Daily Inspiration: “Welcome to the era of hyperconnectivity – a world where we are all time travellers living in the next dimension!”

“Welcome to the era of hyperconnectivity – a world where we are all time travellers living in the next dimension!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

Some of you might remember the advertising campaign for the Maytag repairman – he was ‘the loneliest guy in the world’ because this particular brand never broke down. Except, of course, they did, and so you would have to place a call for service.

Then, they would show up.

One day soon, your doorbell will ring, and the Maytag repairman will be there. “I didn’t call you,” you will comment. “No, but your washer did…”

That’s because your appliances are becoming smart, hyperconnected, and achieve the magic of what we call ‘prognostic diagnostics.’ It’s a world in which everything around us is becoming connected, plugged in, aware. That’s the theme today in my series Insight 2020 Series, Leadership Strategies for the Era of Acceleration – “Rethink your product!”

A world of massive hyperconnectivity means that everything around us is becoming connected to the Internet – you’ll know it as the “Internet of Things.” While it provides us with some really fascinating products – smart doorbells, connected thermostats and more – there is a more profound trend at work.

Cars and trucks are becoming hyperconnected rolling data platforms on wheels, generating vast amounts of information. Medical devices are being embedded with connectivity and intelligence to such a degree that their actual function begins to change, providing far more insight than they used to. Wind farms begin to anticipate weather pattern changes far in advance, and proactively begin to plan their future.

All of these things fit into a time when we get so much insight from smart devices that we can actually predict with a high degree of accuracy as to what will actually happen next.

Or in other words, a world in which we are really, truly living in the next time dimension.

We are time travellers!