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Presentation Abstract:

Remember The World Of 1987 (Less than 20 Years Ago):

• PCs in homes and offices were the exception rather than the rule. 

• Cell phones were still executive or "Doctor" perks, and were anything but pocket-sized. 

• Compact Discs were just catching on (more records were sold than CDs for several more years to come).

• The thought of carrying hundreds of hours of music in your pocket was science fiction; the thought of carrying a high quality full-length movie in your pocket was absurd (DVD development did not begin until 1991!) 

• If you talked about "jeans," you were clearly talking about the kind you wear on the outside, rather than the genes that build and control "You" from the inside. 

• The music industry was "safe."

• The Internet was in the Realm of the Geeks.

• And the most sophisticated quarter-million transistor CPUs (80386) measured things in millionths-of-an-inch.

Fast-Forward To Now:

• Thanks to the first wave of "Convergence" (the coming together of Computing, Communications, Content, and Consumer Electronics), few businesses can be competitive without PCs. 

• A majority of people in developed countries can't imagine not having one (or more) PCs at home to help with everything from homework to taxes to instant information on virtually any subject under (and beyond) the sun. 

• The now-ubiquitous Internet is dramatically multiplying the value of "unconnected" PCs, and in the process is completely reshaping how we work, live, and play. 

• Cell phones now grace the pockets of school kids; they take and send pictures; and they can even be worn on your wrist.

• Music is everywhere (much to the chagrin of the music industry), and movies are beginning to follow that same path.

• We now have a map of the genes that make us tick, and we're learning how to change OUR "programming."

• We routinely create consumer CPUs with 77-million transistor that measure things in a few billionths-of-an-inch (far smaller than an AIDS virus).  These "chips off the old block" are almost 1,000-times faster than their sixteen-year-old parents.

Visualize And Viscerally Understand Your Tomorrows:

Yet this is just the very beginning!  The next wave of technological "Convergence" is going to be faster, deeper, and broader, causing dramatically more impact on every aspect of our business and personal lives than the almost inconceivable results of these past years.  It will change entire industries; redefine the business maps and the "Fortune-style" lists; and literally, redefine "us."  And this has already begun.

During this interactive, multimedia presentation, we're going to explore how our technologies and the first Convergence have brought us to where we are today.  We'll define and understand that a new technological Convergence has now begun, and how it holds the potential for "changing all the rules" in most every field and industry.  You'll viscerally visualize and appreciate why, how much farther, and how much faster this new Convergence is poised to take us.  And you'll begin thinking about how you can profit from the coming dramatic changes.  Which will have you looking forward and beyond your traditional comfort zones, while your less nimble and less "aware" competitors find themselves making "the best darn buggy whips in the world," as the world moves from horses to cars.

Presented in an engaging manner that is equally as effective for senior management, "techies," and business and educational audiences of all types (see below), you will leave thinking about today and tomorrow in a new light, tremblingly excited to reevaluate your business, your department, and your career so that they can soar on these already-blowing, pervasive, winds of technological and societal change.
 

       Don't Blink!

Jeff's Brief Bio:

Jeff Harrow, Principal at The Harrow Group, has been the chief technologist for the Corporate Strategy Groups of both Compaq and Digital Equipment Corporation.  He began his IT career at a large aerospace company where he designed and implemented the first color-graphic Executive Information System, and then led the transition from a batch-oriented mainframe administrative computing environment to a 1,000+ terminal interactive distributed computing environment. He joined Digital to implement the first Network Planning and Installation business in the Southern Region, and later moved into the Services organization to work on network and network management products and services. 

Jeff invented and implemented the first iconic network management prototype for DECnet networks, and he now works with many businesses and industry groups to help them better understand the strategic implications of our contemporary and future computing environments.

Jeff has a two-decade-plus track record of providing businesses and organizations with technology consulting and presentations that highlight the innovations and the trends in computing, and in the growing number of synergistic technologies whose growth is changing virtually every element of our society.  Most importantly, he then helps them to explore how these changes will affect their businesses, and how they can choose to profit from these unstoppable technological and resultant social evolutions.

As the author and editor of the Web-based multimedia technology journal and Webcast originally known as the "Rapidly Changing Face of Computing", Jeff has shared his fascination with technology, and his sense of wonder at the innovations and trends of contemporary computing and the technologies that drive them, with people across the globe.  (The Webcast audio version was the first and is the longest-running weekly Web-based "radio" technology program.) 

