Unblocked

by Alison McCauley

  Would there be benefit to us in leading the development of more collaborative ecosystems, or the cocreation of new markets enabled by the technology?

  Where could the attributes of decentralization most align with our corporate values and mission?

  How could we enable customers to exchange value within their own networks?

  How could fractionalized, programmable, and/or more liquid forms of our products or assets drive benefit to our customers or business model?

  How could decentralization pose a threat to our business model, and how could we use decentralization to reshape our market ahead of others doing so?

  What role do we want to have in the broader ecosystem as this technology matures?

  Action

  How do we identify the next best steps for taking action and evaluating use cases?

  RAISE LITERACY In what functional areas would we benefit from raising our understanding of the blockchain opportunity?

  How could we increase collaboration among executives, technologists, and subject-matter experts within the lines of business to identify strong potential use cases?

  How can we best assimilate knowledge from the external blockchain community into our organization?

  DEVELOP FILTERS Do we have the range of expertise on our evaluation team to accurately assess potential, including technology, customer, and relevant domain expertise?

  Will our evaluation team be able to objectively determine if a nonblockchain solution will be more effective than the early stage blockchain (and related) technology available now?

  Are we aligned on the criteria against which we will evaluate potential use cases, and a horizon for expected returns?

  Are we prepared to invest the resources and funding to truly explore compelling use cases, should we identify them?

  MOVE STRATEGICALLY Which potential use cases are aligned with the values and mission of our organization, and are likely to gain executive sponsorship?

  Which use cases are positioned to demonstrate the real capabilities of the technology to key stakeholders across the organization?

  How can we lower the barrier to entry for our chosen use cases to assess feasibility and/or demonstrate returns more quickly?

  Which use cases could be extensible to other applications and areas of business to increase return on investment?

  Afterword

  THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE HOPE ARE HUMAN

  The time is always right to do what is right.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  I did not dedicate this book to my children lightly.

  After many months of writing and editing, I printed and read my entire manuscript on paper for the first time. I noted, with irony, that moving this book about bleeding-edge technology from pixels, where it had lived so long, to a stack of paper that I could hold in my hands helped me reconnect to what I’d written. From my first glimpse of the alternate future that decentralization could trigger, I have believed this is an important moment in our collective history. But as I turned that last page and slipped on my shoes to take my dog for a long-needed walk, I was feeling this even more deeply.

  I hadn’t made it one block before I ran into a neighborhood dad. This man was practically dripping children. He had a baby cradled in his arms. One twin toddler was trying to untie his shoe. The other was wrapped around his leg, and her friend was using his belt to anchor a climb up his leg. “Hey!” he shouted from across the street. “When should I buy bitcoin?” Word had been getting out in my neighborhood that I was writing about blockchains, so I had been frequently peppered with questions while walking the dog.

  As I approached, the three toddlers dropped what they were doing en masse and turned their attention to my dog. Good thing, because this time, my Dear Reader, I added a swear when I whispered, “It does not matter,” a little too fiercely, in his ear.

  I hope you see, after reading this book, that focusing on cryptocurrency speculation is missing the point. Over the long arc of time, a shift toward decentralization could have a far more profound impact on those children, now climbing all over my dog, than their dad attempting to time the cryptocurrency market.

  We have arrived at a moment in our history in which our destiny—the destiny of humanity—is now irrevocably intertwined with technology. But the systems we create today are capable of becoming bigger than their creators. And once unleashed, they may take on a form we did not intend or predict. If we want to influence the shape of our future, we must—actively and with intent—shape technology.

  The difference—whether the postscript on this technology will be a story of societal advancements or of freedoms lost—will come from the actions of individuals. Individuals code the protocols, lay the structures, develop the governance, bake in the algorithms. In this space and time, we do not understand all the implications of our actions, and that is why we must move forward thoughtfully and carefully. It is up to us whether we build freedom or suppression into the technology. Whether we will build something that will connect us or we will be the architects of our own fragmentation. Whether we will use this technology to transcend barriers or forge further division.

  We can no longer afford to create without a long view of the horizon.

  Fred Ehrsam is the cofounder of Coinbase, a company backed by top banks and the NYSE, that aims to bring cryptoassets to the masses. He eloquently shares an important warning: “We are birthing into existence systems which transcend us. In the same way democracy and capitalism as systems determine so much of the emergent behavior around us, blockchains will do the same with even greater reach. These systems are organisms which take on lives of their own and are more concerned with perpetuating themselves than the individuals which comprise them. As technology stretches these systems to their limits, the implications become more pronounced. So we’d be wise to carefully consider the structure of these systems while we can. Like any new powerful technology, blockchains are a tool that can go in many different directions. Used well, we can create a world with greater prosperity and freedom. Used poorly, we can create systems which lead us to places we didn’t intend to go.”

