Don't let me singing alone - Karaoke Capitalism (review)

 

Accept no imitations - no limitations. You are here for a reason. You've got the power and the rights. It's your life - you decide. [...] Free your mind - and the rest will follow

Karaoke is about imitation. The whole metaphor about the karaoke club with the modern economy - or more accurately, what economy is and has stop being - takes us to the deepest roots of contemporary successful companies.

The book is about economy, politics, technology, sociology and business management; yet, it never touches a single bit on their underlying theories. What Ridderstråle and Nordström, the authors, describe us is the real world.

Karaoke Capitalism is not a guide, but an invitation. To explore, to free ourselves, to be aware of what is happening, to be confident in ourselves and in our ideas, to take risks, to confront failure and, ironically, to not embrace success. Within its pages, you can perfectly see the mechanisms of the world of today, and at the same time, get the insight of why is it happening.

It would not be hard to compress all the ideas of the book into a blog post; but is impossible to transmit that insight in a few lines. I will limit to say that the book emphasizes on individuality, in which talent is the new real value (besides money). Technology is now just enabling and empowering the individuals to grow. But we now live in a material world (whether we like it or not), and the market is a big, unstoppable mechanism, which is more than the sum of all of us. The world has, is and will keep changing, so the business models have to flow with it. Now, businesses are about innovation, which is far more complicated than just invention, and is a long path with ups and downs. Companies are not controlled by corporations anymore - they are driven by its people, the talented one. At the end, the successful companies are the ones that can engage the customer, provide the most valuable. The survival of the fittest - and the sexiest.

(C) The sinister idea, Felipe Morin

So, what does it has to do a book about markets, economy, globalization and management to us (at least to me), people on the IT? Well, I'm sorry, the answer is not highlighted and in bold font within the book. What it gives us, as I say, is a tour around the minds and souls of some of the most innovating companies - which gives the casualty that many of them are technological companies. It helps us see all those trees in the forest in front of our noses: the world is global. You cannot change it, but can change yourself. If you are lucky, you can excel. And, the most important, valuable lesson. Luck doesn't equal chance. Luck is for the people that expose to the opportunities, who know which to grab - and which to throw away-, who have aspirations, are pro-active and practice luck.

In short, this book is a whole manifesto, one that you shall embed into yourself, and put it into practice. Be sure not to miss it.