His new journal, The Harrow Technology Report, available on the Web at www.TheHarrowGroup.com, continues and significantly expands on this tradition.

Jeff is also a Board Member of the Technology Advisory Board of
 “The Institute for the Study of Accelerating Change.”

Jeff is the co-author of a book, "The Disappearance of Telecommunications," published by IEEE Press.  Jeff's writings on technology are carried in numerous electronic and traditional media around the globe, and his insights have been featured in newspaper, magazine, and many online articles such as:

·  Future Brief Magazine - "Watching Your Every Move -
    A Cautionary Technological Tale."
         (Twenty-four additional commentaries published in Future Brief are here.)

·  Discover Magazine  - "Will Computers Replace Engineers?"

·  NanoTech-Now  - Interview on "Nanotechnology and Warfare."

·  Nanotechnology Now  - Interview on "Where We Stand With Nanoscale Technologies"  

·  United Press International - "Don't Blink: Interview with Jeff Harrow" (Part 1)  
    Part 2 here, full text here

·  United Press International  - "Games People Play"

 ·  Wired Magazine  - "Augmenting the Animal Kingdom."

·  Vancouver Sun Newspaper  - "Virtually, TeleImmersion Could Change Our Lives"
  <requires subscription>

·  Discover Magazine  -  "The Future of Wireless"

·  Inaugural issue of Innovanauts - "Real Technology-Watchers Don't Blink"

·  NetworkWorld Fusion  - "A Look at the Rapidly Changing Face of Computing."

·  eWeek - "Leading His Field"

·  Discover Magazine  - "The Future of the Internet"

·  NanoMagazine

·  Fast Company Magazine - "The Web Gets Personal."

Jeff has also been interviewed on technology futures for TV programs such as the History Channel's "Modern Marvels," and has been a judge for Disney's Discover Magazine "Innovation Awards."

Jeff has numerous patents issued and on file in the areas of network management and user interface technology, and he is a commercial pilot.  He brings these and other technological interests together to help people "look beyond the comfortable and the obvious" so that they don't become road-kill by the side of the Information Highway.

Examples of Previous Presentation & Consulting Venues:

• The Economist's "New Directions in Computing" London conference

• Hotel Technology Next Generation Conference

• TribalNet - Native American IT Conference

• Disney/Discover Magazine 'Future of Wireless' Conference

• Institute of Management Accountants

• P&G Worldwide Power Control Info Symposium

• Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Conference "Rimbach Lecturer"

• Society for Information Management's "CIO Conference"

• Marriott Corporation's "Network of the Future: Strategy & Planning Workshop"

• CMP's "Technology & Learning Technology Forum, "Insight and Innovation for Technology Leaders."

• MC²

• Sun Life Financial's senior officers, multiple years

• North Central Electric Association's "Information Technology Workshop "

• AMD's (Advanced Micro Devices) "K10 Scenario Planning"

• "The Computer Report" radio show, multiple years

• "The Congress on the Future of Engineering Software" (COFES), multiple years

• Cray User's Group

• Southern New Hampshire University, IEEE, & ACM "IT Seminar," multiple years

• Lockheed-Martin's "Information Technology Trends Conference"

• "Innovative Strategies for Changing Technology: An Executive Forum," by Canada's National Post, and University of British Columbia

• Strategic Planning sessions for numerous Fortune companies.

• MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellows, multiple years

• MCI Senior Technical Management Seminar

• Germany's University for Applied Science

• Babson College's "Center for Information Management Studies," multiple years

• Abbott Laboratories

• AOL Technologies Group

• Knowledge Management & Messaging Solutions Group

• Disney/Discover Magazine "Future of the Internet," multiple years

• PCWeek Corporate Partners

• Enterprise Servers Segment Meeting

• Creighton University IT Forum

• Enterprise Technical Symposium

• Babson College's "Center for Technology & Enterprise", and their MBA program, multiple years

• COMDEX "Future Watch: Wireless, 2010," multiple years

• Partner Sales Business Planning & Strategy Meeting keynote address

• Accenture's Sr. Strategic Planning Forum

Sample Feedback From Previous Presentations and Related Events:

"A nearly mind-blowing presentation...

