Welcome to the September issue of The Exponential Executive.

In this Issue

	What's Impossible?
	Study the First Six Months of the Next War
	The Future of Telecommunications
	Is Evolution Exponential?

In Other News

This past month, I have traveled the country speaking to a variety of businesses and trade associations, including the construction, education, health care and insurance sectors. To get a brief overview of the insights I have been sharing with my audiences just click on the associated link.

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What's Impossible?

What’s impossible? The question sounds rather quixotic doesn’t it? It isn’t. It’s a question every business, political and community leader needs to ask themselves if they are truly serious about successfully leading their organization into the future.

We now live in an era of accelerating change. Every day new advances in nanotechnology, robotics, biotechnology, and information technology bring science fiction-like advances one step closer to becoming science fact. People unaware of these advances risk leaving their organizations unprepared to compete in this accelerating future. Read on.

Study the First Six Months of the Next War

In 2005, I wrote a book entitled "Soldier, Statesman, Peacemaker: Leadership Lessons from George C. Marshall." One of my favorite quotes of Marshall's is the advice he pounded into the heads of his junior officers: "Study the first six months of the next war." It was great advice in the 1920s and 1930s (when Marshall helped train over 200 officers who would later become generals during World War II), and it is still great advice today. For more on how new technologies are transforming the future of warfare click here.
 

The Future of Telecommunications

Last month, I am traveled to Florida to give a speech on the future of the telecommunications industry. One of the bigger (and, to be honest, not terribly new) trends in the field is the continued growth of video. In the spirit of this trend, I’d like to offer you six different videos which each, in its own unique way, offers a glimpse into the future of the telecommunications industry. The first three are very cool, and the next three are more technical but still provide some very good information. To view them, click here.

Is Evolution Exponential?

When Charles Darwin first proposed writing his landmark book on evolution, The Origins of Species, his editor suggested writing a book on pigeons because, in his words, “Everyone is interested in pigeons.” Fortunately, Darwin chose to ignore the advice. I am reminded of the story because even though Darwin’s theory was proposing only that species make modest, incremental changes over long periods of time, it was—and in many circles still is—a revolutionary idea.

What happens, however, if evolution is not just incremental in nature but rather exponential? That, too, is a revolutionary idea—especially since it could impact us within our lifetimes. For a powerful analogy demonstrating how fast our world is changing, click here.