Whether old economy or new economy, the rules still apply. No brand wins without a defensible, distinct brand positioning that adds value for the customer and is defensible. No Company wins unless the math works, delivering earnings growth and increasing shareholder value.
Jeanne Jackson, CEO of Walmart.com

This bias for youth angers many mature adults. In 1999, young dotcom millionaires became a major topic of conversation among their parents' generation, the baby boomers. Everywhere I went, it seemed, successful professionals - lawyers, physicians, consultants with high billing rates complained that it was unfair that people so young were getting so rich so fast. Instead of feeling satisfied with all they had accomplished, many boomers expressed frustration that they had devoted their work lives to something that seemed to get them nowhere; some wanted to throw over their professions and find a dotcom to join.

Even more upset are older job-seekers. Public debates surfaced in newspaper letters columns about whether young people deserve their opportunities because they are the only ones capable of leading the Internet revolution. One angry exchange refuted a writer's assertion that younger workers show a wider range of daring and experimentation with newer technologies. The rebutter challenged the first writer's assumption that over-forty workers haven't stayed current on technology and can't learn anyway.

Does it take an Alice - an imaginative youth still in touch with wonder - to navigate through Tomorrowland? Dotcoms may know that cyberspace is fraught with surprises, tough rivalries, and death traps, but they seem confident they are headed in the right direction and playing the right game. In my global e-culture survey, 88 percent of representatives of pure Internet units strongly agreed with the statement - "the Internet will completely transform every aspect of business in the foreseeable future." Young dotcom leaders are not feeling confident inside, as they face market conditions few will survive. But those with solid business models project strong belief as they seek the biggest prize of all: Total World Domination.

Excerpted from the book 'eVolve' by Rosabeth Moss Kanter. Published by Harvard Business School Press.

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