I was floored by the intense level of interest and attention...  Your ability to tap into their interests and to engage
them in considering the implications of technological developments is exceptional...  You did an exceptional job of presenting some highly technical information in lay terms.

To top it off, they are still talking about information from your presentation: holographic storage; machine intelligence; nanotechnology... and considering where their involvement might be. Some are following up information sources, while others have visited your Web site.  Some have subscribed to your newsletter, providing us with a rich source of follow-up learning opportunities!"

Kim Carter
Director,
MC²

"Your session was very well received. I am sure we will do something again."

Neil Schubert, III CHTP
VP Information Technology Strategy
Information Resources
Marriott International

In response to my being interviewed, live, about the Aug. 14, 2003 regional power blackout, on CFRB - Canada's largest talk-radio station. 
Aug. 17, 2003, 7:00 - 7:45 PM EST:

"You brought up some of the most obvious, if overlooked points about the blackout. 
By far the most intelligent conversation I've heard on radio during the coverage."

Mark Elliot
Host, CFRB Toronto

Your presentation was a highlight for the Cray User's Group conference. You provided the next step, the "Insight" that I wanted the people at this conference to leave with. You generated discussion and made people re-examine some beliefs. That is always a good thing.  In fact, I heard more than a few "old timers" say that the presentation was the best since a meeting in 1990 when we had Ray Bradbury as speaker. That is rare company for you to be associated with.

Your interactive presentation, with intriguing thoughts on future technology developments and their possible implications, exceeded my goals and expectations. Your drew the crowd in. 

I wanted to generate discussion, get people to move off the center point, and perhaps move the focus of some of the engineers outside of their normal boundaries.  When you provided the proper stimulation, it set the tenor and tone for the rest of the conference. Thank You.

Kevin L. Wohlever
Senior HPC Systems Specialist
Ohio Supercomputer Center
Treasurer, Cray User's Group

What a treat your presentation was! Thanks so much. You sure did stimulate lots of thought and discussion. A number of my colleagues told me afterwards how impressed they were with you and your presentation.

Dr. Robert H. Seidman, Ph.D.
Chair - Information Technology Department
Southern New Hampshire University.
Executive Editor: Journal of Educational Computing Research

I, on behalf of Lockheed Martin's Chief Technology Officer, would like to personally thank you for presenting at Lockheed Martin's "Information Technology Trends Conference,  2003."   We appreciate the time and effort your participation required....

Thanks for helping make ITTC 2003 a success! 

Best Regards,

Chandra Olson
Chief Technology Office
Lockheed Martin

...A well-deserved note of appreciation for the time you took traveling and speaking to my customer, MCI Mass Markets- Operations.

Jim Myers, MCI V.P., was quite impressed by your presentation. And, as you know, he has asked you to present to some other MCI V.P.’s and their directs in the future.

I have been covering this division of MCI for 6 years. I have never seen them so attentive during a presentation. Nor have I ever had so many people come up to thank me for arranging your presence. This is a tough audience. They are young, aggressive, and function in a very real-time mode. If they feel their time is being wasted, they tend to make that known. You certainly captured their attention.

The meeting was designed to get the audience thinking out of the box and looking into the near future and to start thinking of ways to keep MCI and their offerings viable and leading-edge. Going into this meeting we had short notice and not a lot of detail. You really did a great job zeroing in on their needs and stimulating their thought-process. Your presentation clearly shows how much research you must do to keep it current and engaging...

Lynne McCreanor
Account Rep - MCI Team

Well, let’s see...  I saw your presentation at CETS and was STUNNED ... because I had forgotten what it feels like to LEARN...

Thanks!

Mike Ryder
RMS IT Site Administrator
Roche, Inc.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to you for presenting [your] seminar to the FutureSourcing Solutions Engineering leadership team.   As a devote reader of [your Report] it was a real pleasure to have the opportunity to dialogue with you in person.  The service you perform to get us thinking about the implications of the technology changes that surround us is invaluable.

I should add, that the session was extremely well received by the entire engineering leadership team.  The discussion we had after you left indicated to me that you provided an excellent, thought provoking session.   Our only regret was not being able to spend additional time on this topic.

Many of us felt that your seminar would be beneficial to a Broader audience within FutureSourcing.  As a result I would like to call on you to bring this type of discussion into our business leadership team meeting.  I will follow-up with a call to discuss this further.

