Cristian Mitreanu's Blog

My Introduction to TEDxUIUC 2010

A brief talk ("Knowledge Fuels Success") that followed the pre-recorded general TEDx introduction of Chris Anderson, the curator of the TED Conference.

All the other TEDxUIUC talks are available at TEDxUIUC.com.

Transcript of the "New Worldview" Video

This is the transcript of my latest video on the new economic worldview:

SECTION 1 (starts at 0:00)
> enabling personal freedom and the pursuit of happiness
> or... ...how to indefinitely sustain a democratic society

SECTION 2 (0:15)
> since early on,... ...humans have gathered in communities... ...to succeed.
> cities and states were created... ...to provide a platform... ...for a better life.
> governments have evolved,... ...providing security... ...and public order.
> democratic societies have emerged,... ...standing for individual freedom... ...and the pursuit of happiness.
> nevertheless,... ...an important question remains.
> can a democracy be sustained?
> the answer, it turns out,... ...ultimately depends... ...on the economy.

SECTION 3 (1:10)
> driven by natural impulses,... ...humans generate unique and dynamic... ...structures of needs.
> the behaviors employed... ...to generate needs... ...form a continuum.
> at the top,... ...the buyer updates... ...a unique and overarching need... ...that describes a successful existence.
> at the bottom,... ...the buyer generates... ...a multitude of common needs... ...that match existent offerings.
> the clearer the need,... ...the lower its position... ...on the continuum.
> accordingly,... ...all economic transactions... ...can be represented... ...on the continuum.
> furthermore, an economy... ...can be represented,... ...showing transactions... ...taking place over time.
> nevertheless,... ...there is order in disorder.

SECTION 4 (2:25)
> within the same community or market,... ...buyers tend to have similar behaviors... ...relative to a particular need... ...and the matching offering.
> such offering and market... ...tend to form... ...a lasting... ...virtual business space.
> this space or microcosm... ...is called... ...tofmos.
> all transactions within a tofmos... ...appear clustered... ...on the continuum.
> furthermore, the cluster is persistent,... ...moving lower... ...as knowledge about the offering... ...accumulates over time.
> this process is known as... ...the commoditization... ...of the offering relative to the market.
> tofmos commoditization... ...can also be used... ...as a more concise term.
> every economy, then,... ...can be represented... ...as an ever-changing collection... ...of commoditizing tofmos.

SECTION 5 (3:43)
> during commoditization,... ...the characteristics of a tofmos... ...change.
> the number of buyers... ...and, thus, the total revenue... ...increases.
> the prospect of growth... ...attracts vendors... ...and entices them to persist.
> it is generally easier to join... ...a commoditizing tofmos,... ...than to create a new one.
> as a result,... ...every economy... ...will naturally tend to bunch up... ...toward the bottom of the continuum.
> in other words,... ...an economy's share of revenue... ...that comes from commoditized offerings... ...has a natural tendency to increase.
> so, what... ...does that mean... ...for a society?

SECTION 6 (4:47)
> as an economy bunches up,... ...business practices... ...that are specific to commoditized spaces... ...become increasingly popular.
> higher levels of standardization... ...enable... ...higher levels of efficiency.
> outsourcing,... ...mergers and acquisitions... ...become widespread.
> the number of low-skill jobs... ...increases disproportionately,... ...leading to rising unemployment.
> although the economy is growing,... ...the overall wealth becomes... ...increasingly concentrated.
> a widening share of the overall wealth... ...migrates toward... ...a shrinking segment of society.
> at the same time,... ...more and more people... ...see their economic power diminishing.
> eventually, this natural development... ...becomes a threat... ...to the current social order... ...and, thus, democracy itself.
> so, what... ...should a society do?

SECTION 7 (6:05)
> once bunched up,... ...economies are also prone... ...to stay that way.
> the natural drive for maximization... ...tends to favor tofmos... ...that commoditize fast.
> moreover, societies... ...tend to sustain and create... ...more commoditized tofmos.
> governments tend to intervene... ...to help existent businesses... ...and to create more public projects.
> in short, societies are predisposed to evolve... ...into welfare systems,... ...which would encroach on individual liberties.
> nevertheless,... ...by pure luck, an economy... ...can debunch itself.
> a wave of new offerings,... ...creating many tofmos high on the continuum,... ...could emerge at any time.
> also, natural disasters... ...and wars... ...can swiftly debunch an economy.
> fortunately, though,... ...a less destructive... ...and more deliberate alternative... ...is available.

SECTION 8 (7:24)
> to sustain democracy,... ...a society must strive... ...to prevent its economy... ...from bunching up.
> it must constantly push... ...for new tofmos... ...that are positioned high on the continuum.
> new tofmos... ...that are based on new offerings,... ...rather than new markets,... ...must be encouraged and supported.
> at the same time,... ...the society must constantly ensure... ...that tofmos evolve and disappear freely,... ...protected from manipulation.
> in short,... ...to achieve enduring success,... ...a democratic society must create an underlying system... ...to keep its economy perpetually debunched.

SECTION 9 (8:20)
> the end
> or... ...the beginning?

Enabling Individual Freedom and the Pursuit of Happiness

Formatted as a "YouTube video," here's an introduction to the new economic worldview that stems from the theory detailed in my article "A Business-Relevant View of Human Nature" (this should be your next stop). Some interesting conclusions can be drawn from it, including a potential explanation for the current economic crisis...

UPDATE 1/23/2009: A transcript is now available here.

Strategic Vision à la Spointra

Showcasing an important advantage of the theory presented in the book “Spointra and the Secret of Business Success” over the typical strategic thinking -- namely, relativity to human nature versus relativity to time -- this brief animation (1:50 min) illustrates how an individual employing Spointra’s theory would see a firm’s quest for enduring success. Enjoy!

For the book, visit Spointra.com. For a free presentation and discussions on the theory, visit BizBigPic.com.

NOTE: To enjoy the video, you don't need detailed knowledge of Spointra's theory. Nonetheless, if you are interested, the animation depicts a Type II organization (i.e., IBM, Accenture) attempting to sustain the Ofmos Portfolio Alignment over an indefinite period of time. While the organization’s Focus (the intended business approach) is fixed relative to the customer’s problem solving behavior “Designing Issue-Solutions,” ofmos (virtual entities defined by an offering and a set of customers with the same behavior relative to the offering) are added to and deleted from the organization's ofmos portfolio in an attempt to keep the commoditizing Center (the emerging business approach) aligned with the Focus.

Spointra on YouTube

If you haven't seen this before, here's a short video experimentation featuring Spointra, the character from the book "Spointra and the Secret of Business Success." (For soundtrack I used the music of Vangelis and Stevie Ray Vaughn.)

UPDATE 5/16/2008: I embedded the Metacafe clip because it allows me to use the first frame of the video as thumbnail.