Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations by Tom Friedman. This is just one of his many books that I have read. And from time to time he reflects upon his best sellers: Lexus and the Olive Tree, The World is Flat and Hot, Flat and Crowded. All focus on the impact of globalization.
Looking back it can be confusing to see why Tom stopped writing books at exactly the precise moment the world changed. The year was 2007 and some very significant events developed. Call it The World is Flat v4.0, when behavior capitalism began.
Consider the introductions of the iPhone, Hadoop and GitHub. Add the launch of Twitter and Facebook. Then Google’s purchase of YouTube should provide the clearest indication of how rapidly technology changed the internet.
Don’t forget Amazon released the Kindle while Airbnb was launched. IBM also launched Watson and Intel launched new non-silicon microchips.
As Tom suggests in his last example, DNA sequencing may have been the most overlooked. The price dropped from $100 million in 2001 to only $1,000 in that magic year of 2007.
So how is anyone supposed to know what all that meant to them 13 years ago? I think many family and friends would say Hadoop and GitHub are names of their pets.
This book is perfect for many, including my family and friends who do not see technology changes coming so quickly. Nor are they used to the fast pace of change. This is where Tom explains very well, for a wide audience where the world is at today. He gives you in this book the permission to slow down and reflect…
The graph indicates where the book is on the scale of technology and our adaptability to this change:
This is where Tom makes his mark. Tom has a powerful way to talk about change. Thank You for Being Late is a great way to share his own insights for many people.
He shares a delightful story of meeting a parking attendant Ayele Bojia. Ayele wrote a blog odanabi.com about economic issues in Ethiopia. Tom ended up having coffee with him a couple of times to exchanges insights. Tom wanted to know how Ayele began blogging and why, while Ayele asked Tom for journalistic insights.
On the topic of the internet of things (IoT) Tom proclaimed sensors made “guessing is officially over”. As we think about IoT as smart thermostats, Tom’s story of “the connected cow” is so much better. Dairy farmers in Japan approached Fujitsu with a request to use IoT sensors to help breed large dairy farms.
At first glance, Thank You for Being Late’s closing chapters regarding his hometown of St. Louis Park Minnesota seem nostalgic. He pulls no punches on race and division and how the city overcame challenges for his Jewish community in 1970. Today that emerging community is Somali. He provides deep insights of social change of his own town.
Talks at Google: Thomas L. Friedman: “Thank You for Being Late”
Brookings Institution: Thank you for being late – Remarks by Thomas L. Friedman
Politics and Prose: Thomas Friedman, “Thank You for Being Late”
AT&T Business: Thomas Friedman, “Thank You for Being Late”