On behalf of the Solutions Engineering Leadership Team, thank you for a stimulating and compelling presentation!

Regards,

Ed Furilla
Director,
FutureSource Solutions Engineering 

We did not get a chance to talk at the Unigraphics User's Group show, but I did want to pass along that I thought your talk was excellent, and many users came up to our booth and expressed how good they thought your presentation was. UGS asked me if you are available to talk at their technical meeting. And I wanted to ask you if you are available to talk at other user conferences, such as the Autodesk one in Nov (right after thanksgiving).

Tom Salomone
Design & Engineering Segment Manager - Worldwide

On behalf of the Association of Information Technology Professionals, (AITP), and the INFOTEC Committee, I want to extend to you our sincerest thanks for your participation in INFOTEC as a Keynote Speaker.

All of the comments that the committee received about your presentation were, to say the least, extremely positive.  The resounding comment from the attendees addressed the relevance of your presentation to the business environment with which we are all challenged.  Also, the attendees in the “Executive Track” appreciated the intimate Q/A you provided to them after your address.

I believe I speak for our entire organization when I say that we were very proud to have you as a KEY player in the 28^th year of INFOTEC.  I do not know how we could have had a better kick-off for INFOTEC.  Please do not hesitate to call on us to support you in anyway we can.

Jeff, again, I can not thank you enough.

Sincerely yours,

Jim Swain
Chapter President
AIPP, Omaha

I wanted to personally thank you for the outstanding keynote that you gave at CETS.  It was so inspiring  I nearly forgot everything that I had learned throughout the week.  :-) 

If you could not walk out of that presentation motivated to innovate, I would venture to say that you were probably dead... 

Thanks again and congratulations on a job well done!!!

Matt Misner
Sr. Consultant
Acuent Inc.
US Army Strategic and Advanced Computing Center

Thanks again for your inspirational presentation, and “into-the-future” vision. The entire crowd thought that this was a ‘highlight’ of the event.

 Dan Vertrees
Vice President
Small Medium Business (SMB)

Thank you for your closing presentation at CETS!  I have never experienced such a comprehensive look at computing futures, and I found your presentation to be entertaining, enlightening and captivating... 

Thanks once again!

Michael Stasiak
Director of Engineering
Boston Computer Group

Your speech was the best we have ever had at the North Carolina Electronics & Information Technology Association!

J. Phillips L. Johnston, J.D.,
CEO, President, and Chairman,
Digital Recorders

Just a short note of thanks for your visit to Northern Ireland Electric.  I’ve collected feedback from a number of NIE people who attended your presentation.  All stated that it was excellent and that it certainly stimulated their imagination. 

As you know, these individuals are the ‘rising stars’ within NIE’s management and the development programme that they are involved in, which your presentation was part of, is aimed a grooming them for greatness as leaders within NIE.  I certainly concur with their view regarding stimulating the imagination...

Regards

Paul
NSIS Manager - Northern Ireland

• "Awesome...!"

• "Jeff was a dynamic speaker with a thought provoking presentation. "

• "Very interesting topic.  Great (and very entertaining!) presentation. "

• "Excellent overall coverage of computing advances. "

• "Extreme and provocative views.  Entertaining. "

• "Very captivating speaker. "

The event [the Economist’s “New Directions in Computing, London" conference] went very well.  Jeff’s credibility really came through - particularly at the Q&A portion of the event. 

When there are other events in EMEA that are technology focused, Jeff would again be a welcome participant.

Amy Kehoe,
EMEA

Jeff: We are so pleased that you accepted our invitation to participate in our Symposium.  As we mentioned to you after you finished, you exceeded our expectations!

As you know, the emphasis for the symposium is "Architecting the Future Enterprise."  Your presentation was right on target - to inspire all of us to think about how all aspects of technology are changing so rapidly. 

Over lunch we heard many favorable comments about your presentation, both content and style.  I believe the consensus opinion is that your presentation set a great tone for the meeting, and that all of us were challenged to think out-of-the-box (maybe out-of-the-universe!) and dream of ways new technology can help us help build our future.

Best regards,

Don Rohrer
Director, Enterprise Architecture
 

Once you've explored these details, please contact me at Jeff@TheHarrowGroup.com with any additional questions, to discuss fees, and to schedule a consulting event.  I look forward to working with you!