The Invisible Continent: Four Strategic Imperatives of the New Economy - Hardcover

Ohmae, Kenichi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060197536 ISBN 13: 9780060197537

Publisher: Harper Business, 2000

Synopsis

The Invisible Continent offers invaluable insight for individuals and companies seeking success in the twentyfirst century, Kenichi Ohmae, the bestselling author of the groundbreaking book The Borderless World, looks ahead to the future of business in the age of the Internet and sees a rapidly changing landscape-one to which we must adapt or face the consequences. Ohmae unveils this new economy's four basic forces-the visible, invisible, cyber, and high multiple dimensions-and shows how a dramatic and volatile battleground is forming between companies and the countries that try to regulate them.

Replacing countries (and their borders), Ohmae anticipates a world where the most powerful forces are "platforms." These invisible platforms are the universal standards that dominate the market. For example, Ohmae shows why English has become the de facto official language of the Internet, giving English-speaking countries an enormous advantage in e-commerce. He explains why investors must seek out and find these emerging platforms and shows what criteria they should look for.

Looking at today's hottest industries like e-commerce, banking, and telecommunications, Ohmae distinguishes between the old-world titans, like IBM, GM, and CBS, and the new-world Godzillas, like Dell, Cisco, and Microsoft. It's the Godzilla companies that grow fast, move fast, and devour everything in sight. Together, they will forge the economy of the future.

Just as The Borderless World foresaw a globally interlinked economy, The Invisible Continent maps out the coming technological revolutions and the impact they will have on businesses around the world. It is a must read for anyone seeking to attain and keep a competitive advantage in today's markets.

About this title

About the Author

Kenichi Ohmae is a Tokyo-based top corporate strategist and adviser to governments around the world. The former director of McKinsey & Company and chairman of its Asia Pacific operations, he is a speaker, educator, entrepreneur, and author of seventy books. He writes frequently for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Newsweek, Harvard Business Review, Washington Post, Japan Times, and other publications.

Reviews

In this timely, well-written, and well-organized book, Tokyo-based Ohmae, a well-known corporate strategist and author (The Borderless World) discusses the four dimensions that influence the new economy. The economy is visible because consumers will still have local services delivered; it is borderless because products are made with components that are provided both here and abroad; it is cyber because platforms such as Microsoft Windows and the Internet have influenced both communication and the manner in which business is transacted; and, finally, the soaring stock prices of some e-commerce companies give them the capital to take over and/or merge with other companies (i.e., AOL and Time-Warner) to further economic gains and perpetuate growth in this sector. After explaining in detail the four dimensions, he offers scenarios about their implications, elaborating in areas such as organizational change, deregulation, and information technology. A good consideration for large public and academic libraries.DSteven J. Mayover, formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ohmae, Japan's best-known management strategist, was a consultant with McKinsey and Company for nearly a quarter of a century, and he has written nearly 50 books. He formed his own political party in Japan and unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Tokyo. He is author of The Borderless World: Power and Strategy in the Interlinked Economy (1990) and The End of the Nation State (1995). His latest book expands on the prophetic theme of those two books. Ohmae attempts to chart the four dimensions of a new frontier that cannot be found on any map, visible and borderless at the same time. Goods and services will still be delivered locally but the financial infrastructure for such commerce will transcend political boundaries. This infrastructure, as well as communication technology, will be based in cyberspace. Companies that stake an early claim will be able to leverage themselves powerfully, as with AOL's takeover of Time-Warner. With arguments and examples that are erudite and worldly, Ohmae proves himself to be a citizen of the "invisible continent." David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper Business
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060197536
• ISBN 13: 9780060197537
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272