When the world shifts, opportunity beckons
October 2nd, 2008 by Benjamin KuoThere’s been lots of gloom and doom and dismay in the last week over the economy. There are many people rethinking their plans, worrying about their future, and wringing their hands over the financial crisis.
On the other hand, if you look at the history of technology, whenever the world shifts like this, opportunity beckons. When the world is changing, those who are able to capitalize on those changes are the ones who end up creating the next great big companies.
These shifts happen all the time, but some of the ones that come to mind include:
- Mainframes to PCs: The shift from mainframe technology to personal computers, which made such firms as Apple and Microsoft but nailed a coffin in DEC and other mainframe computer firms.
- Silent movies to the to talkies: The advent of talkies in the 1920’s rapidly put silent film actors out of work, launching a new era of movie stars and films
- Horse and buggies to automobiles: The shift from the horse and buggy era drove an entire industry — focused on horses — out of business, and created the huge American automotive industry, and launching companies like Ford.
In this case, the world of finance is where things are shifting today, and as an industry (investment banking and finance) is shaken to the core, undoubtedly there are huge opportunities which will emerge out of the rubble. There are other areas, outside finance, where things are also seeing world-changing shifts — think about music and Hollywood with the shift to online, print media (just ask the newspapers), and probably other areas where the next huge and successful companies will appear. Sure, these episodes usually destroy entire industries, put lots of people out to work, and are very painful–but over time new industries are created, and great companies are built.
