The economy is digital
No part of the global economy will remain unaffected by the impact of digital technologies. How should you respond in order to thrive?
What exactly is the digital economy? How does it differ from the analogue economy? And what does it really mean for you as a business leader?
One thing’s for sure: it no longer refers merely to business conducted online. We can no longer delineate in any meaningful way between some supposedly analogue portion of the economy and a separate digital economy. All of the economy has become digital.
This digital economy is a new, very different business environment. It empowers insurgents and threatens incumbents with a perfect storm of creative destruction. While the speed and direction of the transition will vary, no sector or region of the economy will be unaffected, and the shift will be economically wrenching for many.
It will also, in many cases, have broader social, political and environmental implications that leaders will need to consider. For example, even if additional entrepreneurial activity creates enough new work to overcome the impact of automation, mitigating the downsides and smoothing the path will require radical re-employment for millions.
No sector or region of the global economy will remain unaffected by the impact of digital technologies; it’s where and when and how, rather than if. And the impact in the real world is already much more significant than the virtual world alone.
