From separate and continuously forming nations scattered across the globe, barely aware of one another's existence, and with local inhabitants perceiving all reality as only what the eye can see, we have reached a stage in evolution where international boundaries are crumbling and the world is fast becoming a truly integrated and global village. Change is taking place at an accelerated pace, and regardless of the line of practicality we pursue, whether scientific, geographic, or economic, the same trend manifests itself. There is a movement to search within, a movement to discover what lies at the core, a movement which culminates in the revelation of the innate interconnectedness and 'oneness' of all things.

Consider physics. In the search for discovering the truth of phenomena, of why an action gives rise to an opposite and equal reaction, or of why a flower is yellow, scientists have been lead into the world of atoms. From the classical view of an atom being the indestructible and isolated building block of the universe, physicists have arrived at the quantum view of the fundamental wave-particle, which is neither here nor there, and yet everywhere, and which is intricately connected to all wave-particles everywhere else. The search lead within, and then to a vast 'oneness' made apparent through the interconnectedness.

Consider geography. The explanation of winds, the finding of fish skeleton in the sky-reaching Himalayas, have lead geographers to try to understand core causal agents such as the sun and tectonic plates. All visible geographic phenomenon is now explained in terms of these few fundamental agents - the 'wave-particles' if you will, of geography. Further, it has been found that an act or phenomenon occurring in one part of the world intimately affects what happens elsewhere. Hypothetically, a mere leaf falling off a tree in the Amazon forest can conceivably create a minute stir in the air which can create a larger stir, and so on, which can ultimately manifest as a wind on the Siberian planes. As in physics, geographic phenomenon too has been explained in terms of certain core agents, which it has been found have a universal coverage.

Consider finance. The financial health of an economy until quite recently, would be determined through the sole scrutiny of a few fundamental variables such as interest rates, exchange rates, amongst others. Today, such fundamental phenomena as the weather, and its effect on doing business, the health of a president, and the number of university graduates, are considered in determining the financial health of an economy. Furthermore, the falling ill of the president in USA say, can cause the Dow Jones in New York to fluctuate substantially, consequently sending ripples of concern through all the stock-markets of the world. Again, there has been a movement to understand the financial situation in terms of core components, and in terms of the vast interconnectedness of phenomena.

How do these trends which are taking place universally, show up in management? Or is the management world an instance where this does not occur? I contend that there are no exceptions, and an understanding of what has been at the forefront of management thought and what is today at the forefront of management thought will reveal the same universal trend, and thereby reveal the direction and the future of the management world. For the purpose of discussion, the trend and the future of the management world can be considered as two separate issues. Let us first consider the trend, and once that has become clear, then consider the future that this trend leads into.

Organizations function within a certain societal framework. In making decisions on what they will produce, how they will produce it, who they will produce it for, and why they will produce it, they of necessity must consider their competition, their own state, and what the needs of society are. They must consider such high-level variables as interest rates, inflation rates, exchange rates amongst others, in making an informed decision. In addition, they must consider market-based variables, such as market share, market growth, costs of producing goods, potential sales and others. These variables and associated modes of attention fall under the general province of strategy, an area which has received much attention in recent times Entire companies have arisen to conceive and plan strategies for other companies so that they may perform effectively in the increasingly complex world of today.

More recently reengineering has grown in importance, and has become the focal point of attention and the arena for the further creation of several companies. Reengineering is concerned with better organizing the way a company dues business, by focusing directly on the customer value-creating processes companies are involved in. Unlike strategy where the concerns are primarily external, and where a company is trying to arrive at a position which will allow it to masterfully maneuver through a play of external forces, reengineering is more inward focused and aims at providing an equilibrium between internal and external forces by aligning the internal with the external, consequently allowing a company to sustain a positive position with respect to its environment. In that this approach is aimed at aligning the organization with the intricate complexities of the environment, it has the same relationship to strategy as teaching a poor man to grow oranges has to giving a poor man oranges to eat. In that giving a poor man oranges to eat will only feed him for a day, strategy in isolation, will only suggest a solution temporary and immediate in its reach. In that teaching a poor man to grow oranges provides him wit food for a season, reengineering. through aligning the organization with currently existing realities, provides an organization with the ability to respond in real-time to a series of thrusts, influences, and opportunities, focused on it from the outside.

But what when current realities are subject to change? How long will this current reality, which reengineering provides a company ammunition for, hold-up? How long will the forces that rest in this temporary grimace we see and experience now, hold up before swirling into another reality radically different from the one we are in now? Today's world, as is apparent from the vast array of changes constantly occurring, is only a melting pot for influences and tendencies initiated as long as centuries ago. Black moves toward white, and big toward small, languages coalesce, and thoughts of unity and universal harmony ring through the minds of many. But none of this has yet happened. And that is the whole point. The externalities today are a stance the many forces have assumed in their dynamic dance toward their goal. How long this current equilibrium will be held before those very forces impelled by their age-old impulses, decide that it is time to move on toward the next stance is the crucial question.

Where does this outward-looking strategy aimed at providing oranges for a day that has given way to the more inward-looking reengineering aimed at providing oranges for a season, end? What will be the next step in the decision-making which is playing such an important role in the formation of our businesses and consequently in their impact on individuals and the evolution of society? In that an individual lies at the center of an organization, and in that the trend has been from out to in, by the very momentum built into trends and by the fact that trends have a tendency to complete the intention they were initiated to complete, the next focal point and crux of decision-making will be at the level of the individual himself. And in that Nature insists there be an inward-looking trend, as made apparent by the many contemporary universal tendencies, those companies that carry that inward motion to its conclusion shall be the one's rewarded, while those that focus solely on the external without regard to the inner realities and necessities, will find it more and more difficult to continue doing profitable business in that manner, if for no other reason than that the content of their solutions and suggestions will continually be of a sub-optimal standard because of the lack of consideration of root causes.

