Understanding The Mindset of the Internet Generation

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Dr. Willy A. Sussland

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“So it is said that if you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle”. Sun Tzu

When talking about the Internet Generation, we think of the “f.a.n.g.” companies, i.e. of the Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google. However, there is a swelling number of companies of the Internet Generation who disrupt some businesses at their foundations. Traditional organizations are now facing their competition in well-established sectors. Traditional retailing has been facing competition from companies on the Internet. More recently, banking is facing the competition of virtual currencies on the blockchains that enable cheaper money transfer, and of robo-advisors who offer computer-driven portfolio management.

 As suggested by Sun Tzu roughly 2500 years ago, it is important first of all to try and understand what drives the Internet Generation, and then how best to deal with the changes they cause in the market place. 

Albeit and over-simplification, the following 5 <S> may help understand what differentiates the Internet Generation: namely: stimulation, scope, speed, size, synergies. You can read my paper on LinkedIn Pulse and you can join the discussion on this and other subjects on <Agile Management Innovation>, a new group that I am launching on LinkedIn.

-1- Stimulation. In my dictionary « motivation » is driven outside/in for example by rewards that are offered. Conversely « stimulation » is driven inside/out, and thus it is imperative and almost imposing. The Internet Generation is stimulated by vision, by its systemic and original vision, and it is driven by the intuitive conviction that a large potential could be achieved over time, as well as by the pride of doing something new. For years, Jeff Bezos was unshaken by the losses on his amazon, and by the disdain of his peers. Business-leaders focused on financial performances that can be predictable on the short-term would have desisted; he persisted and eventually became one of the world’s richest men. But, personal riches are not necessarily what the leaders of the Internet Generation are all about. Mark Zuckerberg has been very successful with his Facebook. Now he has become not only one of the super-rich but also a major philanthropist.

Many traditional organizations focus on predictable performances, which are only predictable on the short term and are only shown on conventional accounting in financial terms. They look for objectives that are clear and that can be delegated to fully accountable people. The Internet Generation is unfazed by uncertainty, and by the short term. In many ways, the thinking process of the leaders of the Internet Generation reminds of the « design thinking » of noted product designers like Philippe Starck.

-2- Scope. Consistent with design thinking, the Internet Generation has a wide-angle, cooperative, and systemic approach to problems/opportunities. Able to live with uncertainty and with ambiguity, the Internet Generation is agile and ambidextrous, and it can manage different businesses in different ways. All of the so called « f.a.n.g » companies and many of the companies of the Internet Generation have diversified far afield, and managed to do so successfully. Elon Musk was very successful with his PayPal, and when he sold it he could have retired to lavishly luxury. Instead, he went on to innovate the car industry with his electrical Tesla, with a company that makes large batteries, and with some space ventures. The plant that manufactures the Tesla cars is huge and apparently at the edge of technology.

-3- Size.  Stimulation and scope have pushed the Internet Generation to achieve considerable size in order to leverage economics of scale but they have managed to do so in record time.

-4- Speed. The Internet Generation runs Agile Management. It is open, participative, innovative, and capable of quick changes. It empowers small teams to run their tasks, it uses crowdsourcing, prototyping, and lean management to save time and money.

-5- Strategy and Organization.  Stimulation, scope, size, and speed are at the base of the mind-set of the leaders of the Internet Generation, which is the driveshaft of their strategic and organizational modus operandi, and of their competitive differentiation.

The Internet Generation is here to stay, and its importance in the global economy will only get bigger. Thus, traditional organizations must first understand what drives these relatively new entrants that innovate swaths of the business, then raise the agility of their enterprise so as to compete or to cooperate with the innovators. Cooperation between traditional organizations and the Internet Generation is coming as illustrated by Walmart that is partnering with Google to compete with Amazon and Alibaba.

