The Dream Society: How the Coming Shift from Information to Imagination Will Transform Your Business
Author: Rolf Jensen
List Price: $14.95
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ISBN: 0071379681
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Trade (30 August, 2001)
Sales Rank: 39,616
Average Customer Rating: 3.64 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Imagine starting a business and a "story" at the same?
Rolf Jensen postulates an age where companies will have to differentiate themselves by creating stories about who they are, what they stand for, and who their customers will be when they become "part" of the story as consumers. Using the trends established by existing, successful organizations like Nike and Disney, Jensen paints a picture of marketing through consumer allegiance by imagination.For would-be futurists, this book is compelling. For ordinary business folk, this book gels all the trends and ideas you've been seeing lately, and makes sense of it all. For the rest of us -- the Dream Society articulates the need we humans have for stories, culture, and acceptance.
This is an extraordinarily intriguing book. Even if you don't agree (or are afraid to imagine) the future scenarios Jensen presents, you'll be compelled to admit -- the Dream Society may really be here after all. A must-read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
The Past does not Equal The Future. Know Why!
Definitely coming from the New Sciences breakthrough achievements this book pleasantly takes us to our present 'inner world' and our future world in which this inner world will be expressed. This book builds a strong case for looking at ourselves, our 'now' and our future with the full spectrum of human components in view. And it provides us with interesting views on the translation of 'total human perspective' into society. Yes, this book may stimulate your ability to even capitalize on the 'Dream Society' in business terms. Jensen invites you to jump into his helicopter and take a ride with him to past, present and some possible futures. Join him, and broaden your view of, and your choice in, different 'parallel universes'.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Makes sense and an easy read
The book is the result of 15 yrs work at the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies. I bought it to read on my holiday but finished it two weeks beforehand! It made some really interesting points:* Man has been around for c.100,000yrs: 90,000 as hunter-gatherer, 10,000 as farmer, 200 in industry and maybe 30 in IT. This book provides a glimpse of what comes next!
* We will see a move from the rational to the emotional. 'The successful companies of the twenty-first century...besides meeting the social and emotional needs of employees...will want to cater to consumers' emotional and social needs' [e.g. Shopping Malls as Theme Parks?].
* Current accounting methods measure 'the company's capital at night...when all employees have gone home'. The author discusses Intellectual Capital: salary negotiations as establishing an employee's value as a company asset and the 'real cost of layoffs...just as if tossing computers out the window would destroy physical capital, layoffs involve throwing away human capital. If we are talking top-quality computers with modern software this is a bad idea.'
* In a concept that may have significant employee training and development implications, the author quotes Tom Peters: 'Brand yourself' and believes that 'the "branded" employee will triumph over the Brand X employee...increase awareness about your existence and skills...'
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