At graduation time, valedictorians often reach for classic quotes to inspire the newly minted 
graduates. Nowadays I expect they grab them from websites, and this quote from Mark Twain often gets selected:
“Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
As the Economics and Geography graduates no doubt recall, the Trade Winds referenced here refer specifically to the winds which blow in the tropics. These winds were critical in allowing sailors to predictably plan their trade journeys. Using wind to their advantage (and avoiding areas of storm and confrontation with nature) enabled them to develop a thriving business. Up until this point (c 1500s), the most lucrative goods required long and difficult journeys along the Silk Road. The Age of Sail afforded the early adopters (the Portuguese) the ability to corner the market on the spice trade via its ships because the Trade winds blew predictably. Moreover, in the Indian ocean the Trades conveniently blow towards India in summer and toward Africa in winter.
The use of the trade winds enabled the nations of Western Europe to build their empires through trade. Colonization, and the attendant amassing of wealth, depended on solid knowledge of trade winds.
The Networked Economy is acting like a new type of Trade Wind. It has been blowing for some time now, and some early adopters are taking advantage. It is worth looking at the winners and losers in the Age of Sail to see what lessons we can learn to take advantage of the Networked Economy.
Technology
For the Portuguese, it was the caraval (pictured) which was agile and manoeuvrable. In a Networked Economy, new technology may be needed to catch the wind. This may be a move to cloud software or an on-line contract repository. Don’t try to fight the wind by keeping to old technologies such as a private supplier or customer portal.
New Business Models
Merchants following the Trade Winds actually created the need for a version 1.0 of the order and invoice documents that have still use today. In my posting, Qwerty move over, I talked about the dangers of clinging to the mental models of Venetian merchants. The Networked Economy will likely need completely New Business Models. As the users of the telegraph discovered, a new network gives the opportunity for entirely new businesses to appear. (See The Victorian Internet).
Don’t fight the winds
The Networked Economy makes many things so much easier. For example finding new sources of supply, optimizing cash or collaborating with a customer. Don’t try to chart a new course against the wind, when tacking into the wind provides the greatest speed for the smallest effort.
The Trade Winds are Blowing: time to fill your sails.