The Virtual Economy

SETTING THE STAGE 9
1. LET’S GET TO THE FUTURE FIRST 11
2. A FEW THINGS BEFORE WE START 12
3. THE HOT TOPICS IN THE BOARDROOM 14

SCOPING THE VIRTUAL ECONOMY 17
1. THE DIGITAL ECONOMY AND THE EMERGING VIRTUAL ECONOMY: A COMPARATIVE INSIGHT 19
2. WHAT MIGHT THE FUTURE INTERNET LOOK LIKE? 23
3. USE THE 3 LENSES FRAMEWORK 30
4. SIGNS OF THE TIMES… 33
5. SO WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT THE VIRTUAL ECONOMY? 37
6. THE 5+1 LAYERS OF THE VIRTUAL ECONOMY 41
7. THE +1 LAYER: THE EXPONENTIAL RISE OF VIRTUAL INTELLIGENCE 47
8. IS THIS REAL LIFE? IS THIS JUST FANTASY? 49
9. QUANTUM COMPUTING: A REVOLUTION IN THE MAKING 53

UNDERSTANDING THE NEW GENERATIONS ON OUR DOORSTEP 57
1. GEN Z & GEN ALPHA LEADING THE WAY 59
2. A NEW DAWN OF EDUCATION 64
3. DRIVERS OF BEHAVIOURS OF THE Z & ALPHA GENERATIONS 69
4. THE FUTURE OF JOBS IN THE VIRTUAL ECONOMY 73
5. THE RISE OF NICHE CULTURES AND COMMUNITIES IN THE VIRTUAL ECONOMY 84
6. EMBRACE THE NEW GENERATIONS 87

THE TWIN TRIANGLES: THRIVING IN THE VIRTUAL ECONOMY 93
1. THE MAGIC TRIANGLE: HOW CAN WE CREATE MAGIC FOR OUR USERS, CUSTOMERS, CITIZENS? 96
2. THE POWER TRIANGLE: HOW CAN WE CREATE A POWERFUL ENGINE FOR THE MAN-MACHINE ERA? 97

THE MAGIC TRIANGLE: PLAYING WHERE IT MATTERS 99
1. EMBRACING THE MAGIC TRIANGLE: THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS SUCCESS 101
2. COMMUNITY, THE ULTIMATE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE 104
3. EXPERIENCE, THE NEXT FRONTIER 135
4. LOYALTY, THE UNSUNG HERO 163
5. EMBRACING THE MAGIC TRIANGLE: THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS SUCCESS 189

THE POWER TRIANGLE 193
1. INTRODUCTION TO THE POWER TRIANGLE 195
2. THE RISE OF VIRTUAL INTELLIGENCE 197
3. THE POWER TRIANGLE: PEOPLE 206
4. THE POWER TRIANGLE: PROCESS 217
5. THE POWER TRIANGLE: PLATFORM 225
6. CONCLUSION 228

TIME TO TAKE ACTION 231
1. STEP 1 – TAKE A SNAPSHOT 233
2. STEP 2 – SCOUT FRICTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES 236
3. STEP 3 – BECOME VIRTUAL ECONOMY READY 239
4. STEP 4 – THE ‘CARTE BLANCHE’ STRATEGY 244
5. STEP 5 – SCALE AND INTEGRATE 246

ACHIEVING SUSTAINABILITY IN THE VIRTUAL ECONOMY 249
1. REDEFINING SUSTAINABILITY: BEYOND GREEN, TOWARDS MEANINGFUL BUSINESS 251
2. HOW VIRTUAL SOLUTIONS CAN DRIVE SUSTAINABILITY AND MEANINGFUL BUSINESS 253
3. THE MEANINGFUL ACID TEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS: WHERE DO YOU STAND TODAY? 257
4. YOU NEED A STRUCTURED, HOLISTIC APPROACH: THE 7 DIMENSIONS OF MEANINGFUL ORGANISATIONS 262
5. BUILD A VIRTUAL COCKPIT TO DO BETTER 267

LET’S WIN TOGETHER
IN THE VIRTUAL ECONOMY 269
THANK YOU 275
ABOUT THE AUTHORS 278