In the past year I have found that framing conversations about certain topics with the context of being of the 20^th century or of the 21^st century to be clarifying for most people.

I have written extensively about humanity being in transition between the Information Age and the Shift Age.  Those who have heard me speak or read my writings come to understand and accept this.  That said, this is a higher concept than the simple reality of the calendar.  No one can dispute the numerical fact that we are 10% into the 21^st Century, unless you want to debate whether the scientific concept of linear time verses the older concepts of cyclical time or chaotic time.

Once you start to look at the world, its’ institutions and both business categories and specific companies, through this 20^th versus 21^st century filter, things become clearer.

Here are some examples:

I could go on for pages, but the lists above should both provide clarity and food for thought.

A very simple way to look at the world is through this filter as it will bring clarity as to what will last and what won’t, to what will be significant and what will not be.  It is clear that companies created in the 20^th century that …

The current media and advertising recession will be more severe and more transformative than any one of the last 80 years.  This will be a time when it won’t be just about how far down ad spending goes, but also about what media entities and even business sectors will survive.

Historically, advertising recessions have been 1-2 years in length and have been about a contraction in ad spending on measured media.  Everyone hunkered down, altered pricing strategies, leaned on relationships and waited until the inevitable spending upsurge occurred.  The advertising recession of 2008 – 2010 will be different. This time, entire structures on both the buy and sell side will collapse.  The institutions that were developed and rigidified in the 20^th century are clearly not mirroring the dynamic changes of the media marketplace in this new century.  The advertising agency constructed in the second half of the last century no longer reflects the media reality of today.  The same can be said of the hierarchical distribution channel specific media sales organizations.  There are agencies and media properties that exist today …