Date of issue : Monday 01st 2002f July 2002

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This is a quarterly virtual magazine for the thinkers and doers of the 21st century.
This magazine is free! You don't have to pay any charges. It is also free of advertising!
Editor: Mario Raich, Ph.D.

Everything has changed: the future isn't anymore what it used to be, our present is not what we have expected it might be and even the past is not what we used to believe.
More so, our future is changing permanently. It requires a great deal of anticipation and open thinking to cope with this changes.
There is no doubt about it: we are living in a 'New Reality'!
This reality is highly volatile and is constantly emerging. No more linear trends, maybe no more long term trends at all; quick big changes, fundamental transformations and many surprises. What was true yesterday might not be true today anymore; etc.
It looks like we will have a highly volatile and unstable economy ahead of us. Those who are waiting for the turn-around may be deceived.
Maybe we have to get used to very short 'trends' changing every few months.

In the recent years we have had many important developments and breakthroughs in science, in technology, in economy, in entrepreneurship,
in management, on the international political arena. They are of such importance that we have begun to talk about a “new science”, “new technology”, “new economy”, “new entrepreneurship”, “new management” and even a “new world”. Unfortunately in the vital areas of human relationships, conflict management, quality of life far less has been improved.
The “new technology” has brought us extraordinary developments in the ICT (Information and Communication Technology), in Biotechnology, including Bioeconomy and Bioinformatics, in Nanotechnology, the technique to build things one atom or molecule at a time with programmed nanoscopic robot arms.

The transition from the industrial to the knowledge economy is a 'bumpy' road, with many 'ups and downs.' It is linked to the loss of traditional values such as 'life long loyalty.' The new values are stakeholder driven. Increasingly, the unique competitive edge is represented by the hearts and minds of the people. By 'people' we mean all key stakeholders, not just the employees.
This also means that the economy is dominated by psychological factors.
The upcoming economy is therefore more about the 'soul' of the key stakeholders than about legal contracts.
The fuzziness in the economy demands much more 'co-operation', i.e., it is more than ever about trust, common ground and communication. The virtual groups and teams can not function without a high dose of it.
Today's corporate governance is much more about the 'control' of hearts and minds than about corporate policies. The big issues are how to measure this and how to report it. The question of the intangibles in business becomes extremely real.
Whenever and wherever people work together, and the result of this work should be a new or an increased value, the level and the capacity of co-operation is the key success factor.
This is true for all new business ventures, for all projects, for all virtual groups and teams, for all virtual programs, and for customer relationships and strategic partnerships as well.

The virtual Magazine “Knowledge Economy” is free of charge and has no advertisement.
We invite you to send the Magazine to other people that may be interested in the dialogue between the academic research and the business application.
We use a policy of “Right to copy”. For details look at section 7 “Research” in the issue No.1, January 2000.