Support Futures

• Real Time by Regis McKenna
  This work predicts the business implications of companies operating in a well connected world. Some of the relevant concepts developed in Real Time include a new meaning to company branding that is based on the experience of the user not the press activity of the vendor. Also the idea of continuous discontinuous change marked by shifts from economies of scale to economies of time; from broadcast to access (or from monologue to dialogue), from data content to people content, from fixed boundaries to open space, from the satisfied to the self-satisfied consumers. The ideas offered in this book have profound implications for the future of customer support. Consider the following quote ... "In the information age, all business will become service businesses."
• The Art of the Long View: Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World by Peter Schwartz
  The Support Futures program team is using this scenario planning methodology to explore possible future states for customer support. One of the world's leading futurists--who has served as a consultant to clients as diverse as Volvo and the White House--presents a revolutionary guide to planning for the future. A powerful tool for developing strategic vision, this book reveals how to navigate the future by applying the intuitive skills used by artists and musicians.
• Blur : The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy by Davis & Meyer
  This is a shrewd appraisal of the new corporate reality. The authors, who both direct research at the Ernst & Young Center for Business Innovation, maintain that "connectivity, speed, and the growth of intangible value" have catapulted business into a period of unprecedented transition that demands immediate and creative attention. Citing disparate examples including Amazon.com, singer David Bowie, and the Beanie Baby toy phenomenon, they show how a willingness to step away from conventional thinking is crucial for continued success.