The electronic version of the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera recently published an article about 20 objects that are expected to disappear in 20 years’ time. They will be replaced by products already available on the market, new products, new technologies and technologies currently available albeit not fully commercialised. On the face of it, the article may have been one that provides food for gossip or aimless conversation. However, it has some important business-related considerations.
There are some who argue that innovation needs to start being regarded as an economic activity in its own right, and not in support of something else
The fact that 20 objects will disappear in 20 years’ time would imply that something else will replace them.
From a business perspective that gives a great deal of scope for innovation. There are some who argue that innovation needs to start being regarded as an economic activity in its own right, and not in support of something else.
There are investors who put their money in any project that represents innovation, irrespective of the area where the innovation is taking place. Previously, innovations used to be headline news.
Nowadays, we take them for granted and no innovation seems to come as a surprise anymore. An important segment of consumers look mainly for innovative products and services and little else.
On the other hand the fact that a number of products (and even services) will become obsolete in 20 years’ time leads one to wonder about the waste of resources.
Previously, goods were manufactured to last. Now, they are manufactured in a manner such that they become disposable within a relatively short time.
What will happen to these products that are in use today? Will they create a mountain of waste which we will not know how to manage? Will they be recycled? And what about the jobs that will be lost over the years because goods and services fall into disuse?
This might sound like a criticism of change. It is not, as I do recognise that change reflects growth and in this case change is a reflection of innovation, which is in itself something positive.
On the other hand, it is pertinent to ask whether we are attracted to what is temporary.
Businesses have long been talking about the fact that customer loyalty has become something ephemeral, which is why businesses now speak of customer engagement.
This is now compounded by the fact that not only will the place where we normally buy from, or the brands that we normally buy, will change, but also the products themselves will go through a dramatic change.
This attraction for the temporary has also spread into the labour market, which in itself has created opportunities but has also reduced stability.
The premise that the job for life is no longer there, has led to an increase in job mobility, which at times occurs for no reason other than for its own sake.
Financial markets are also affected by this phenomenon with investors moving their capital not to move into a productive venture, but to register a profit simply from the temporary movement of such capital.
Could this love for the temporary eventually render us less productive? Could it eventually lead to less innovation as we would get to the stage where it does not remain sustainable from the perspective of financial returns? Could it make us lazier and less industrious, with a direct consequence on the economy?
These are issues where the social and economic perspectives become intertwined, and what may appear to be attractive from a social perspective, may well prove to be a threat from the economic perspective.
For those who wish to know what these 20 objects that are expected to disappear in 20 years’ time, here they are: spectacles, wallets, car radios, keys, inch tapes, dolls, MP3 players, alkaline batteries, fax machines, stamps, 3D specs, telephone poles, video cameras, mice, monitors, battery chargers, watches, e-readers, small digital cameras and DVD readers.
In addition to these, expect many others. One should also expect the rise and fall of many brands.
No wonder we seem to be attracted to what is temporary.