(updated 2021)
The Industrial Revolution transitioned the US from agriculture to manufacturing. Three technological revolutions latter, the US is now a service based economy. Approximately 70% of the US labor force is in the services sector; some sources say it’s closer to 80%. So, we’ve evolved from the procurement of raw materials for the production of goods, to the management of the processes to procure, produce, and create goods and services. And the more time that passes, the better we become at improving these processes. For example, Nike created a process that reduces the number of hand sewn sneaker pieces from 37 pieces to two pieces. The shoe is “knit” by a machine and weighs only 55% as much as the typical hand sewn Nike running shoe. Instead of factory workers, Nike employed computer programmers and engineers, effectively reducing factory labor by 96%.1
All About Quality
Concepts such as the International Standardization and Six Sigma are taught to executives globally, and are well established as standards by which we work; improving upon predecessor concepts of Total Quality Management and Just-in-Time quality and delivery systems. Labor Unions have screamed about this for years – jobs leaving the US. But, it’s a catch 22. Americans simply will not work for the pennies on the dollar paid to foreign laborers. Given little other choice, Americans have become more highly educated and apply their skills to the ever growing services based economy.
The impact of this change is two-fold, ramping down physical labor intensity and ramping up brain power. Intensive thought processes and collaborative efforts to innovate and streamline mundane processes enable us to focus on more theoretical nuances, and should eventually evolve us into a better quality of life.
No Man Left Behind
As Big Brother obtains the latest and greatest technology to enhance the quality of life for his residents, he passes back the baton of older technology; now affordable by the advent of newer technology. Now, underdeveloped siblings can also continue their quest for an improved quality of life. Thus we witness the advancement of not one country or one people, but of the entire human race.
”Since humans created the economic and financial systems, it should be no surprise that psychology plays a significant role.”
- The Psychology of Finance
Our Future Selves
Demand for innovation requires that we not just learn, but that we actively apply our knowledge. We’ve adapted to the information age where knowledge is power and the “power” is more widely distributed via electronic means. Fewer are factory workers, working long hours on their feet, under poor conditions; and more sit at a desk, in a cubicle, at a laboratory, etc. and ideate solutions to problems. We organize information, we analyze data, we assess, we draw conclusions, we tweak processes, and we offer perspective. We evolve.
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1 Bloomberg: Is Nike's Flyknit the Swoosh of the Future?
