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From Resource Dependence to a High-Productivity, Industrialized Economy

Indonesia stands at a critical crossroads. The country possesses abundant natural resources, a population of more than 280 million people, a strategic location at the heart of global trade routes, and one of the largest domestic markets in the world. Yet despite these advantages, Indonesia remains vulnerable to commodity cycles, capital flows, and fluctuations in global demand.

If Indonesia aspires to become a high-income nation by 2045, the challenge is no longer simply achieving economic growth. The challenge is transforming growth into productivity, industrial capability, technological sophistication, and globally competitive exports.

If I were advising Indonesia as a national economic strategist, I would condense the solution into ten major reforms. None of these reforms work in isolation. Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam advanced because they executed multiple reforms simultaneously and consistently over decades.

1. Make Industrialization the National Priority

Indonesia cannot become a developed nation by exporting coal, nickel ore, palm oil, and other raw commodities alone.

The country must shift from resource extraction toward value-added manufacturing.

Target

Increase manufacturing from approximately 18–19% of GDP to above 25%.

Prioritize:

Electronics

Semiconductors

Electric vehicle supply chains

Batteries

Shipbuilding

Petrochemicals

Defense industries

Medical equipment

The objective is simple:

Export products, not just resources.

2. Reform Education from Top to Bottom

Indonesia's greatest long-term constraint is not capital.

It is human capital.

Future competitiveness will depend on:

Mathematics

Science

English proficiency

Digital literacy

Artificial intelligence literacy

Technical and vocational education

South Korea's transformation from a poor agrarian economy into a global technology powerhouse was built largely on educational excellence.

Target

Indonesian students should rank among the world's top 30 in STEM performance by 2045.

3. Build a German-Style Vocational System

Indonesia produces too many graduates with degrees and too few workers with industrial skills.

The country needs:

Technical institutes

Apprenticeship programs

Industry-linked vocational schools

Manufacturing-focused training centers

Every major industrial estate should be connected to a vocational institution that trains workers according to industry demand.

4. Fix the Legal System and Regulatory Certainty

Investors fear uncertainty more than taxes.

Key priorities include:

Faster commercial courts

Strong contract enforcement

Land title certainty

Simplified permits and licensing

Reduced regulatory overlap

A predictable legal system often attracts more investment than generous tax incentives.

5. Deepen Domestic Capital Markets

Indonesia remains excessively dependent on foreign capital.

The country should strengthen:

Pension funds

Insurance assets

Retail investment participation

Domestic institutional investors

Goal

Reduce reliance on volatile foreign portfolio flows.

Countries such as Japan and South Korea financed much of their industrial development through domestic savings and investment.

6. Increase Research and Development Spending

Indonesia's R&D expenditure remains low compared to advanced economies.

Target

1% of GDP by 2030

2–3% of GDP by 2045

Support should focus on:

Universities

Technology startups

Industrial research centers

Strategic technologies

Without innovation, productivity eventually stagnates.

7. Professionalize State-Owned Enterprises and Danantara

State assets should be managed as investment portfolios rather than political instruments.

Requirements include:

Independent boards

International audits

Full transparency

Merit-based appointments

Clear investment mandates

Successful examples include Singapore's Temasek Holdings and GIC.

Success depends on governance, not asset size.

8. Keep Bank Indonesia Independent

Developing economies cannot afford credibility crises.

Indonesia must protect:

Inflation targeting

Currency stability

Monetary policy independence

An independent central bank lowers:

Borrowing costs

Currency risk

Investor risk premiums

Trust is an economic asset.

9. Build National Champions with Export Ambitions

Every advanced economy has globally competitive firms.

Examples include:

Samsung Electronics

Hyundai Motor Company

TSMC

Sony Group

Bosch

CATL

BYD

Indonesia needs:

Technology companies

Industrial manufacturers

Engineering firms

Logistics leaders

Defense contractors

Medical technology companies

The objective is to create Indonesian companies that earn foreign exchange, develop proprietary technologies, and compete internationally.

