Why has the Chevron Corporation recently launched an ad campaign showing its commitment to the idea that it should think like a technology company?
The answer may lie in the fact that the growth and deployment of information technology over the last 40 years has had a transformational effect on the global economy. And transformational change is something oil companies - indeed all companies - will have to understand and embrace if they are to lead a global economy that will triple in size by 2050.
Chevron's ad alludes to this very important thread yet unfortunately it misses the mark. The fine print shows Chevron mistaking use of the latest technology for "thinking like a technology company." And these are not the same.
Any well run company makes use of the best tools available. But business-as-usual practices and simply deploying the latest technology is not enough. 2011 is the year when mining for new business models begins - and the tech sector provides the mother-lode of raw material about how to transform a global economy in four decades or less.
In the march towards a sustainable global economy, the most important lessons may come from the tech sector. The emergence of an information economy can be a powerful guide to transformation - and this is one economic transformation that is not optional.
