The Transformation Decade

This new decade, 2010-2020, will be known as the Transformation Decade. The definitions of transformation are several: the act or process of transforming, the state of being transformed, change in form, appearance, nature, or character.

Don’t those definitions feel like what has been already going on in your life and the world?  Many of us have already been living in this state.  Many of us have only recently felt the impending alterations, disruptions and reorganizations that have begun.  Everything seems to be in a transforming state of shift.

We are entering the first full decade of the Shift Age, even though it has already taken root in the last 4 years.  This new age has launched incredible shift and upheaval already. This current Great Recession can only be fully understood when seen as the reorganizational recession between two ages, the Information Age and the Shift Age. It is not unlike the recessions of the 1970s, which was the decade of transition between the Industrial and Information Ages. Almost everything is in a state of shift, in a state of being transformed.

Think about all that is going on in your life and in the world.  The way we communicate has and will continue to change in form, appearance (our gadgets are vastly different than even five years ago) and character (how many of you text or tweet regularly versus even three years ago).  The shape of our relationships is changing.  The shape of how we work,  how we live and how  and in what we travel are all changing.  The economy and the workplace are changing and being reshaped.

In the next ten years there will be a level of transformation probably unmatched in human history:

– Humanity’s relationship to communication technology is rapidly changing and will bring on-going transformation socially, culturally and economically.

– Media will be completely different that it is today.  We are only at the initial creative destruction phase of it now.

– Economic metrics will need to be transformed, both on national and global levels

–  How countries define defense will be transformed given the shape changing nature of our enemies and the threats that face us.

-Energy and energy use will be transformed from the 20th century ways we look at it and use it still today.  Alternative and renewable energy development and use will create great new wealth and will transform landscapes and how we live

-Education is no longer serving the needs of people and society; it will be transformed. K-12 education will be dramatically transformed in the next ten years.  For a large part of the population it will become K-14.

– The medical breakthroughs around the corner will make 2010-2020 the most transformative decade in medical history.  This is not just due to the actual discoveries, but to what they will make us face and the moral decisions we will confront for the first time.  We will all have the affordable ability to know our unique complete genetic map.   We will move into the age of personalized medicine as a result.  We will have fore knowledge of probable personal health conditions in the future. That will transform how we live.  The concept of pre-existing conditions will largely go away as we were born with them genetically.  Do you get married if you and your intended partner’s respective genetic maps are not a good match?  Does knowledge trump love?  Who gets to make the decision as to who gets to live forever in an over crowded world? We will have the capability to make such decisions.  How do we develop the ability to do so? There will be transformation across the board in health care and medicine.

-We will undergo personal transformation as well.  Our consciousness will change in dynamic ways.  Our relationships, our work place, our view of life and even the definition of life itself will be transformed

-The workplace will be transformed as the place part becomes less and less relevant.  Human beings will only need to be in the same place to collaborate, as work is increasingly defined as collaborative.

– The Internet and our rapid fire use of mobile digital devices to access it has created a pulsing, synaptic place of unprecedented interactivity that on a global scale is starting to feel like a global brain.  It is a live, morphing place called the Neurosphere that is not only transforming us now, but could well be the technological model for a new level of human consciousness in 10-20 years.  That is an evolutionary level of transformation.  An Evolutionshift. It may be hard for you to envision, but we are rapidly moving in that direction.

The list could go on and on as to what will be transformed. Take a snapshot look at your life now with all your relationships, ways of thinking, ways of living and ways of looking at the world   I promise you that when you take the same snapshot in ten years you will astounded as to the transformation that will have occurred.  The speed of change is now both constantly accelerating and environmental.  It may feel uncomfortable as familiar things and ways of living are disintegrating. Transformation, to varying degrees, is always uncomfortable.  We are and will be transformed in the next ten years.

We have entered the Transformation Decade.

26 Responses to “The Transformation Decade”

  1. The Transformation Decade | Evolution Shift – David Houle, Futurist, Disintermediation, Future Trends, Future of Energy « Translator Power Says:

    […] have entered the Transformation Decade. via evolutionshift.com Posted in Uncategorized. Leave a Comment […]

  2. Scott Lewis Says:

    Totally agree. Thanks for writing!

  3. Kenji Summers Says:

    Great read. I’m excited to take a look at your book.

  4. Wildcat Says:

    A very good write and Very true, a point to take into consideration is that disruptive technologies from which said transformation stems, have no ethics and or morality in and of themselves. for this aspect we may need take responsibility for the manner and fashion by which said transformation occurs.
    I just published an article on the same topic: A Cyber Soaring Humanity- http://spacecollective.org/Wildcat/5462/A-Cyber-Soaring-Humanity

  5. What is Social Media? [the 2010 edition] « emergent by design Says:

    […] foundations for how we’d like to characterize the times – David Houle is calling it the Transformation Decade, a tweet from @RitaJKing mentioned The Imagination Age, and Seth Godin rang in the new year with a […]

  6. Lynn Hazan Says:

    The Decade of Transformation is spot on. I see this time as a transition time to new ways we define work and employment. The Boomer generation in particular will be at the forefront of redefining itself. I see this in particular in my role as an executive recruiter and career consultant.
    Can you do an analysis on this?