10. Declare a National Productivity Mission

This is the most important reform.

Every policy should answer a simple question:

"Does this increase productivity?"

Metrics should include:

Output per worker

Output per hour

Export value-added

Technology adoption

Capital efficiency

Countries become wealthy when productivity grows faster than costs, generating sustainable increases in living standards.

Strategic Priority Matrix for Indonesia 2045

To accelerate industrialization, Indonesia should actively attract, partner with, and learn from the world's leading industrial companies.

These firms should be evaluated based on:

Strategic importance to Indonesia

Likelihood of investing in Indonesia

Technology transfer potential

Job creation impact

Export multiplier effect

Tier 1 — National Transformation Partners

These companies have the greatest potential to reshape Indonesia's economic structure.

Batteries & Energy Storage

🇨🇳 CATL 🇰🇷 LG Energy Solution 🇯🇵 Panasonic Energy 🇰🇷 SK On 🇰🇷 Samsung SDI

Electric Vehicles

🇨🇳 BYD 🇺🇸 Tesla 🇰🇷 Hyundai Motor Company 🇯🇵 Toyota Motor Corporation 🇩🇪 Volkswagen Group

Semiconductors & Electronics

🇹🇼 TSMC 🇰🇷 Samsung Electronics 🇹🇼 Foxconn 🇺🇸 Intel 🇺🇸 Micron Technology

These firms alone could fundamentally reshape Indonesia's export structure over the next two decades.

Tier 2 — Industrial Ecosystem Builders

These companies create the supplier networks and industrial depth required for advanced manufacturing.

Components & Automation

🇩🇪 Bosch 🇯🇵 Denso Corporation 🇨🇦 Magna International 🇯🇵 Mitsubishi Electric 🇩🇪 Siemens

AI, Computing & Telecommunications

🇺🇸 NVIDIA 🇺🇸 Qualcomm 🇰🇷 SK hynix 🇨🇳 Huawei Technologies 🇸🇪 Ericsson

Advanced Electronics & Creative Technology

🇯🇵 Sony Group 🇯🇵 Panasonic Holdings 🇰🇷 LG Electronics

These firms strengthen innovation, automation, engineering capability, and industrial productivity.

Tier 3 — Strategic Sovereignty Industries

Economic development and national resilience are closely linked.

Defense

🇺🇸 Lockheed Martin 🇺🇸 RTX Corporation 🇰🇷 Hanwha Aerospace 🇸🇪 Saab AB 🇫🇷 Thales Group 🇮🇹 Leonardo S.p.A.

Shipbuilding

🇰🇷 Hyundai Heavy Industries 🇰🇷 Hanwha Ocean 🇯🇵 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 🇮🇹 Fincantieri 🇳🇱 Damen Shipyards Group

As the world's largest archipelagic nation, Indonesia requires strong maritime and defense industries not only for economic growth but also for strategic security.

Tier 4 — Healthcare & Medical Technology

Healthcare manufacturing is a strategic industry that supports both economic development and national resilience.

Key partners include:

🇺🇸 Medtronic 🇩🇪 Siemens Healthineers 🇺🇸 GE HealthCare 🇳🇱 Philips Healthcare 🇺🇸 Abbott Laboratories 🇺🇸 Stryker Corporation

These firms can help Indonesia develop domestic capabilities in medical devices, diagnostics, and biomedical technology.

Tier 5 — Advanced Materials & Petrochemicals

No industrial superpower has emerged without a strong materials and chemical sector.

Strategic partners include:

🇩🇪 BASF 🇸🇦 SABIC 🇺🇸 Dow 🇳🇱 LyondellBasell 🇯🇵 Mitsubishi Chemical Group

These industries provide the foundation for batteries, semiconductors, automotive manufacturing, healthcare, aerospace, and defense.

What Would Happen If Indonesia Successfully Executes These Reforms?

