Thinking in Global Time

Time has been around for all time.  But now it is becoming an incresingly scarce resource for billions of people around the world.  A revolution in global communications technologies in the last two decades, notably the internet and mobile communications, offers organizations the ability to work 24/7 using different teams in different time zones.  It also means billions of people can be permanently on, able to work from whatever location they happen to find themselves in, bluring the boundaries between work and personal time.  The demands for increasing — and always accessible — choice and innovation translates into shortening lifecycles for products and services. But more choice does not necessarily mean better decisions. Data has become a deluge and information is becoming disseminated globally in minutes with a tweet. In this world of rapid change, uncertainty and instant access, choices, decisions and behaviors run the risk of becoming unbalanced, focusing only on the short-terma and living in the moment.  Individuals and businesses that build the capabilities to actively manage time as a resource will have an advantage in many areas.

Questions for business leaders

• How do you personally think about time? Really, what is time for you? Things you have to do by this afternoon?  Things you will get to do — or not do — with your family later? Time is a precious resource — do you treat it as such?
• How does your organization think about time as a resource? What are the trade-offs you make? How well do you balance the short-term and the long-term in thinking through implications and decisions? What can you do to make this balance more transparent?
• Looking externally and thinking about your customers and consumers, how do you help them their own time and the number of choices they need to make, so they are satisfied with their decisions?

The GT Trend Report: Time offers analysis and food for thought as you tackle these questions.