INTRODUCTION to Techonomics

tech*o*nom*ics (tˇek
′
eˇ -nˇom
′
iˇks) n.- The study of trends in technology and their
resulting economic effects on organizations.

It only takes one thing to succeed —
Good judgment.
It only takes one thing to get good judgment —
Experience.
It only takes one thing to get experience —
Bad judgment!
The adage above is comical because it rings true. You can do everything yourself,
learn all your own lessons, make all your own mistakes, or you can learn from the
experience of others and benefit from their mistakes. Besides learning from other’s
experiences, one of the best ways to avoid mistakes is to understand the impact of
trends.

Trends are to a business as trade winds to a ship: it makes a world of
difference whether they are with you or against you.

The experienced seek to
understand and harness them. It matters not whether your “business” is investing,
guiding a family, advising a student, leading a nonprofit, or deploying limited
resources for a company: understanding the trends shaping the present and future
of the world around you will benefit your decision making. Techonomics, the study
of trends in technology and their resulting economic effects on organizations, is
offered as a tool for understanding the rapidly changing world and providing advantageous
insight for leaders. It will give you a thought process, a way to help you
spot and analyze technology trends to aid decisions that are with, not against, the
winds of change.

Much of what we regard as “intelligence” can accurately be described as pattern
recognition: the shape of a diseased cell, the color of the sky indicating approaching
weather, the cycles of the business market. Specific, measurable advances in technology
are patterns for economic and organizational change. By following major
changes in technology as a leading indicator, you can anticipate many economic