By 2030

GDP growth of 6–7%

Stronger rupiah

Larger middle class

Rising manufacturing exports

Higher foreign direct investment

Expanding industrial ecosystems

By 2045

Indonesia could realistically become:

A US$4–7 trillion economy

One of the world's 5–10 largest economies

A high-income country

The industrial and financial hub of Southeast Asia

A major producer of batteries, EVs, electronics, ships, advanced materials, defense equipment, and medical technology

The Hard Truth

Indonesia does not lack:

Natural resources

Population

Geography

Market size

Indonesia's challenge is execution.

The formula is straightforward:

Better Institutions → Higher Productivity → More Investment → More Industrialization → Stronger National Champions → Higher Exports → Higher Incomes → Developed-Country Status

Every country that escaped the middle-income trap followed some version of this sequence.

The difficulty is not knowing what to do.

The difficulty is maintaining the political discipline, institutional quality, and long-term commitment necessary to execute it consistently for the next 20 to 30 years.

Mengapa Produktivitas, Bukan Rupiah atau IHSG, Adalah Tantangan Sejati Indonesia

Selama dua dekade terakhir, Indonesia berhasil menjaga stabilitas politik, membangun infrastruktur, meningkatkan pendapatan per kapita, serta memperkuat posisinya sebagai salah satu ekonomi terbesar di Asia.

Namun, di balik berbagai pencapaian tersebut, sejumlah kelemahan struktural mulai terlihat semakin jelas.

Pelemahan rupiah, volatilitas pasar modal, perlambatan investasi asing, meningkatnya kekhawatiran terhadap kualitas institusi, hingga perdebatan mengenai Danantara dan arah kebijakan fiskal menunjukkan bahwa Indonesia sedang berada pada titik transisi yang penting.

Tulisan ini berargumen bahwa tantangan terbesar Indonesia bukanlah nilai tukar rupiah minggu depan atau pergerakan IHSG bulan depan.

Tantangan sesungguhnya adalah:

Produktivitas yang masih rendah.

Ketergantungan pada ekspor komoditas.

Ketergantungan pada modal asing.

Kedalaman pasar keuangan yang masih terbatas.

Pertumbuhan laba korporasi yang belum cukup kuat.

Persepsi risiko institusional dan tata kelola.

Selama enam persoalan tersebut belum terselesaikan, Indonesia akan tetap rentan terhadap gejolak global meskipun indikator makroekonominya terlihat relatif sehat.

Indonesia dalam Perspektif Global: Apa yang Berubah?

Indonesia tahun 2026 hidup dalam dunia yang sangat berbeda dibandingkan Indonesia tahun 2010.

Selama bertahun-tahun, pertumbuhan ekonomi Indonesia banyak ditopang oleh kombinasi beberapa faktor yang sangat menguntungkan:

Boom komoditas global.

Pertumbuhan ekonomi Tiongkok yang sangat cepat.

Likuiditas global yang murah.

Stabilitas geopolitik yang relatif tinggi.

Namun, sebagian besar faktor tersebut kini mulai berubah.

Dunia memasuki era baru yang ditandai oleh:

Fragmentasi geopolitik.

Deglobalisasi parsial.

Perang teknologi.

Transisi energi.

Persaingan industri yang semakin agresif.

Amerika Serikat menjalankan kebijakan industrialisasi melalui Inflation Reduction Act. Tiongkok mempercepat dominasinya dalam kendaraan listrik, baterai, panel surya, semikonduktor, dan kecerdasan buatan. India berupaya menjadi pusat manufaktur global baru, sementara Vietnam menjadi salah satu penerima relokasi industri terbesar di Asia.

Dalam konteks ini, pertanyaan utama bagi Indonesia bukan lagi:

"Apakah ekonomi Indonesia tumbuh?"

Melainkan:

"Apakah Indonesia tumbuh lebih cepat daripada para pesaingnya?"

Dalam ekonomi global modern, investasi akan mengalir ke negara yang dianggap paling kompetitif.

Jika Indonesia tumbuh 5% sementara Vietnam dan India tumbuh 7%, sebagian investasi global kemungkinan akan mengalir ke negara-negara tersebut.

