Categories: Articles

Breaking Through The Blockchain

Many people ask ”what’s next” for technology? Whatever happens next, the blockchain will be a part of it.

It’s not the easiest of technologies to understand. I still find myself daydreaming about what the blockchain is, and what the implications will be for business. I have a handful of close friends who are betting big on it (startups infused with a lot of external capital). Still, what totally gets me going is the fact that Don Tapscott is all over it. I’ve been a fan of his thinking, writing and speaking for a long time. When we toss around the words “digital economy,” it was Don who coined this phrase over twenty years ago. My sentiment and attention to the blockchain keeps amping up, because this is how I felt when the first web browser was available. It seemed to change everything, but it was hard to define and harder to imagine the way that it was going to change business forever. Don and his son, Alex Tapscott, recently published a book titled, Blockchain Revolution – How The Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, And The World. Don presented his thinking on blockchain at the most recent TED event (TED Summit). It’s a great explanation about blockchain in under twenty minutes. If that tempts you, please check out my more in-depth conversation with both Don Tapscott and Alex Tapscott right here: Blockchain Revolution With Alex And Don Tapscott – Six Pixels of Separation – The Mirum Podcast – #512).

Watch this: Don Tapscott – How the blockchain is changing money and business – TED Summit 2016.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.