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The Competitive Advantage of the Future
Imagine a business school one hundred years from now. When business students in the year 2124 study the most successful organizational leaders of our time, of the 21st century, what patterns will they notice? What will stand out among the vast majority of Fortune 500 CEOs, or faithful church pastors who led with integrity, or the most brilliant musicians and filmmakers?
I have a theory. I refer to it as “The Competitive Advantage of the Future.”
Well, it’s not my theory, but I have adopted it. It’s an idea I first heard in 2020 and think about constantly. It begins with a simple question.
“What if disconnection is the competitive advantage of the 21st century?”
Pause and read that again and really feel the weight of what it’s asking. It’s haunting.
I have thought about that question almost every day since I first heard it in February of 2020. It’s the last line in a podcast episode with Adobe’s COO Scott Belsky.
Disconnection is the competitive advantage of the future.
Why is this idea such a big deal? Let me explain.
You are only a human — meaning, you only have 17 waking hours in your day and of that, likely around 9 hours working at your job. So in…
