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Change is driven by the availability

of new information, and the speed with which we
can share that information. The First Industrial Revolution of 1760,
spanned over half a century. It was a period of transition from
agrarian to industrialize urban societies. Steam power was a game changer back
then. The adoption of new technology was slow
across Europe because the information had to be shared physically,
via print, or in person. The Second Industrial Revolution
was a little faster. It began in the late 19th century,
into the early 20th century. It lasted a little under half a century. It brought
electrical power, auto and
steel manufacturing, radio and telephones. Even then,
people learned about new technology, mostly through traveling, books,
newspapers, and printed mail. To say it was a much slower pace
compared to today is an understatement. In 1960, the groundwork for
the development of the Internet began, and then in 1990, Tim Berners-Lee
invented the World Wide Web. In just 30 years since
the commercialization of the Internet, that speed of change has
accelerated dramatically. In 2019, 53.6% of the global
population was using the Internet, which roughly equates to 4 billion people. We
have reached the critical mass
of adoption of this technology, and we are now globally connected. The adoption of
the Internet is the main
reason behind the acceleration of change in recent years. The global pandemic of
2020 highlighted
how connected we are physically as well. The virus spread across
the world in a matter of weeks. We are also informationally connected, instant
information
sharing is the new norm. This trend of accelerating
change will not stop. In recent years, we saw how Uber
grew to a 14 billion dollar revenue in the matter of just ten years. In comparison,
it took Johnson & Johnson 130 years
to reach 82 billion dollar revenues. Uber essentially made a billion dollars in
a half the time it took Johnson & Johnson. Because information is widely and
readily available, scandals, consumer opinions, and significant incidents, can take
companies
down in a matter of days and weeks. We will continue to see the need for
faster response times. We will continue to see significant
changes in the job market because of new technology, and we will see how only
agile companies will be able to survive. In the next lesson, you will learn
the difference between change and transformation, and define agile. I'll see you
there.