  He continues, “We have the opportunity to create vastly different power structures and program the future we want for ourselves.”185

  Ian Bogost, a professor of interactive computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, writes in The Atlantic, “The technology has been hailed for its potential to usher in a new era of services that are less reliant on intermediaries like businesses and nation-states. But its boosters often overlook that the opposite is equally possible: blockchain could further consolidate the centralized power of corporations and governments instead.”186

  Will this be technology versus humanity, or will it be technology for humanity?

  It is up to us to decide. We can solve problems. We can bake humanity into the code. We can work to make sure this new movement ferries us toward a more equitable, just, and progressive future.

  We all have the ability to shape the future of technology. And we all have an enormous responsibility to make sure that technology enables the future we aspire to.

  Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum

  As you join the growing ranks of those who “get” this space, you have an opportunity to influence its use in making our world better. I hope you do. Ask questions. They may be just as valuable as someone else’s answers.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  While careening down a Tahoe mountainside on my snowboard, a challenge popped into my head. Could I break the complex, still-evolving world of blockchains into an aerial view so straightforward that any exec could understand it? I started sketching with the plan to write a series of articles. With some alarm, I realized after a few months that this required long form—much longer. Once I saw that, I couldn’t unsee it (I tried!), and I battened down the hatches to write this book.

  My firs
t thank you is to those pioneers who are working in this challenging space because of their sheer desire for an alternate, better digital future for our world—you have renewed my hope.

  Thank you to my dear Wyatt and Eleanor, who not only understand my intensity but also throw out so much love and encouragement that keep me going when I tire.

  I am deeply grateful to all the business leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries who took the time to share their perspective, tell their stories, and provide their thoughts as I worked on this book. Most especially to Maja Vujinovic, Sheila Warren, Diana Biggs, and Lydia Krefta not only for sharing their personal stories with me so that my readers could learn, but also for the work they do to advocate for responsible and meaningful use of this technology. To Meltem Demirors for her suggestions, as well as her tireless work to advance this space.

  To my clients who have helped me form my perspectives and given me the incredible experience of working with executives I not only respect, but also just plain love being around.

  Thank you to the extraordinary Catherine Knepper, who started as my editor but ended up becoming a lifelong friend. To the talented and wise Stephen Swintek, who created the cover image.

  And, finally, to my dear friends Roderick, Alex, and Rosalind: without your encouragement and support, this book would never have broken free of my computer and out into the world.

  Appendix A. Notes

  1. CNN Money, “The $1.7 Trillion dot.com Lesson,” November 9, 2000, https://money.cnn.com/2000/11/09/technology/overview.

  2. Vujinovic, Maja. Discussion with the author. June 2018.

  3. Warren, Sheila. Discussion with the author. October 2018.

  4. Seiff, Ken. Discussion with the author. October 2018.

  5. Tim Berners-Lee, “One Small Step for the Web” Medium, September 29, 2018, https://medium.com/@timberners_lee/one-small-step-for-the-web-87f92217d085.

  6. Bridget van Kralingen, “Industry Impact: Trust and Transparency Through Enterprise-Ready Blockchain,” filmed April 2018 at MIT Technology Review Business of Blockchain, video, https://events.technologyreview.com/video/watch/bridget-van-kralingen-ibm-trust-transparency.

  7. International Data Corporation (IDC), “Worldwide Semiannual Blockchain Spending Guide,” 2018, https://www.idc.com/tracker/showproductinfo.jsp?prod_id=1842.

  8. Deloitte, “2018 Global Blockchain Survey,”2018, https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/cz/Documents/financial-services/cz-2018-deloitte-global-blockchain-survey.pdf.

  9. Chris Dixon, “Chris Dixon on How Trust Is the Best Lego Block—Ep.70,” interview by Laura Shin, Unchained, July 3, 2018, audio, http://unchainedpodcast.co/chris-dixon-on-how-trust-is-the-best-lego-block-ep70.

  10. Kaili, Eva. Discussion with the author. June 2018.

  11. McKie, Steven. Discussion with the author. August 2018.

  12 Vitalik Buterin, “Change the Incentives, Change the World”, Cato Unbound, June 16, 2017, https://www.cato-unbound.org/2017/06/16/vitalik-buterin/change-incentives-change-world.

  13. Biggs, Diana. Discussion with the author. June 2018.

  14. Vujinovic, Maja. Discussion with the author. June 2018.

  15. Clippinger, John Henry. Discussion with the author. August 2018.

  16. Graham Rapier, “13 Times Bosses Mocked New Technology and Got It Wrong,” Business Insider, November 10, 2017, https://www.businessinsider.com/bosses-mocked-new-technologyand-got-it-wrong-2017-6#blockbuster-ceo-jim-keyes-on-streaming-video-1.

  17. http://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/industrie/produktentwicklung-nokia-uebt-sich-in-selbstkritik;2490362, translated with Google Translate.