Strategy can be looked at as the flavor and appearance of a cake; reengineering as the cake; and the utensils, methodology and ingredients by which the cake has been made, as the focus of the next phase in management. Let us refer to this phase as "Individualization". It is that realm where all Nature is pointing us towards, and where our future survival and growth as humans, as companies, and as a World, will issue from. All that is built around us is through the power of the individual. It is only in completely understanding him, just as we do the mechanics of increasing market share, or of building viable business processes, and then harnessing that understanding, that we may further build into realms that seem impossible now. It is only in getting at the root of the intelligence and power and harmony and capacity for organization inherent within individuals that we can make that step which nature is demanding of us.

Just as strategy is the masterful maneuvering of a company through external forces, and reengineering is the balance of internal forces through alignment with external forces, individualization is the dynamic balance of internal forces so that it is always aligned with external forces as and when they change. If strategy is giving a man oranges to eat to thereby feed him for a day, and reengineering is teaching a man to grow oranges to thereby feed him for a season, individualization is teaching a man to grow foods depending on the season, to thereby feed him for a lifetime. If we accept this trend as true then we can hypothesize that those companies that fulfill the trend will be rewarded.

Companies that practice pure strategy may continue to exist; but of necessity strategy as implied today will be only a phase, the flavor of a cake, in any company decision-making or business decision implementation process. Value will be added through reengineering, and even more value will be added through individualization. A company requiring traditional strategy work, must have its individualization and reengineering work complete, in order for the strategy to be effective and far-lived. Else, it is never going to attend to the root of its problems, and is going to continue to require quick-fix strategy work to give it the illusion of survival.

All that is around us is through the conceptualization of individuals. This includes both good and bad things. If a process has been poorly planned or a strategy ill-conceived, it too is because of shortcomings in individual perception and ability. Amongst some of our weaknesses lies one of never seeing the whole picture. We tend to view phenomena form our isolated view point, and we tend to rigorously back up what we believe in, even if it has less than a true standing. Amongst the many things that individualization would be involved in, would be the enlarging of one's own perceptive abilities, so that individuals may see a phenomena for what it is, and so that they may be objective about the observed phenomena rather than attaching a judgment to thereby further skew their already incomplete perception. The scope and possible methodologies that can be applied through individualization are numerous. It is a whole science in itself, which will demand attention if for no other reason than it will provide companies with a definite competitive edge.

Certainly, one can envision entire companies that specialize in the individualization process, just as there are entire companies that specialize in reengineering, and entire companies that specialize in strategy. In terms of implementation, strategy will he the short-term focus, reengineering the medium-term, and individualization the long-term focus. A company may offer all three in a three to five year project, say, or just strategy in a three to five month project, but the company wanting to provide real-value, must of necessity master and provide individualization, which alone can deal with the true root causes of problems and provide lasting value and the ability to deal with any kind of environment.

But why are such trends taking place? Evolution is not a random process for if it were so, all life would be in the midst of an incomprehensible chaos. However, there is no such chaos, and therefore there must be some Principle that is secretly, and even overtly guiding the steps that humankind takes. In that all progress we have made has emanated from the individual, it is fair to assume that all progress we are to make will emanate from the individual too. So far the progress we have made has been through the Einsteins and the Gandhis and the Bonapartes of the world: a few individuals whose power has carried millions of others. Individualization will now put in the reach of all individuals what earlier was the province of a select few - the application of a concentrated inner look to examine the strengths and weaknesses that exist, and the knowledge to amplify and move the strengths into action. In that the key to all previous breakthroughs, and the key to future breakthroughs lies in the individual, Nature has assumed a trend in which the culminating motion is a settling on the individual.

The value of this movement of Nature can be further revealed through understanding what an organization is. Apart from being a vehicle for realizing a mental concept at the level of Matter, an organization is a structure of growth which by virtue of occupying a pivotal role in human society is an important means through which humanity can evolve. Viewed from the bottom-up, organizations consist of individuals. Further, organizations provide a certain reality in which these individuals grow and experience certain forces of and in the world. Through its infrastructure an organization determines the extent and quality of interactions one individual has with another, and the extent and quality of interactions an individual has with vaster external forces. An organization to a large extent becomes a laboratory or play-ground or mini-universe where each individual is confronted with his fears and anxieties and happinesses and aspirations and made to overcome and realize them. Viewed from the top-down, organizations have an influence on the locality or society in which they exist. Once they have achieved a certain critical mass, the organization through sheer economic and political and social power can alter or at least influence the workings of its containing locality and society Further, through their impact on individuals, who are also the components of society, they have another means by which they can intimately influence the workings and growth of society.

Thus, an organization can have an important impact on how the individual and society evolves. In that current attention is more outward-focused and attention at the level of the individual has been sparse and ill-thought out, the impact at the level of the individual has often been of a negative nature, and consequently an organization's positive impact on society has rarely ever been felt. But if the current inward-moving trend is to be fulfilled, then the sheer position of an organization, coupled with the fact that the organization's primary focus will be the growth and welfare of the individual, will of necessity create a cumulative internal and therefore external environment which will be radically different from the one today.

These two influences will commingle to create an environment which all nature has been agelessly yearning for. Finally the very act of work and the very circumstance of mundane life itself will be the field by which a rapid and constant human progression will be made possible. We may hypothesize that at least one thing, as has emerged in other inward-moving universal trends, should emerge through this inward-moving trend - the sense of interconnectedness and oneness of all human beings We will have attained to that peak which today we are in the process of scaling. Only tomorrow will tell what the view from there is like, and what future journeys we may then embark on.

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