The Weightless Society shows why entrepreneurship will become a mass activity, companies will need to be structured as if they were brains, ownership must be broadly spread, networks will become the main way of organizing the knowledge economy, and truth and collaboration will be the new ethics of the new economy.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Charles Leadbeater is an advisor to British officials, a research associate with a public-policy think tank, and a former editor of several respected publications. As such, he's had ample opportunity to view today's rapidly evolving high-tech world from the perspectives of both individuals and institutions. In The Weightless Society, he presents his insights on the social and economic implications of a time when "most of us make our money from thin air"--meaning, he explains, that we "produce nothing that can be weighed, touched or easily measured." His proposals for improving our personal and professional lives, peppered with references to such disparate figures as Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise (on the connection between an organization and the human brain) and Pope John Paul II (on the ownership of knowledge), are often revolutionary, but consistently viable nevertheless. A section on restructuring business to meet the requirements of managers, workers, customers, and investors, for example, concludes with a look at the "Personalized Company" that he sees attracting the "workforce of diverse talents" needed to succeed in this environment. Such creative, flexible, and performance-driven enterprises, he notes, would allow employees "to choose different approaches at different stages" while promoting "self management" and building "overlapping social contracts" among all stakeholders. Like the rest of this book, it makes sense--and makes you think. --Howard Rothman
From Publishers Weekly
Early in 1978, Swedish advertising executive Gunnar Broman led a small delegation of his countrymen to New York with a commission from his country's Liquor Monopoly to promote the import of Swedish vodka into the United States market. At their first marketing meeting, Broman, whose previous claim to fame was a hugely popular porridge promotion, faced three challenges: not only did the vodka lack a name and a package, but the product itself did not yet exist. From that inauspicious beginning, Hamilton spins out a rollicking tale in which a zany cast of government bureaucrats, marketing mavens and profit-seeking distributors collided with numerous business nostrums and yet managed to create a brand that became the leading imported vodka in the United States by 1985. Hamilton, a leading Swedish journalist and television personality, revels in the absolute lunacy of a vodka that was first concocted in 1978 and distilled at a newly built plant in Arstadal outside Stockholm being represented as a liquor made in the ancient distillery town of Ahus according to a tradition dating back 400 years. Though Hamilton may direct his savage wit at the alchemical wizardry of the advertising industry, the very real benefits of savvy positioning and eye-catching media campaigns in the selling of Absolut vodka also come through loud and clear in this highly entertaining business-behind-the-business report. (Dec. 1)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An inspired view of our time and our future,
By
This review is from: The Weightless Society (Paperback)
This book is written from an amazingly human perspective. It provides a view of how as a society, we are on a rocket ship ride with knowledge as our fuel. We and our children will not have to toil in coal mines or risk life and limb on factory floors. We will thrive on creativity, ingenuity and imagination. But instead of feeling more in control, we are feeling a collective anxiety, less control, more uncertain. We feel ludicrously certain (about scientific advances in the mapping of our genetic structure) and beset by doubt (about a welfare system that cannot ensure housing and healthcare for our citizens). Much of this has to do with a lack of self reliance and a need to trust (that computers will work, that brands will keep their promises, that doctors will be healers and not business moguls...)Consider this passage for just a moment... "Collaboration is the driving force behind creativity. Learning, one of the most basic activities in the knowledge economy, is an essentially social activity: we learn with others and through others. Social capital is vital to generate trust and to allow people to take risks. It is through the networks of relationship that underlie social capital that people learn of new ideas and make new contacts. Social capital is not a socially conscious add-on to the market-driven economy; social capital is essential to its working." Charles Leadbeater has given us a thoughtful and considered look at how the rules of our economy have radically shifted and so therefore too must the rules of our social and ecological infrastrucuture. The economy cannot sustain this rocket-like pace without careful consideration of how we will support the people, all people, in our society.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An inspired view of our time and our future,
By
This review is from: The Weightless Society (Paperback)
The book is written from an amazingly human perspective. It provides a view of how as a society, we are on a rocket ship ride with knowledge as our fuel. We and our children will not have to toil in coal mines or risk life and limb on factory floors. We will thrive on creativity, ingenuity and imagination. But instead of feeling more in control, we are feeling a collective anxiety, less control, more uncertain. We feel ludicrously certain (about scientific advances in the mapping of our genetic structure) and beset by doubt (about a welfare system that cannot ensure housing and healthcare for our citizens). Much of this has to do with a lack of self reliance and a need to trust (that computers will work, that brands will keep their promises, that doctors will be healers and not business moguls...)Consider this passage for just a moment... "Collaboration is the driving force behind creativity. Learning, one of the most basic activities in the knowledge economy, is an essentially social activity: we learn with others and through others. Social capital if vital to generate trust and to allow people to take risks. It is through the networks of relationship that underlie social capital that people learn of new ideas and make new contacts. Social capital is not a socially conscious add-on to the market-driven economy; social capital is essential to its working." This is only the beginning. The book held my attention till the very last page. I only hope our business and political leaders take the time to read this. You should too!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tech Entrepreneurs, this book is for you.,
By
This review is from: The Weightless Society (Paperback)
Recently I overheard a clueless manager of a local enterprise say that the reason the United States is losing jobs is that services don't create wealth, only manufacturing does. Wrong, our current economy (at least in developed countries) is very much knowledge driven.
According to Leadbeater, "most developed countries make money out of thin air: We produce nothing that can be weighed, touched, or easily measured." Think about that for a minute and it'll be as bright as day. Internet services, telephone calls, accounting and legal advice are all examples of modern economic products that are weightless. According to the author, many products are weightless because they're comprised of service, judgment, information, and analysis. As an example, think about something as simple as cell phone ring tones on which consumers worldwide spent $3.5 billion in 2003. Charles Leadbeater has given us a thoughtful and considered look at how the rules of our economy have radically shifted. Consider that the knowledge-creating company of the future will need to embrace eight principles: 1) Cellular Structure 2) Self-Management (especially important to motivated, educated, and ambitious professionals) 3) Entrepreneurship 4) Equity Pay and Membership 5) Deep Knowledge Reservoirs 6) Integration 7) The Holistic Company 8) Collaborative Leadership "Collaboration is the driving force behind creativity. Learning, one of the most basic activities in the knowledge economy, is an essentially social activity: we learn with others and through others..." All in all, The Weightless Society will certainly stimulate your thinking. For technology entrepreneurs, pay special attention to the information throughout the book on dematerialization because the new economy is driven by information. Ultimately we will continue to create more and more with less energy and material. Michael Davis - Editor, Byvation
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