From Publishers Weekly
For Silicon Valley venture capitalist and club-touring rock musician McNamee, the title's state of affairs means "[s]afety nets have been replaced by new possibilities" and that "[t]he New Normal will reward the brave." Each of 18 short chapters covers areas where money, individuals and regulations intersect (government, finance, media, education, family, etc.), giving a rough picture of what current conditions are like and how one might maximize one's investments within them: "In the New Normal, the happiest people will be those that optimize their lives across multiple dimensions," McNamee notes in the chapter on family. Most chapters consist of just a few pages, onto which McNamee has uploaded rifflike distillations of truisms he steers by—the proliferation of digital media means that technologies that organize it (like TiVO) will have lots of niche opportunities—and case studies in entrepreneurship, as of the online diamond engagement ring retailer Blue Nile. His declarative quips (many of which begin "In the New Normal...") are glib and annoying, but are usually followed up with at least some substantive discussion, as in a chapter on time ("it is more important to be right than to be early"). As a road map of the post–New Economy economy, this book can feel as scattered and emptily assertive as the late '90s, but its core message—that new conditions mean new opportunities for entrepreneurs—remains as true as ever.
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Book Description
Back in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, it was fairly easy to plan for a secure future. People picked a career, a spouse, and a place to live, and those basic decisions put them on a predictable course for the rest of their lives. Especially if they were lucky enough to land at a big corporation with great benefits and smart enough to buy stocks.
In the 70s, 80s, and 90s, technology and global competition transformed the world. An increasingly strong economy masked spiraling instability in the workplace and the world. A rising stock market lulled people into thinking they were in control of their lives.
But now we’ve entered a totally new era, which Roger McNamee calls the New Normal. It’s a time of great uncertainty—about terrorism, corporate scandals, the outsourcing of jobs overseas, and much more. The old safety nets aren’t coming back, even when the economy recovers. But the good news is that the New Normal also offers tremendous opportunities. This book—by one of Silicon Valley’s most insightful and successful investors—explains how to make the most of your life, career, and money by embracing the future.
The New Normal is the era of the individual. In companies large and small, each person now matters more than ever before. The Internet has finally made it easy to launch and grow a real business. For entrepreneurs and managers, the global economy opens previously untapped sources of supply and demand, cost savings and innovation. Individual investors now have access to tools and knowledge that were, until recently, restricted to professionals.
Roger McNamee has written a sweeping book in the tradition of Megatrends that clarifies this new era and gives readers a practical blueprint for success.
