Relationship Revolution

Jerry Michalski recently did a great service by re-posting a really nice essay called "The Relationship Revolution" by Michael Schrage. It originally appeared in 1997 but  has not been available on the Web for a while. Michael’s essay took head-on the widespread view that digital technologies were driving us into an "Information Age". Instead, it argued persuasively that the real importance of these technologies has been to bring about a "Relationship Revolution". Michael concluded the essay by observing:

Ultimately, the issue boils down to value: How do organizations, markets and individuals create and manage value? The fact is, people — not information — create the value that matters, and information is merely one of many ingredients that people use. Consequently, the real future of digital technologies and networks rests with the architects of great relationships — not just the architects for timely bits and bytes of information. People who believe in the hype of the Information Age are — pun intended — badly misinformed.

It frustrates me that, eight years later, many still need to learn this vital lesson.