I remember sitting in a first-year sociology class, being told that in the future a large majority of us would be working in service industries; a pretty depressing outlook. But as I consider what is currently going on in our global crisis — or what I like to call the great re-alignment of perceived to actual value of things — I also consider the paradigm shift that is making rumblings in the digestive tract of the consciousness of society. This paradigm shift is quietly making more and more people re-consider purchases, primarily out of financial necessity, but also out of personal reflection on how much it is that we really need. In other words, moving from the “quantity of life” concept into the “quality of life” concept. While I realize that the quality of life concept is not new, I believe that the re-interpretation of it is mover novel in the sense that the quality of our lives is increasingly being thought about in terms of how we empower tat from within.
It is the old adage of “garbage in, garbage out” in the sense that you will only really get out of life what you put into it.
So, if this is true, and we are moving towards a social paradigm of not just consuming resources in terms of goods that we purchase, but one in which we choose to not fill our lives with stuff, then this begs the question of what will make the economies of the world rebound and function. After all, we all have to work to make money for the most basic of needs, and most of us work for organizations that produce things for other people to buy, use and consume. So, where is the future? It is still in services, but in terms of services that will either generate experiences for us, or allow us to generate them ourselves.
In a TED talk I recently watched, Joseph Pine points out the evolution of markets from commodities, to goods, to services, and finally to experiences. The funny thing is that at each stage of the evolution, each step eventually becomes commoditized — in the sense that the category becomes the raw materials with which to create the outputs of the categories following it.
Given this concept then, if we have commoditized services — in the sense of customizing goods for consumption — then the future lies in the creating of services that will take all the elements preceding it (goods and actual commodities) and creating a mix of services that will enable the creation of pre-packaged experiences, or individual experiences.
We have already seen this in the rise of personal coaching as an industry, enabling individuals to reflect upon what gives meaning to their lives, and setting plans in motion to allow them to attain goals that are authentic to them as true individuals rather than individuals that fit into a certain category or sub-category. Think of it as having a pair of pants tailored to your exact dimensions, rather than a size 36 (or 12 depending on gender) that fits into a given range of measurements for that sub-category.
The future then is this. Services that allow us to find our true selves as individuals, and then allow us to experience our world in an individual manner. We are continually seeing this in our attachments to technology and addictions to the ever growing list of hand-held devices that allow us to capture our experiences through lives. What is problematic in this execution, however, is that at the end of the day we still feel alone, because we are connecting, not through people, but through the traces that people leave behind.
When you receive an e-mail or a text message form someone, it is a snapshot of a thought or experience.It is already in the past. But as we move towards this new experiential economy, I believe that what will make it ultimately different is the fact that we will find ways of connecting with people and make those memories in the now, rather than in the past. Even instant messaging is already in the past by the time you have received it. The difference with being in person is that you experience the passing of time together, rather than apart. It is this shared experience that makes for a more meaningful and authentic experience.