 

 

 

 

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“So it is said that if you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle”. Sun Tzu

When talking about the Internet Generation, we think of the “f.a.n.g.” companies, i.e. of the Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google. However, there is a swelling number of companies of the Internet Generation who disrupt some businesses at their foundations. Traditional organizations are now facing their competition in well-established sectors. Traditional retailing has been facing competition from companies on the Internet. More recently, banking is facing the competition of virtual currencies on the blockchains that enable cheaper money transfer, and of robo-advisors who offer computer-driven portfolio management.

As suggested by Sun Tzu roughly 2500 years ago, it is important first of all to try and understand what drives the Internet Generation, and then how best to deal with the changes they cause in the market place.

Albeit and over-simplification, the following 5 <S> may help understand what differentiates the Internet Generation: namely: stimulation, scope, speed, size, synergies. You can read my paper on LinkedIn Pulse and you can join the discussion on this and other subjects on <Agile Management Innovation>, a new group that I am launching on LinkedIn.

-1- Stimulation. In my dictionary « motivation » is driven outside/in for example by rewards that are offered. Conversely « stimulation » is driven inside/out, and thus it is imperative and almost imposing. The Internet Generation is stimulated by vision, by its systemic and original vision, and it is driven by the intuitive conviction that a large potential could be achieved over time, as well as by the pride of doing something new. For years, Jeff Bezos was unshaken by the losses on his amazon, and by the disdain of his peers. Business-leaders focused on financial performances that can be predictable on the short-term would have desisted; he persisted and eventually became one of the world’s richest men. But, personal riches are not necessarily what the leaders of the Internet Generation are all about. Mark Zuckerberg has been very successful with his Facebook. Now he has become not only one of the super-rich but also a major philanthropist.

Many traditional organizations focus on predictable performances, which are only predictable on the short term and are only shown on conventional accounting in financial terms. They look for objectives that are clear and that can be delegated to fully accountable people. The Internet Generation is unfazed by uncertainty, and by the short term. In many ways, the thinking process of the leaders of the Internet Generation reminds of the « design thinking » of noted product designers like Philippe Starck.

-2- Scope. Consistent with design thinking, the Internet Generation has a wide-angle, cooperative, and systemic approach to problems/opportunities. Able to live with uncertainty and with ambiguity, the Internet Generation is agile and ambidextrous, and it can manage different businesses in different ways. All of the so called « f.a.n.g » companies and many of the companies of the Internet Generation have diversified far afield, and managed to do so successfully. Elon Musk was very successful with his PayPal, and when he sold it he could have retired to lavishly luxury. Instead, he went on to innovate the car industry with his electrical Tesla, with a company that makes large batteries, and with some space ventures. The plant that manufactures the Tesla cars is huge and apparently at the edge of technology.

-3- Size. Stimulation and scope have pushed the Internet Generation to achieve considerable size in order to leverage economics of scale but they have managed to do so in record time.

-4- Speed. The Internet Generation runs Agile Management. It is open, participative, innovative, and capable of quick changes. It empowers small teams to run their tasks, it uses crowdsourcing, prototyping, and lean management to save time and money.

-5- Strategy and Organization. Stimulation, scope, size, and speed are at the base of the mind-set of the leaders of the Internet Generation, which is the driveshaft of their strategic and organizational modus operandi, and of their competitive differentiation.

The Internet Generation is here to stay, and its importance in the global economy will only get bigger. Thus, traditional organizations must first understand what drives these relatively new entrants that innovate swaths of the business, then raise the agility of their enterprise so as to compete or to cooperate with the innovators. Cooperation between traditional organizations and the Internet Generation is coming as illustrated by Walmart that is partnering with Google to compete with Amazon and Alibaba.

if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle”. Sun Tzu

When talking about the Internet Generation, we think of the “f.a.n.g.” companies, i.e. of the Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google. However, there is a swelling number of companies of the Internet Generation who disrupt some businesses at their foundations. Traditional organizations are now facing their competition in well-established sectors. Traditional retailing has been facing competition from companies on the Internet. More recently, banking is facing the competition of virtual currencies on the blockchains that enable cheaper money transfer, and of robo-advisors who offer computer-driven portfolio management.

