Platforms are eating the world and where did my talent go, oh my!

What's on your coffee table?

For me it is a copy of Platform Revolution and Agile Talent (and perhaps a glass of Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir). I've become very interested in all things platform in the past several years mostly due to the 'challenger' nature of the model (if one can call a platform a model). Platforms tend to challenge the inefficient incumbents in order to deliver higher value which makes my economics-driven mind happy. It seems we are just at the beginning of a mass of change, or revolution if you will, caused by the platform concept. I was lucky enough today to have Amazon help me further investigate this by delivering me a copy of the namesake book, Platform Revolution. Pick up a copy and let's trade notes.

On the other hand I was only half way through Agile Talent when I discovered Platform Revolution. It was serendipitous because I determined that the authors of Agile Talent had written a book for us about how to deal with, or rather embrace the effects of a platformatized industry (you heard it here first). That's right, you can read in one book about how labor markets are evolving to a more agile (or freelance) model and how this will be supported (if not accelerated) by the advent of platforms in the other. Genius. Now, your job is to figure out how this supports your competitiveness or represents a threat. I suggest taking a glance at these two books before you answer.