Persaingan Indonesia bukan hanya dengan sesama negara ASEAN.

Persaingan Indonesia adalah dengan seluruh dunia.

Indonesia Belum Krisis, tetapi Tidak Bisa Berpuas Diri

Perdebatan mengenai kondisi ekonomi Indonesia sering terjebak pada dua ekstrem.

Kelompok pertama berpendapat bahwa ekonomi Indonesia baik-baik saja dan tidak memiliki masalah mendasar.

Kelompok kedua meyakini bahwa Indonesia sedang menuju kehancuran ekonomi.

Kedua pandangan tersebut tidak sepenuhnya tepat.

Indonesia masih memiliki sejumlah kekuatan penting:

Rasio utang pemerintah relatif rendah dibandingkan banyak negara berkembang.

Sistem perbankan masih tergolong sehat.

Inflasi relatif terkendali.

Cadangan devisa masih memadai.

Neraca perdagangan masih ditopang oleh surplus komoditas.

Namun, indikator makroekonomi yang terlihat sehat tidak boleh membuat kita mengabaikan persoalan struktural yang lebih dalam.

Menurut proyeksi World Bank dan IMF, ekonomi Indonesia masih berpotensi tumbuh di kisaran 4,8–5,1 persen dalam beberapa tahun ke depan apabila tidak terjadi reformasi struktural besar.

Artinya, Indonesia masih tumbuh.

Namun belum tentu tumbuh cukup cepat untuk menjadi negara maju.

Ancaman Middle-Income Trap

Middle-income trap adalah kondisi ketika suatu negara berhasil keluar dari kemiskinan, tetapi gagal melakukan lompatan menuju status negara maju.

Beberapa negara yang sering dijadikan contoh adalah:

Brasil

Argentina

Afrika Selatan

Meksiko

Negara-negara tersebut berhasil mencapai status negara berpendapatan menengah, tetapi gagal meningkatkan produktivitas dan inovasi secara berkelanjutan.

Penyebabnya hampir selalu sama:

Produktivitas melambat.

Inovasi rendah.

Kualitas institusi stagnan.

Ketergantungan pada komoditas.

Kualitas pendidikan tertinggal.

Indonesia mulai menunjukkan beberapa gejala yang perlu diperhatikan.

Porsi sektor manufaktur terhadap PDB menurun dibandingkan masa industrialisasi awal. Ekspor teknologi tinggi masih jauh di bawah Korea Selatan, Taiwan, maupun Tiongkok. Belanja riset dan pengembangan juga masih relatif rendah.

Jika tren ini terus berlanjut, Indonesia mungkin tetap tumbuh, tetapi tidak cukup cepat untuk mencapai status negara maju pada 2045.

Produktivitas Adalah Kunci

Banyak diskusi ekonomi terlalu fokus pada:

Rupiah.

IHSG.

Inflasi.

Suku bunga.

Defisit APBN.

Padahal, dalam jangka panjang hampir semua indikator tersebut ditentukan oleh satu faktor utama:

Produktivitas.

Tidak ada negara yang menjadi kaya karena mata uangnya kuat.

Tidak ada negara yang menjadi maju karena indeks sahamnya tinggi.

Negara menjadi kaya karena mampu menghasilkan lebih banyak nilai tambah melalui tenaga kerja, teknologi, dan modal yang dimilikinya.

Korea Selatan tidak menjadi negara maju karena won yang kuat. Korea Selatan menjadi negara maju karena Samsung, Hyundai, LG, dan industri manufaktur berteknologi tinggi.

Taiwan tidak menjadi negara maju karena pasar sahamnya. Taiwan menjadi negara maju karena TSMC dan dominasinya dalam industri semikonduktor global.

Jika Indonesia ingin keluar dari middle-income trap, maka produktivitas harus menjadi prioritas nasional nomor satu.

Mengapa Rupiah dan IHSG Sering Tertekan?

Rupiah dan IHSG bukanlah penyebab masalah.

