Lasse Syversen was last week’s breakfast speaker and presented a picture show that depicted his journey from 1950 (his birthdate) toward 2030. His first job was as an office equipment salesman, and his first computer had less memory than today’s watches. Programs were stored on magnetic cards. In 1980 he went to work for General Electric (where he got his first mobile phone!).

If today’s leaders are asked to list the “megatrends” that are shaping the business world of tomorrow, three are likely to top most lists:

• One is the accelerating shift in Exonomic power from West to East. Specifically, the “EX” refers to “the “unmeasured, perhaps even ’immeasurable’ forces that are in economics.”
• Another is financial-market instability and recession, at least for those in the world’s more developed economies.
• The third is Technological progress.

The world will get to seem smaller, that’s for sure. It will be difficult to maintain borders and also to know where people are. Ultimately, though, the technology will never be more effective than the people who use it.

• Watch the video