Yet more of us seem to be speeding up. We say with ever more vehemence that we value family. Most Americans seem genuinely to be seeking more balanced lives. The problem is that balance between making a living and making a life is becoming harder to pull off because the logic of the new economy dictates that more attention be paid to work and less to personal life. Never before in human history have so many had access to so much so easily.
Technology is the motor.
In communications, transportation, and information-processing, the new technologies that gained momentum in the 1980s and 1990s are now racing ahead at blinding speed. They are making it easier to find and get better deals from anywhere and allowing us to switch instantly to even better ones. These technologies are radically sharpening competition among sellers, which in turn is provoking a staggering wave of innovation. In order to survive, all organizations must dramatically and continuously improve-cutting costs, adding value, creating new products. The result of this tumult is higher productivity-better, faster, cheaper products and services of every description.