It’s About People. Real People.

In our last blog, we explored the core principle of the Local Economy Revolution — the first of the First Principles. We are moving away from an Industrial Era world — not just in terms of money 💵, but in how we communicate 💬, learn 📚, organize 🗂️, think 🧠, and wield power ⚡.

The GameStop Reddit phenomenon is an early example of this new paradigm clashing with the old one, showing us just how much tension exists between Industrial Era assumptions 🏭 and the emerging, networked world 🌐.

We often sense this change intellectually but fail to see how our actions conflict with it, which is why our traditional methods often create headaches 🤯 instead of solutions.

The Next First Principle: It’s About People

Here’s the hard truth from The Local Economy Revolution Has Arrived:

“It’s not about buildings 🏢, spaces 🌳, or even economics 💰. It’s about people 👥.”

We say we build streets, programs, and products for people, but often our plans don’t achieve what they were intended to do. Why? Because we often love the thing more than the people 💔🏗️.

This has been a systemic issue in tech development, urban design, business, public policy, and beyond. We fall in love with our creations — the supposed beauty, simplicity, and ideals of them — while keeping the people at arm’s length.

💡 Why this happens:
It’s easier to love the simple, the unambiguous, the perfect 🍼🐶 than to love messy, complicated, unpredictable humans 👤💥. But when we prioritize the thing over the people, our creations can make lives worse, not better.

The Industrial Era Mindset vs. The Emerging World

We cling to siloed, professional-driven systems 🏢🚧, budgets 💰, and timelines ⏱️ — while the people we aim to serve live in a world of distributed network power 🌐, collaboration 🤝, and interconnectivity 🔗.

If we don’t make our work about the people impacted by it — first and foremost 👥 — we risk irrelevance, inefficiency, and failure. The uncomfortable truth is: we’ve had the knowledge to do better, and now we have no excuse.

Take Action. Make it About People.

✅ Read the book: The Local Economy Revolution Has Arrived 📖
✅ Subscribe: Future Here Now Substack https://www.substack.com/ for insights, updates, and deep dives 📰📩
✅ Connect: Explore speaking, workshops, and collaboration opportunities 🎤🤓
✅ Watch: My live stream on this topic ▶️

💬 Engage: Share this post 🔄, tag someone who needs to see it 👀, and start building for real people, not just your masterpiece 🏗️❤️.

The world is changing. The people we serve are changing. And it’s time our work reflects that. Go get ‘em! 🚀

#LeadershipDevelopment #InnovationInAction #HumanCenteredDesign #CommunityImpact #NextEraEconomy