New Normal?

BS from Fast Company's investment manager's puff piece on the New Normal (a euphemism for I get it and you don't.).

Old Normal Internet Time

New Normal Real Time

Measured in days, weeks, and dog years (for the business cycle). Absolutely everything was accelerated, from hiring to going public. Eighteen months was the magic number for major undertakings, from startup to ship, from funding to IPO. The bumper sticker was, "Stop for lunch and you are lunch." Says McNamee: "It was a kind of hormonal reaction. There was so much urgency that every standard -- for due diligence, leadership, recruiting, and investment -- was relaxed."

"The New Normal," says McNamee, "is about real life -- and real time. Getting things right the first time is more important than getting things done quickly." That's the opposite of the late-'90s mantra, "Fail faster to succeed sooner." Everything -- whether it be building companies or hiring top talent -- takes longer in the New Normal. Even more important in the new time frame: Don't waste your own time. Dedicate it to what you truly enjoy doing.

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More thought-provoking article in the same issue: Christopher Meyer describes companies as living organisms. Don't be wigged out by death; it's only natural. All living things eventually die. Moving on beats hanging on through artificial life support. Join the kids as they grow up.
Posted by Jay Cross at May 13, 2003 09:17 PM | TrackBack