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DISRUPTION NETWORKS
EMB
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AT A GLANCE
MAKING SENSE OF OUR
NETWORKED
WORLD
We are entering a new era. Just like the Age
of Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution
shaped the 18th century, it is the network age
that is now dictating life on Earth. As the
Internet and other networks, from connected
DNA to connected financial markets, gain
momentum, a new landscape of power is
emerging, with two clear camps prevailing:
those who master the new order and those
who are mastered by it. For Joshua Cooper
Ramo, mastering this new world requires
leaders in all spheres to develop what he
calls the Seventh Sense.
BY JOSHUA COOPER RAMO
T
hree hundred years ago it was the
Age of Enlightenment and scien-
tific revolution that eroded the
ancient order. Now there is a new
force at work – a force that requires
us develop a new way of under-
standing the world in which we live. The demands
for instantaneous connections are shaking old
power bases and the formation of networks of all
kinds such as trade, biology, finance and warfare,
are producing new sources of power that, to
date, are ill understood.
Against this backdrop, the time has come for
all of us to embrace and manage the revolution
in science and technology that is unfolding in
front of our eyes and galvanising the networked
age. What’s more, as networks grow in strength,
complexity and scale, a new landscape of power is
emerging, with two clear camps prevailing: those
who master the new order and those who are
mastered by it.
I don’t claim to have all the answers – this
new era is still in its infancy after all – but busi-
ness leaders and decision-makers have much to
gain by exploring our changing world through
the lens of a largely untapped yet infinitely
learnable instinct that I call the Seventh Sense.
The Seventh Sense builds on this. What I found
is that some people have an instinct that is the
ability to understand how connection changes
the nature of everything. Connected phones,
connected doctors, connected voters, connect-
ed terrorists, the connected dollar – they are all
different to the unconnected version of them.
ISIS is a different type of terrorist organization
because it is connected. Trump was a different
kind of presidential candidate because of his net-
works and visibility. That’s the Seventh Sense.
Some people have it, some people don’t, but it’s
a totally learnable thing.
Whether running an army or a Fortune 500
company, it is a skill that marks an understanding
of what power looks like now. It also means the
ability to contemplate not just extraordinary
features of modern life but also the quotidian –
a soldier, share of stock, a language – and imme-
diately know that connection changes the nature
of an object. For example, a medical diagnostic
machine is impressive, but one that is connected
to an information database that can accelerate,
improve or perfect a diagnosis, is revolutionary.
The act of linking our bodies, our cities, our ideas–
everything really – introduces a new dynamic to
our world.
THE SEVENTH SENSE DECONSTRUCTED
Let’s start with a basic understanding of what
I mean by the Seventh Sense. The concept
comes from an idea that Nietzsche put forward at
the end of the Industrial Revolution. At that
time, the world was in a state of flux, which led
him to conclude that the five senses weren’t
enough and that we needed what he called a
sixth sense. This was not, as many people be-
lieve, the power to talk to dead people, but rath-
er a feeling for history. It is the notion that when
you are confronted with something that has
never been encountered before, you need a to-
tally different set of skills.
EMERGING MARKETS BUSINESS
SUMMER 2017
In business, as in other
areas of life, you have
to ensure that you are
the Gatekeeper and
not the Gatekept.
ISSUE NO. 3
Such shifts trigger centuries of disruption as the
world realigns itself. When we are connected, it
changes who we are, what we expect, how we
might be manipulated, attacked, or enriched.
We are relatively early in this age of connection
an d it is not just that so much of the world remains
to be linked, it is also that the nature of connection
is constantly changing. It is becoming instant and
is increasingly sharpened and enhanced by arti-
ficial intelligence (AI). Basic connection has be-
come a powerful force and you can imagine what
instant, AI-enabled networks might be capable of.
HOW TO DEVELOP
THE SEVENTH SENSE
Some people have an instinct for networks; the
instinct to connect with others and to use the
self-reinforcing energy of network connections.
It is easy then to accelerate what you are working
on, even if you don’t fully understand why it is
happening. In a couple of years people will look
at Seventh Sense skills in their team and this
raises interesting possibilities around training
people to develop this sensitivity. Schools are
not yet doing a good job in this regard and it is
important to recognize the need to teach young
people the skills of Seventh Sense.
There is no formula to developing the Seventh
Sense, but we can identify the commonalities
shared by those who succeed in the digital age:
1. Acceptance that the rules are changing –
things feel very different to 10 or 15 years ago.
2. Ability to do things faster using connections;
the skill-time compression described in my book.
3. Willingness to embrace the fact that it is
possible to upgrade skills really quickly.
4. Recognition that demands change as much as
technology does. For example, a decade ago no
one thought of watching a movie on a phone.
This highlights the need for flexibility and to
understand that whatever you are thinking
about today is likely to change tomorrow. »
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