Keduanya lebih tepat disebut sebagai gejala.

Pasar keuangan mencerminkan persepsi investor terhadap masa depan ekonomi.

Ketika investor melihat:

Produktivitas stagnan.

Pertumbuhan laba korporasi melambat.

Risiko kebijakan meningkat.

Ketergantungan terhadap komoditas masih tinggi.

Maka aset-aset Indonesia akan memperoleh premi risiko yang lebih tinggi.

Akibatnya:

Modal keluar.

Rupiah melemah.

Yield obligasi naik.

IHSG terkoreksi.

Pasar bereaksi terhadap ekspektasi masa depan, bukan terhadap masa lalu.

Mengapa Independensi Bank Indonesia Sangat Penting?

Indonesia bukan Amerika Serikat, Uni Eropa, atau Jepang.

Indonesia masih memiliki:

Mata uang yang bukan mata uang cadangan global.

Pasar obligasi yang relatif dangkal.

Ketergantungan terhadap investor asing.

Sensitivitas tinggi terhadap sentimen global.

Dalam kondisi seperti ini, kredibilitas Bank Indonesia memiliki nilai ekonomi yang sangat besar.

Investor membeli obligasi Indonesia bukan hanya karena imbal hasilnya menarik.

Mereka juga membeli karena percaya bahwa:

Inflasi akan dijaga.

Rupiah relatif stabil.

Bank Indonesia tetap independen.

Kepercayaan seperti ini membutuhkan waktu puluhan tahun untuk dibangun, tetapi dapat hilang hanya dalam hitungan bulan.

Karena itu, menjaga independensi Bank Indonesia bukan sekadar isu teknokratis.

Ini adalah kepentingan strategis nasional.

Danantara: Peluang Besar atau Risiko Baru?

Perdebatan mengenai Danantara sering terjebak dalam dua kubu ekstrem.

Sebagian menganggap Danantara sebagai solusi bagi seluruh masalah pembangunan Indonesia.

Sebagian lainnya menganggap Danantara pasti akan menjadi beban fiskal.

Kedua pandangan tersebut terlalu menyederhanakan persoalan.

Secara teori, sovereign wealth fund dapat menjadi instrumen pembangunan yang sangat kuat.

Contohnya adalah:

Temasek Holdings

GIC

Government Pension Fund Global

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority

Namun, keberhasilan mereka tidak ditentukan oleh ukuran aset.

Keberhasilan mereka ditentukan oleh:

Tata kelola.

Transparansi.

Profesionalisme.

Disiplin investasi.

Jika Danantara ingin berhasil, standar tata kelolanya harus mendekati institusi-investasi terbaik dunia.

Strategi Indonesia Menuju 2030

Jika harus memilih prioritas pembangunan nasional hingga 2030, maka fokus utamanya adalah:

Reformasi pendidikan dan vokasi nasional.

Industrialisasi berbasis teknologi dan manufaktur bernilai tambah tinggi.

Pendalaman pasar keuangan domestik.

Reformasi birokrasi dan kepastian hukum.

Penguatan institusi fiskal dan moneter.

Target yang relatif realistis meliputi:

Pertumbuhan ekonomi rata-rata sekitar 6% per tahun.

Rasio investasi terhadap PDB di atas 35%.

Porsi manufaktur terhadap PDB kembali mendekati atau melebihi 25%.

Belanja riset dan pengembangan minimal 1% dari PDB.

Peningkatan kualitas tata kelola menuju standar OECD.

Bertambahnya perusahaan teknologi Indonesia yang berorientasi ekspor.

Tanpa target yang terukur, pembangunan mudah berubah menjadi slogan.

Dengan target yang jelas, pemerintah dapat dievaluasi secara lebih objektif.

Tiga Skenario Indonesia Hingga 2030

Skenario Optimistis (Bull Case)

Jika reformasi birokrasi berhasil, industrialisasi berjalan, Bank Indonesia tetap independen, Danantara transparan, serta investasi asing meningkat:

Pertumbuhan ekonomi: 6–7%.

