Book Review: Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future

Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes

Book Power

One of my intentions for this blog is to provide you with suggestions for books you may want to consider for your reading list.  I’m not sure how I stumbled into buying Kevin Kelly’s latest book, but I’m sure glad I did.

Before I give you my thoughts on the book and why it would be a good book for a manager to read, I’d like to share a few thoughts about books and reading in general.

First, I believe that we have a responsibility as managers to be life-long learners.  If we are going to lead others and help them develop, we have to live out that example.  Being committed to learning and growing is a fundamental of management success.

Second, If you are going to be truly successful at something, you need to be passionate about it.  Passions starts with interest, but it’s fire is stoked by continued exploration of possibilities.  Reading books related to the art and science of management helps you stay interested by expanding the universe of possibilities.  Books can help you form questions you didn’t even know existed.

Third, books provide a jumpstart when you feel stagnant.  Momentum killers are all around you everyday, sucking the very essence of life from you.  Managing people is tough work.  You will need a way to refuel your tank.  Reading good quality books is one of the ways to keep your motor humming as a manager.

This Book is a Wake Up Call

Kevin Kelly’s book is about culture, technology, and the future.  His background makes him particularly well-suited to bring this book to us.  I get the sense that he’s able to spend time with some really sophisticated people in the technology world and he’s inviting us to ease drop on some of that chatter.

He organizes this book around 12 “forces” that give us insight into where our society is heading.  The 12 “forces” are really words describing action concepts that we are already reading and hearing about.  As an example, we all are familiar with “sharing” and we are seeing the “sharing economy” unfolding before our eyes every day, bringing with it disruption and opportunity.

With each of these 12 forces he gives some history on it’s origins, a current status, and opinions on how it will eventually influence us in a bigger way.  It is impossible to read each of these chapters without considering what they mean for us and the organizations we lead.

I find Kevin Kelly to be an optimist in the way he connects all of this to the incredible opportunities available to us right now.  Maybe that’s part of the reason I encourage you to read this book.  It’s a bit of a wake up call for us.  It taps you on the shoulder and warns you to not miss what’s going on around you at the moment.

This is not a “how to do something” book.  This is more about “big picture” ideas and what’s going on in the world.  You need to be a part of this discussion because it’s impacting you in your career in so many ways.  You are competing for talented people to join your team and there are forces out there that if properly harnessed, give you an advantage.  you are competing for new customers and trying to hold on to existing ones.  There are forces at work that you and your company need to strategically align with in order to be able to better serve.

The world is evolving at break neck speed and you need to stay up with these trends.  I think this book is a “must-read” if you are committed to “future-proofing” your company and your career.

Variety is the Spice of Life

It surprises me that the first book I’m recommending isn’t specifically about management or leadership.  At the same time, I think it’s appropriate to promote learning about many different subjects as a discipline for management success.  I would be interested in hearing from you about books you are reading or have recently read.  Take a moment and respond in the comment section so others can benefit.