On Gaining Perspective

Abstract

Looking for underlying drivers to make sense of the present and to foretell the future is a time-tested trick. That is why this chapter (and the book, in various other places) quotes Virgil's Aeneid, a 2000-year-old story about underlying drivers and inevitable trends. Like Virgil's Romans, we are in tempestuous circumstances. Humanity has often found itself in situations of rapid change before. And has learned that, with hindsight, the underlying drivers and the changes they caused were very clear. As largely unforeseen changes roil companies, industries, global economies and financial markets, it is possible to step back right now, in the midst of tumult, and discern the patterns that will later seem obvious with hindsight. Like Virgil, this book has argued that only by understanding the underlying forces can we recognize the source of power within a new era. And only then can we successfully profit from the momentum that these forces create. That is the logic flow of this book. Readers can benefit, right now, from applying this understanding to better anticipate the effects of transparency and to maximize returns for their companies or shareholders, and even to enhance the returns on their own human capital as well.