Revolutionary Wealth

Alvin Toffler (and now his wife, Heidi who is to be understood as partner for all his works) is a world-famous thinker, management guru and prolific writer, so no certificate of excellence is required from casual readers like me. This is one of his more recent works, and hence less dated; some of his warnings are spot-on, such as new viral epidemics and war. Who would have expected such a devastating clash of titans in the 21st century in, of all places, Europe? Apart from such prognostications, the larger theme of this work is the change in economies and livelihoods with the development of computing, internet and the world-wide web, the winner-takes-all nature of online commerce, and the demise of traditional 9 to 5 jobs and the growth show more of the new knowledge economy. Every page and paragraph is filled with insights and ideas, making this one of the richest works in sheer fresh insight and analytical content I have read in a long while. This has definitely spurred me to revisit some of his other works, such as 'The Third Wave', although these may be a little dated now. show less

Revolutionary Wealth discusses the wealth revolution sweeping the planet. How it is be created. Who receives it. The Tofflers argue it is not about money. Industrial age economics is of little use in understanding it.

Stringing together concepts as diverse as education, blogging, rearing of children, Hollywood and China, the authors argue that the unnoticed and largely, unpaid, work we do now without pay will flow forth future floods of income streams.

For most, thoughts of the future carry perils. Yet, they hold no terror for Alvin and Heidi Toffler. As the world's most famous prognosticators, they have make a fine living from predicting the future.

Good futurology is the art of telling a good story. The story must be new. It must be show more persuasive. It needs to be plausible. It helps if it is provocative. Revolutionary Wealth is all of that.

Yet, some inner voice warns the Pointed Pundit, however, not to quit my day job anticipating a big pay-off from my hobbies.

Penned by the Pointed Pundit
August 18, 2006
9:31:37 AM show less

I am ambivalent about this book. Some interesting points similar to reading the web or a magazine, however not sure what to do with it. The information was coming so fast at times it was hard to digest. Really liked their epilogue which was an optimistic look at the future taking into account all the horrors that could happen or be avoided.

All very good, except I have some caveats with the two basic premisis ( ' deep fundamentals ' the the knowlege economy )

All very good, except I have some caveats with the two basic premisis ( ' deep fundamentals ' the the knowlege economy )

All I can say it read it. Knowledge is wealth.

Joseph Moses Juran (December 24, 1904 – February 28, 2008) was a 20th Century management consultant who is principally remembered as an evangelist for quality and quality management, writing several influential books on those subjects.[1] He was also the brother of Academy Award winner Nathan H. Juran.
The end of World War II compelled Japan to change its focus from becoming a military power to becoming an economic one. Despite its ability to compete on price, Japanese consumer goods manufacturers suffered from a long-established reputation of poor quality. The first edition of Juran's Quality Control Handbook in 1951 attracted the attention of the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) which invited him to Japan in 1952. show more When he finally arrived in Japan in 1954 Juran met with ten manufacturing companies, notably Showa Denko, Nippon Kōgaku, Noritake, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.[7] He also lectured at Hakone, Waseda University, Ōsaka, and Kōyasan. During his life he made ten visits to Japan, the last in 1990.

William Edwards Deming (October 14, 1900–December 20, 1993) was an American statistician, college professor, author, lecturer, and consultant. Deming is widely credited with improving production in the United States during World War II, although he is perhaps best known for his work in Japan. There, from 1950 onward he taught top management how to improve design (and thus service), product quality, testing and sales (the last through global markets)[1] through various methods, including the application of statistical methods. Deming made a significant contribution to Japan's later renown for innovative high-quality products and its economic power. He is regarded as having had more impact upon Japanese manufacturing and business than any other individual not of Japanese heritage. Despite being considered something of a hero in Japan, he was only beginning to win widespread recognition in the U.S. at the time of his death. [2] show less