“In the future, high-speed wireless networks and low-cost mobile devices will break the link between occupation and location.”
Tsugio Makimoto, Hitachi Executive & Author
In his 1997 book, Digital Vision, Makimoto envisioned the digital workplace transformation we are experiencing today. Millions are engaging in wanderlust, selling their homes and living abroad. They are running a business and making a significant income while traveling the world. There are no more geographic boundaries. The transitional workplace is being chipped away. Those with a wanderlust are breaking out of the rat-race, fleeing from their cubicles and rejecting the mind-numbing commute to a workplace.
Technology Creates Digital Careers
Makimoto’s book was largely ignored at the time of issue, but has made a resurgence and provided key insight into what we are experiencing today. Makimoto could not predict the rise or impact of social networking, smartphones or the sharing economy. Those platforms, along with the rise of the on-demand economy has positioned Makimoto as a visionary.
Technology has created a work environment where anyone can connect and conduct business from anywhere in the world. These business wanderlusts can be running their business from the beaches of Bora Bora this month, then find themselves sipping coffee in Amsterdam while closing a lucrative deal.
A Gallup poll published this month called “State of the American Workplace” found that 43% of employed Americans worked remotely last year at least some of the time. Moreover, both the length of time working remotely and the number of employees doing so full-time has been growing every year. (This is up from 39% in 2012.)
Closing the Deal in a Paris Cafe
Being able to cut the cord and enjoy successful digital careers requires little more than vision and a positive mindset. You can simply power up your smartphone and connect your vision to a global consumer power base and free yourself from the 9-5 grind.
See you in Paris!
