What, then, are we transitioning to? I call it the Age of Wisdom.
Here's a
tiny but resonant example of its predecessor: the Age of Strategy. Dell's been relying on side payments from Intel, to exclusively utilize Intel chips, to make it's earnings estimates.
"...Mr. Rollins wrote to Michael S. Dell, the company’s founder, that “for 3 qtrs now, Intel money has made the qtr. A bad way to run the railroad,” according to the S.E.C.
Later, Mr. Rollins wrote to Mr. Dell about Intel, saying “We are going to have to get off their drug . . . “. There was much more.
The information disgorgement came as the S.E.C. hit Dell with accounting fraud charges, and the company settled the matter with a $100 million fine and no admission of any wrongdoing.
At the heart of the S.E.C.’s complaint against Dell was the claim that Dell hid its reliance on rebates from Intel from investors."
Let me be blunt. This is the essence of a Ponziconomy. Dell's so-called value creation wasnt; it was a sham, value transferred from customers, by denying them the right to choose chips, to shareholders, via Intel. Authentic economic value was left in the lurch.
The Age of Wisdom is about building, well, wiser companies, that power a real economy. Not one that's built on Ponzi economics. Dell's example isn't the exception - it's the rule. Most industries are characterized by these masquerades of value creation. Today's great challenge is understanding that while "strategic" behaviour might be a foundation for near-term advantage - only wisdom is the basis for authentic prosperity.
