It was 40 years ago that “Cracklin’ Rosie” got on board for Neil Diamond and Diana Ross learned there “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” It’s also when futurist Alvin Toffler introduced us to the concepts of information overload, prosumerism and a warning that a combination of social and technological changes will bring us into a “Future Shock.”

As I write this, Alvin Toffler and his equally brilliant wife and collaborator, Heidi, are reported to be at a private club in the Washington, D.C. area at a retirement party of sorts. You have to ask who goes to a retirement party for the people who advise nations and multinational corporations how to plan for the future of the world.

Please read the rest of the story in my MediaBullseye column.

The Toffler Associates 40 Drivers for the Next 40 Years (partial summary)

We are in the midst of an accelerating, revolutionary transformation. Change is happening everywhere – in technology, business, government, economics, organizational structures, values and norms – and consequently affects how we live, work and play. As industry and government leaders, we must acknowledge that this change demands new ways of governing and of running our organizations. The ways in which we communicate and interact with each other will be different. The methods through which we gain and process information will be different. The means by which we earn and spend money will be different. Through the culmination of these and other changes, organizations will be radically transformed.

(Read the rest of the report – PDF)

Take a second a listen to what Alvin and Heidi Toffler had to say about education.

%d bloggers like this: