The future is now

ON A RECENT SUNDAY, I was out running my weekly 10 miles run in the forest, loaded beforehand with thought-provoking podcasts including views of revered business leaders and discussions on where are we headed in the world of business. Below are some of my reflections based on what I heard, plus what I saw, read and gathered from media and the insightful podcasts.

It feels evident that the world we knew before Covid-19 will not come back. It is difficult to deny. Too many new things have been proven to work, among others, online shopping, online meetings and meal deliveries. And most of them are more time-efficient and environment friendly.

2007-2009 was the period when innovations were born, changing the landscape for the next decade (and beyond) in terms of at least technology. We are in the next wave of disruption now: the signs we see of the youth not accepting the political inability to change the agenda for saving the world’s climate, the big corporations going ahead full-throttle on ESG and taking responsibility, the web 3.0, where shopping online and investing in cryptocurrency is becoming a common daily practice and the basics tenets and foundations of a meta-verse where we work, meet and play together are here.

Is Poland ready? In many ways, yes. This is a country that for centuries has been forced to quickly adapt to new situations. I have seen few other countries where the inhabitants’ willingness to develop and change is as great as in Poland. The country is divided 50/50, as many others such as the US and the UK. And therefore, Poland’s future success is not a 100% guarantee. But I believe the youth, the entrepreneurs and the opportunities here are too big to go waste. So I bet on Poland today to be an integral part of the future of our world.

We are a business magazine so I am not going to comment here on the disruptions caused by Poland’s lawmakers or the issues that might make it difficult for investors to continue trusting the Polish economical miracle that was created in 1989.

With that, I hope you enjoy this month’s WBJ with insights from our renowned writers and contributors. And let’s together progress and inform the world of a better and stronger Poland of the future — that is already here.

MORTEN LINDHOLM