Almost all of today's new fortunes are based not on hard assets but on ideas and organizing principles. Creating wealth is all about providing as much value as possible to as many people as possible. Until recently, that meant mainly digging things out of the ground, putting things together in factories, growing and processing food and fiber, moving all this stuff around, and supervising all those people who were doing this work. Now, as we have developed highly automated systems for doing the digging, the assembling, the growing and the moving, a far more powerful way of creating wealth has emerged.
Information technology can vastly increase the value of almost any productive activity.
No longer is the community pediatrician limited to serving just those children within driving distance. Now she can distill her expertise onto a CD-ROM, or connect by video to remote clinics, or publish an electronic newsletter for her professional peers, and extend her influence globally. No longer is the backyard barbeque chef limited to providing value just for those in his neighborhood. We live in an incredible time. Your expertise, your knowledge, your passion, your principles can be translated into real and meaningful value.