Core to companies that thrive over time are leadership, strategy, and people management. Today, however, we find a definitive change in the way these competencies are implemented in "Internet time."

Leadership today must be agile and decisive without the benefit of robust processes that build certainty and hedge risk. Leaders must "multi-task"-- transitioning from decision to decision with hyper-speed to assure that their teams are equipped to out pace the competition. Leaders must demonstrate the ability to gather rapidly the collective view of the team, the customer or the board and then use a unique combination of logic and intuition to drive closure. "Internet time" has also impacted the ability to shape strategy. Relationships with customers must be intimate and immediate; competitor analysis must be in real time. The 3-Year Strategic Plan has been replaced by the 3-Month Plan of Record, which must be responsive to shifts in a market bombarded daily by new technology, tools and capabilities. We no longer have plans; we have thrusts that shift and evolve. Opportunity constantly changes.

In today's fast-paced environment we find that our key asset, human capital, no longer values long-term commitment. Instead, they look for opportunities in which they can actively engage in the fundamentals of the business, participate in the shaping of what is to be. Successful enterprises in today's "Internet time" first define a direction and then partner with their people to make the vision reality.