Early one Friday morning on the north side of Chicago, Mark Delany sits down at his laptop and checks on the status of his stock portfolio. Seeing that several of his investments appreciated overnight, Mark logs onto his bank's web site and sells enough shares of an international transportation fund so that he can immediately call his auto broker and order a sports car - made in Germany - containing some very cool customer features he's always lusted after. Within an hour, workers on an assembly line in Hamburg receive the factory specification for building a red convertible with a sunroof, leather bucket seats, quadraphonic sound, and other paraphernalia that Mark specifically asked for. Simultaneously, the fund shares that Mark sold are bought in Japan by an institutional investor who subscribes to an online financial news-alert service - and who was informed via e-mail a sudden upsurge in sales of large-ticket transportation equipment. By noon, Chicago time, the funds has risen another 2.5 points. An Asian airline participating in fund takes advantage of the increased valuation to order two jumbo jets from Boeing, Inc. in Seattle, Washington. The revenues from this transaction are used to pay the salaries of several thousand of its employees, including assembly worker Mary Delany. At 5 p.m. Pacific time, Mary knows her bank has received an electronic deposit of her week's paycheck, and so on her way home, she stops at a local florist and uses her ATM card to wire an order for a dozen roses to her brother Mark, in Chicago, who just this morning celebrated his 30th birthday by ordering the car of his dreams.

Within hours, a single man sitting in his apartment initiates a series of events that touches the economies of four counties, seven industries, and countless individuals. But what has actually been exchanged? No hard currency (dollars, yen, francs, or marks) has physically been given from one person-or institute-to another; no products (the car, airplanes, or flowers) have physically been handed over, yet. Even the less tangible -but absolutely essential-component of any economic transaction, labor, has yet to be performed. (The car and the airplanes are not yet built; the flowers have not yet been picked, arranged or physically delivered.)

What, then, has been exchanged? Information. Data flows from one person to company to community; transactions execute in almost frictionless markets. Although the physical aspects of these transactions are still to be completed, even they are radically impacted by this flow of information. The assembly workers at the auto plant are making Mark's car with his specific requirements, not a dealer's car. The Boeing jumbo jets were selected as much for their incorporation of integrated digital entertainment and communication systems for passengers as for their flight characteristics and efficiencies. The roses that Mary is sending to her brother were cut in Tyler, Texas, this morning for distribution by a nationwide network of digitally connected florists tomorrow.

Now, multiply this scenario by millions of similar transactions taking place in thousands of industries in every second of every day, and you can comprehend why understanding the implications of what we are calling "the digital economy" tops the agenda of every right thinking CEO in the world today.

And that's what it is - The Power of Information...

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