We will close the Galaxy for 1998 and begin the last year of the century with a look to the future by reviewing trends and forecast as provided by the Trend Letter and The Kiplinger Washington Letter.

1. From Organization Man to Free Agent

With brain power the engine of economic growth and size no longer the key to business dominance, more individuals are veering off the traditional career path in favor of free agency – the determination to take responsibility for one's career, either as entrepreneurs or within the corporate structure.

Growth in free agency will forever change the employer-employee relationship. Lifetime employment with a single company will give way to a new contract in which employers provide the resources for workers to grow professionally, and workers contribute their expertise for as long as the relationship is mutually satisfying. The tight labor market will continue forcing employers to become increasingly creative in designing compensation packages that attract and keep workers.

2. From Uniformity to Individuality

In the old days, knowing your customer meant having a vague notion of the general ages, incomes and education levels of the people who bought your products. You stood out from the competition by differentiating your products.

Today, knowing your customer means not only having a precise definition for each of those categories, but also using that information to cater to each customer’s individual tastes. You stand out from the competition by differentiating your customers.

The trend is called mass customization, and it refers to mass-produced goods, services and marketing messages that are tailored to the individuals buying or receiving them. Dell Computer, for instance, assembles PCs to each customer’s exact specifications. Levi’s manufactures Original Spin jeans to fit each customer’s unique contours. Amazon.com e-mails customers tailored reminders about their favorite authors and topics, encouraging them to buy more and more books.

Mass customization will prove the thesis that the larger the global economy, the more important the individual consumer. The most successful companies will know and respond to the unique characteristics of each customer. Their mantra: Sell more to fewer.

3. From Microprocessors to Nanotechnology

Scientific researchers and high-tech industries are taking a leap into the world of the very, very small. Having embedded ever tinier and more powerful microprocessors into nearly every nook of modern life, from cars to coffee makers to computers, they’re shifting their attention from increasing the capacity and power of microproccessors to nanotechnology – devices built atom by atom.

Dovetailing with this coming wave of miniaturization will be an entirely new way of looking at technology. Or not looking at it, because it’s going to be “transparent” - incredibly smart and useful, but so easy to use that you barely even know it’s there.

Gadgets that allow for the anywhere, anytime transmission of information. Mercedes-Benz provides its roadside mechanics with wearable computers through which they can access online technical manuals.

In the year ahead, information about money will become more important than money itself.

To remain competitive amid the turmoil, financial services providers will have to add value to their core business of lending or investing money. Innovative services provided over the Internet will pave the path to profitability.

5. From Worshipping Youth to Appreciating the “Third Age”

With people over the age of 100 the fastest-growing age group in the world, modern society must set aside its obsession with youth in favor of a new willingness to address the realities, good and bad, of a    graying population.

The aging population will force nearly every industry to rethink its products, services and marketing. Business will create “bridge jobs” to help employees transition gradually to retirement, among other inducements to keep older workers on the job longer.

6. From Electronic Technology to the Life Sciences

After more than 40 years of parallel development, computer science and biotechnology are converging into a single technological and economic force. Just as computers forever transformed every other economic sector in the 20th century, so will biology in the 21st.

Breakthroughs in biotech and the life sciences will vastly increase average life spans, creating enormous implications for every segment of society. Many people will work into their hundreds, while others will remain for new careers.

7. From Having it All to Finding the Right Balance

Achieving a balance between work and family will be a critical organizational design issue of the 21st century. Family-friendly policies will be integral to employee recruitment and retention. Merger mania will abate in favor of dynamic realignments with specific business-development goals. De-engineering will accelerate as more executives realize technology is only as good as people’s ability to use it productively.

8. From Materialism to Spirituality

People all over the world are abandoning a “have it all” materialistic drive in favor of a burgeoning appetite for spirituality.

Evidence by rising attendance at religious services, interest in spiritual quests and concern for social responsibility, the trend in part is a high-touch response to a high-tech world. In fringe cases, it’s a short-term phenomenon inspired by millennium fever. But for many in society’s mainstream, the spiritual resurgence is no less than the long-surpressed recognition of a need nearly as basic as food, water and shelter.

More businesses are putting spiritual values and social responsibility at the center of their operating principles. And there has been an explosion of interest in socially and environmentally responsible investments.
 
 
 
 
 
 

December Trivia Question:

What day does the party begin?

The Connection Committee reviews with a Disney Professor, how the Disney Company manages a high level of customer service in the Magic Kingdom in Orlando Florida. The Connection Committee has developed a new line level service 

program for Team Boston Dealers which will be introduced on January 21, 1999 at the Dedham Hilton. Members of the Connection Committee who can be seen in this picture are Mike Lindley, Steve Cahill, Gazi Saab, and Randy Eakin.

Hi!! I’m Parky Parkman and I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about myself. I am a native Virginian and a graduate of The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, VA. Mary Fran, my wife, is also a native of Virginia and is a graduate of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. Jeff, our son, was born in Frankfort, Germany while I was stationed there in the Army. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and lives in Raleigh, NC. Our daughter, Kathy, was born in Roanoke, VA and also has her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina, as well as her Master’s degree in Nutrition from UNC. She lives in Chapel Hill, NC.

Prior to the formation of Motiva, I had worked for Shell and held various retail, wholesale and real estate assignments in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and New England. I have been in New England for the past 8 years.

At Team Boston, we have placed you, our customer, at the center of our Galaxy. We have committed ourselves to helping you be successful. Just as your success is important to you, your success is also important to us.

TOGETHER WE CAN
ACCOMPLISH MUCH!

• Growth will slow in ‘99, particularly in spring and early summer. Momentum from 3.5% expansion in ‘98 will keep the first quarter rolling. Gain for the year will be about 2%.
• Inflation will remain in check, edging up a bit to about 2.5%.
• Just a slim chance of recession.
• The trade deficit will balloon next year to over $250 BILLION, up from $175 billion this year.
• Outlook for Asia remains bleak.
• Housing will ease a bit from unsustainable pace of recent years.
• Lower mortgage rates will boost homeownership to new records… about 67%
• Remodeling sector will strengthen as the housing supply ages.
• Auto and truck sales will soften slightly to 14.8 million units.
• Unemployment rate will edge up a bit but still remain under 5%.
• Look for retail sales to grow at a slower pace… just under 4%.  Compares with about 5.5% this year.
• Profits will still be hard to come by… remaining nearly flat for a second year.
• Merger mania has a long way to go before it runs out of steam.

• Newly merged companies won’t mind divesting some operations…  a convenient way to get rid of over capacity they’d like to shed anyway.

IMPORTANT...

Please contact Pete Romano or your Sales Consultant if you would like to participate in a Team Boston Task Group in 1999. The only requirements are that you must be positive and must be willing to sacrafice your time.

Contact Pete Romano at:  Romanpr@starent.com