity, and of all economic systems. This is why networks are such a big deal. Communication is so close to culture and society itself that the effects of technologizing it are beyond the scale of a mere industrial-sector cycle. Communication, and its ally computers, is a special case in economic history. Not because it happens to be the fashionable leading business sector of our day, but because its cultural, technological, and conceptual impacts reverberate at the root of our lives."

This book both informs and, more importantly, inspires. Its powerful message has no doubt launched careers and changed lives. It will remain an important read for many, many years to come.

Kevin, like all good pioneers, has taken more than his fair share of "arrows in the back", but don't be mis-led by the naysayers, this one is the real deal.

Offers 10 rules for organizations to follow to benefit from the emerging Economy. The book is really just a condensed version of Kelly's earlier book, Out of Control.

Kevin Kelly's "New Rules for the New Economy" is no more about the economy than Alvin & Heidi Toffler's "Creating a New Civilization: The Politics of the Third Wave" is about politics--and no less. Kelly distills and synthesizes much of the current thinking of such luminaries as the Tofflers, Peter Drucker, Tom Peters, John Hagel III and Esther Dyson, into a practical guide for understanding the sea change affecting, and transcending, the emerging global economy. Kelly's ten rules are actually dynamic meta-principles that are helping to reshape culture and society, and with them the economy, organizational development and dynamics, management, computer-mediated communication, government, and changing notions of community.

What Kelly's book sometimes lacks in originality it makes up for in accessibility -- a kind of literary "portal" (to borrow the Net term) that broadens access to thinkers and writers otherwise thought too specialized for a general audience. Yet, this very aggregation of multi-disciplinary vision and expertise, written with literary flourish and creativity, is exactly what makes Kelly's book so valuable.

Definitely just another businessbook written for non-techs by a Wired mag editor with a really good bibliography. Interesting info about the power and possibilites of networks. Here they are...

1) Embrace the Swarm - Networks Networks Networks 2) Increasing Returns - initial successes aren't self- limiting, but self feeding 3) Plentitude, Not- Scaricty 4) Follow the Free - give away things for free because change is always difficult 5) Feed the Web first - The network is the fim. The firm is the network. 6) Let go at the top - abandon success before its too late to develop what's next. Exit strategies. 7) From places to spaces - multiple physical proximities at the same time = VR 8) No Harmony all Flux - constant innovation is essential 9) Relationship Tech - the most powerful technologies are those that embrace and enhance soft relationships 10) Opportunities before efficiencies - think of opportunities not problems to be solved to create innovation

Kelly's book is a great overview of how the internet will and is now affecting the world and especially the economy. Clearly written, easy to follow along, and quick enough to read, it serves as a good executive overview and thought generator. If, as he maintains, you follow along these 10 guidelines, you'll prosper in the times ahead. But not without a few bumps in this most dynamic, chaotic world.