As suggested by Sun Tzu roughly 2500 years ago, it is important first of all to try and understand what drives the Internet Generation, and then how best to deal with the changes they cause in the market place.

Albeit and over-simplification, the following 5 <S> may help understand what differentiates the Internet Generation: namely: stimulation, scope, speed, size, synergies. You can read my paper on LinkedIn Pulse and you can join the discussion on this and other subjects on <Agile Management Innovation>, a new group that I am launching on LinkedIn.

-1- Stimulation. In my dictionary « motivation » is driven outside/in for example by rewards that are offered. Conversely « stimulation » is driven inside/out, and thus it is imperative and almost imposing. The Internet Generation is stimulated by vision, by its systemic and original vision, and it is driven by the intuitive conviction that a large potential could be achieved over time, as well as by the pride of doing something new. For years, Jeff Bezos was unshaken by the losses on his amazon, and by the disdain of his peers. Business-leaders focused on financial performances that can be predictable on the short-term would have desisted; he persisted and eventually became one of the world’s richest men. But, personal riches are not necessarily what the leaders of the Internet Generation are all about. Mark Zuckerberg has been very successful with his Facebook. Now he has become not only one of the super-rich but also a major philanthropist.

Many traditional organizations focus on predictable performances, which are only predictable on the short term and are only shown on conventional accounting in financial terms. They look for objectives that are clear and that can be delegated to fully accountable people. The Internet Generation is unfazed by uncertainty, and by the short term. In many ways, the thinking process of the leaders of the Internet Generation reminds of the « design thinking » of noted product designers like Philippe Starck.

-2- Scope. Consistent with design thinking, the Internet Generation has a wide-angle, cooperative, and systemic approach to problems/opportunities. Able to live with uncertainty and with ambiguity, the Internet Generation is agile and ambidextrous, and it can manage different businesses in different ways. All of the so called « f.a.n.g » companies and many of the companies of the Internet Generation have diversified far afield, and managed to do so successfully. Elon Musk was very successful with his PayPal, and when he sold it he could have retired to lavishly luxury. Instead, he went on to innovate the car industry with his electrical Tesla, with a company that makes large batteries, and with some space ventures. The plant that manufactures the Tesla cars is huge and apparently at the edge of technology.

-3- Size. Stimulation and scope have pushed the Internet Generation to achieve considerable size in order to leverage economics of scale but they have managed to do so in record time.

-4- Speed. The Internet Generation runs Agile Management. It is open, participative, innovative, and capable of quick changes. It empowers small teams to run their tasks, it uses crowdsourcing, prototyping, and lean management to save time and money.

-5- Strategy and Organization. Stimulation, scope, size, and speed are at the base of the mind-set of the leaders of the Internet Generation, which is the driveshaft of their strategic and organizational modus operandi, and of their competitive differentiation.

The Internet Generation is here to stay, and its importance in the global economy will only get bigger. Thus, traditional organizations must first understand what drives these relatively new entrants that innovate swaths of the business, then raise the agility of their enterprise so as to compete or to cooperate with the innovators. Cooperation between traditional organizations and the Internet Generation is coming as illustrated by Walmart that is partnering with Google to compete with Amazon and Alibaba.

December 2017, McKinsey published their research on design practices. While they focus on product-design, the following practices also apply to the design thinkers that power Agile Management. Design thinkers should be broad-minded not narrow specialist and they should be well distributed over the whole organization. To elicit innovativeness, they should work in "Silicon Valley" garages or open space rather than cubicles. Design thinkers should be involved in all critical phases of the business, they should be interact with different disciplines. Intuitive innovation should be praised even if the results do not meet expectations. Agile Management learns from mistakes and it does not look for instant perfection.Design thinkers must also be good business-men.