  18. Tonya Garcia, “Foot Locker Shares Plunge 28% as Brands Like Nike and Adidas Go Direct-to-Consumer,” MarketWatch, August 18, 2017, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/foot-locker-shares-plunge-26-as-brands-like-nike-and-adidas-go-direct-to-consumer-2017-08-18.

  19. Jill Carlson, jill-carlson.com, accessed August 2018, http://jill-carlson.com/read.

  20. Nathaniel Popper, “Confused About Blockchains? Here’s What You Need to Know,” New York Times, June 27, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/27/business/dealbook/blockchains-guide-information.html.

  21. Adam Greenfield, Radical Technologies: The Design of Everyday Life (London, New York: Verso, 2017).

  22. Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta, “How to Time-Stamp a Digital Document,” Journal of Cryptology 3, no. 2 (1991): 99-111.

  23. Julie Bort, “Retiring Cisco CEO Delivers Dire Prediction: 40% of Companies Will Be Dead in 10 Years,” Business Insider, June 8, 2015, https://www.businessinsider.com/chambers-40-of-companies-are-dying-2015-6.

  24. Center for the Digital Future, “Surveying the Digital Future, 2017,” Digital Future Project, http://www.digitalcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/2017-Digital-Future-Report.pdf.

  25. eMarketer, “Among Affluents, Millennials Spend the Most Time Online,” October 19, 2016, https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Among-Affluents-Millennials-Spend-Most-Time-Online/1014618.

  26. Tim Berners-Lee, “Three Challenges for the Web, According to Its Inventor,” World Wide Web Foundation, March 12, 2017, https://webfoundation.org/2017/03/web-turns-28-letter.

  27. Tim Berners-Lee, “One Small Step for the Web...” September 29, 2018, Medium, https://medium.com/@timberners_lee/one-small-step-for-the-web-87f92217d085.

  28. “Happy Birthday World Wide Web,” The Economist, March 12, 2014, https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2014/03/12/happy-birthday-world-wide-web.

  29. David Brooks, “A Generation Emerging from the Wreckage,” New York Times, February 26, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/opinion/millennials-college-hopeful.html.

  30. Gardner, Jeremy. Discussion with the author. August 2018.

  31. Pew Research Center, “Millennials in Adulthood,” March 7, 2014, http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood.

  32. Kaili, Eva. Discussion with the author. June 2018

  33. Tim Wu, The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires (New York: Alfred A. Knopf/Borzoi Books, 2010).

  34. Amber Baldet, “The Currency of the Future Is Personal Data,” Quartz, September 25, 2018, https://qz.com/1381355/the-currency-of-the-future-is-personal-data.

  35. Nathaniel Popper, “Confused About Blockchains? Here’s What You Need to Know,” New York Times, June 27, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/27/business/dealbook/blockchains-guide-information.html.

  36. Bianchini, Gina. Discussion with the author. July 2018.

  37. Juniper Research, “Blockchain Enterprise Survey,” July 2017, https://www.juniperresearch.com/press/press-releases/6-in-10-large-corporations-considering-blockhain.

  38. CB Insights, “8 Trends Shaping the Future of Blockchain Technology,” May 2018, http://www.cbinsights.com/research/blockchain-future-trends.

  39. European Parliament News, “Blockchain Technology: ‘We Aspire to Make the EU the Leading Player,’” May 2018, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20180514STO03406/blockchain-technology-we-aspire-to-make-eu-leading-player.

  40. Demirors, Meltem. Discussion with the author. May 2018.

  41. Henok Mengistu et al., “The Evolutionary Origins of Hierarchy,” PLoS Computational Biology 12, 6 (2016): e1004829.

  42. Demirors, Meltem. Discussion with the author. May 2018.

  43. Warren, Sheila. Discussion with the author. October 2018.

  44. Soman, Nick. Discussion with the author. August 2018.

  45. Biggs, Diana. Discussion with the author. June 2018.

  46. Demirors, Meltem. Discussion with the author. May 2018.

  47. Ibid.

  48. Geoffrey Moore, Cros
sing the Chasm (New York: Harper Business, 2014).

  49. Ly, Eric. Discussion with the author. May 2018.

  50. Kerner, Lou. Discussion with the author. May 2018.

  51. Groopman, Jessica. Discussion with the author. June 2018.

  52. Chris Anderson, “TED Curator Chris Anderson on Crowd Accelerated Innovation,” Wired, December 27, 2010, http://www.wired.com/2010/12/ff_tedvideos.

  53. Henry William Chesbrough, Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology (Brighton, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2005).

  54. Eric Von Hippel, Democratizing Innovation (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2005).

  55. Laura Shin, “Here’s the Man Who Created ICOs and This Is the New Token He’s Backing,” Forbes, September 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/09/21/heres-the-man-who-created-icos-and-this-is-the-new-token-hes-backing/d934c9211839.