  7. george rosenbaum Says:

    We can already see the transformation of language in the above comments: “A good write” “A good read”

  8. jonathan bloom Says:

    I enjoyed this read even more after having heard you speak at our conference last year. I would suggest that media is already different now than it has ever been before. The destruction (creative or otherwise) of media and journalism for that matter is already in full swing. I look forward with much trepidation, however, to where all of this will end up.

  9. Jennifer Nelson Says:

    I know all of what you said above is true. Why do I feel so alone in this knowledge though? Anyone else feel this way?

  10. Let’s Go the the Video Tape! | Evolution Shift - David Houle, Futurist, Disintermediation, Future Trends, Future of Energy Says:

    […] January 1 I wrote a column here called “The Transformation Decade”. It prompted comments and numerous emails and took off on Twitter and the blogosphere.  That […]

  11. thabo Says:

    What a find, you & me companions through this journey of life. With the above I solemnly agree.

  12. 20th Century Versus 21st Century | Evolution Shift - David Houle, Futurist, Disintermediation, Future Trends, Future of Energy Says:

    […] 20th century industries or companies very well these past few years. On 01/01/10  I suggested  here that the 2010-2020 decade would be the Transformation Decade.  The definition of transformation is […]

  13. 01/10/10-10/10/10-11/10/10-11/11/10--01/01/11-10/10/11-11/10/11-11/11/11 | Evolution Shift - David Houle, Futurist, Disintermediation, Future Trends, Future of Energy Says:

    […] 01/01/10 I wrote a column naming the decade 2010-2020 the Transformation Decade, explaining the term and what will come to pass in this decade.  As regular readers know I believe […]

  14. Future-Wow! Says:

    […] a column dated 01-01-10, I called 2010-2020 the Transformation Decade.  That column took off, and I have since delivered numerous speeches on the topic. The definition […]

  15. What is Social Media? [the 2010 edition] | Gnovis Journal Says:

    […] foundations for how we’d like to characterize the times – David Houle is calling it the Transformation Decade, a tweet from @RitaJKing mentioned The Imagination Age, and Seth Godin rang in the new year with a […]

  16. The Phrase “National Leaders” is Oxymoronic | Shelly Palmer Digital Living Says:

    […] on the sidelines, or insisting to go on their already planned summer vacations are not leading.On 01-01-10, I named the decade 2010-2020 the Transformation Decade. The definition of transformation is “a […]

  17. 2010 – 2020: Europe’s Transformation Decade – Part One | Evolution Shift - David Houle, Futurist, Disintermediation, Future Trends, Future of Energy Says:

    […] 01-01-10 I wrote a column entitled “The Transformation Decade”.   The dictionary definition of transformation is “ a change in nature, form, character or […]

  18. 2010-2020: Europe’s Transformation Decade -- Part One | Shelly Palmer Digital Living Says:

    […] January 1, 2010, I wrote a column entitled “The Transformation Decade.”  The dictionary definition of transformation is “a change in nature, form, character or […]

  19. 2010-2020: Europe’s Transformation Decade — Part One – SYS | Change 2010 Says:

    […] January 1, 2010, I wrote a column entitled “The Transformation Decade.”  The dictionary definition of transformation is “a change in nature, form, character or […]

  20. The Transformation Decade: 2010-2020 | Evolution Shift - David Houle, Futurist, Disintermediation, Future Trends, Future of Energy Says:

    […] three years ago, on 01-01-10 I wrote a column called “The Transformation Decade”.  On this digital date I suggested that this decade would be shaped by massive […]

  21. The Phrase “National Leaders” is Oxymoronic Says:

    […] 01-01-10, I named the decade 2010-2020 the Transformation Decade. The definition of transformation is “a […]

  22. Burning Man 2013 | Evolution Shift - David Houle, Futurist, Disintermediation, Future Trends, Future of Energy Says:

    […] the elections in the United States, the Mayan Prophesy and my own writings and perceptions of this Transformation Decade.  Simply put, Burning Man has metaphorical lessons for the future of humanity.  Some of the Ten […]

  23. Burning Man 2013: Transitioning from a Minor Gathering to a Meme Says:

    […] a year of future possibilities, due to the elections in the United States, the Mayan Prophecy and my own writings and perceptions of this Transformation Decade. Simply put, Burning Man has metaphorical lessons for the future of humanity. Some of the Ten […]

  24. Millennials Move In As Boomers Bow Out Says:

    […] David Houle has dubbed this the “Transformation Decade” where electronic connectedness, global community and the flow to individual power will have […]

  25. Marijuana and the Rapidity of Social Change | Evolution Shift - David Houle, Futurist, Disintermediation, Future Trends, Future of Energy Says:

    […] speed of social change has been accelerating. Back on January 1, 2010 I wrote a column that coined the phrase “Transformation Decade” for the 2010-2020 decade. The dictionary definition of transformation is “a change in nature, […]

  26. Marijuana and the Rapidity of Social Change Says:

    […] change has been accelerating. Back on January 1, 2010, I wrote a column that coined the phrase “Transformation Decade” for the 2010-2020 decade. Transformation is defined as “a change in nature, shape, character […]