Listening to the Future: Why It's Everybody's Business explores the challenges and opportunities facing organizations, the transformations that will ripple through the political, economic, and social environments, and the implications for different industries in the 21st century workplace. Written by Microsoft forecasters Daniel W. Rasmus and Rob Salkowitz, this important book equips your business to get out in front of new technology innovations in the consumer world with the knowledge, practices, and tools to differentiate your business in our competitive, fast-moving global economy.

Microsoft executive leadership series.

Listening to the future -- Embracing uncertainty -- The shape of things to come -- Technology and the changing world -- People make the future -- Note -- : Managing a dynamic business -- Driving forces -- Strategic technology capabilities -- Tenets for success -- Dynamic business : forces to watch, uncertainties to consider -- Notes -- : prospering in a blended world -- Driving forces -- Strategic workplace technologies -- Blending beyond the workplace -- Tenets for success -- Blend trends -- Notes -- : Insights from complexity -- Driving forces -- Strategic technologies to drive insights -- Tenets for success -- Sources of insight -- Notes -- : Building strategic advantage through it -- The challenge of measuring return on knowledge -- Why it matters -- Why applications matter -- Why platforms matter -- Why infrastructure matters -- Creating a dialog between business and it -- Tenets for success -- Why it still matters -- Ways to achieve more strategic it -- Key infrastructure investments for competitive advantage -- Notes -- : from the new world of business to the new world of work -- World of business -- Always on, always connected -- Transparent organizations -- Workforce evolution -- Notes -- : Managing knowledge and talent in the new world of business -- Managing knowledge in one world of business -- Knowledge anywhere, anytime -- Knowledge in the transparent organization -- Managing knowledge for a changing workforce -- From ?Knowledge management? To managing talent and knowledge -- Complexity and specialization -- Simplifying the knowledge work environment -- Toward a dynamic knowledge environment -- Navigating the dynamic knowledge environment -- Embracing organizational learning -- Starting points for dynamics knowledge enterprises -- Notes -- : The future of industries -- Manufacturing -- Retail -- Government/public sector -- Retail banking and insurance -- Healthcare -- Education -- Professional services -- : Hearing the future -- Strategy and uncertainties -- Exposing the dynamic uncertainty loop -- Conclusions.