Rupiah relatif stabil.

IHSG tumbuh di atas rata-rata kawasan.

Indonesia semakin dekat menuju status negara maju.

Skenario Dasar (Base Case)

Jika reformasi berjalan sebagian dan produktivitas meningkat secara bertahap:

Pertumbuhan ekonomi: 5–5,5%.

Rupiah berfluktuasi tetapi tetap terkendali.

IHSG tumbuh sejalan dengan laba korporasi.

Ini merupakan skenario yang paling realistis saat ini.

Skenario Pesimistis (Bear Case)

Jika reformasi stagnan, tata kelola memburuk, risiko fiskal meningkat, dan kepercayaan investor menurun:

Pertumbuhan ekonomi: 3–4%.

Rupiah menghadapi tekanan berkepanjangan.

Yield obligasi meningkat.

IHSG tertinggal dibandingkan negara-negara ASEAN lainnya.

Penting untuk ditekankan bahwa ini bukan prediksi, melainkan analisis skenario.

Kesimpulan

Indonesia memiliki semua syarat untuk menjadi salah satu kekuatan ekonomi terbesar dunia pada pertengahan abad ke-21.

Indonesia memiliki populasi besar, sumber daya alam melimpah, lokasi strategis, dan pasar domestik yang kuat.

Namun sejarah menunjukkan bahwa potensi saja tidak pernah cukup.

Yang menentukan keberhasilan sebuah bangsa bukanlah apa yang dimilikinya, melainkan bagaimana bangsa tersebut mengelolanya.

Tantangan Indonesia bukan kekurangan potensi.

Tantangan Indonesia adalah mengubah potensi menjadi produktivitas, produktivitas menjadi investasi, investasi menjadi industrialisasi, dan industrialisasi menjadi kemakmuran yang berkelanjutan.

Jika reformasi struktural berhasil dijalankan, Indonesia memiliki peluang nyata untuk menjadi negara maju pada 2045.

Namun jika reformasi gagal, Indonesia berisiko tetap menjadi negara berpendapatan menengah yang bergantung pada komoditas dan rentan terhadap gejolak global.

Pada akhirnya, Indonesia membutuhkan investasi, industrialisasi, dan produktivitas yang lebih tinggi.

Tetapi di atas semuanya, Indonesia membutuhkan institusi yang kuat, kredibel, dan dipercaya.

"Sebab itu, Aku akan menggoncangkan langit dan bumi, dan Aku akan menjungkirbalikkan takhta kerajaan-kerajaan... tetapi umat-Ku yang mengenal Allah akan tetap kuat dan bertindak." (Daniel 11:32; Hagai 2:21–22; bdk. Matius 24:7)

Roh Kudus pasti berbicara kepada semua hamba Tuhan yang sejati di segala penjuru bumi. Periksalah, ujilah, dan engkau akan mendapati kesaksian yang seragam. "Sungguh, Tuhan ALLAH tidak berbuat sesuatu tanpa menyatakan rahasia-Nya kepada hamba-hamba-Nya, para nabi" (Amos 3:7). Tidak ada hamba-Nya yang luput dari beban ini.

Sebentar lagi, satu era akan berakhir. Ini bukan akhir dari segala sesuatu, melainkan akhir dari sebuah zaman. Masa transisi yang disebut Tribulasi akan berlangsung selama 3,5 tahun (Daniel 9:27; Wahyu 11:2–3). Ini bukan The Great Tribulation. Fokus peringatan ini adalah dampak langsung dari api Perang Dunia Ketiga yang akan menjalar hingga ke Indonesia:

Rantai pasok pangan global runtuh (Wahyu 6:5–6);

Ekonomi limbung (Wahyu 18:11–13);

Krisis melumpuhkan mereka yang tidak memiliki hikmat (Amsal 22:3).

Di tengah goncangan tersebut, hikmat yang menyelamatkan adalah membangun kemandirian pangan melalui pertanian, perladangan, dan peternakan terpadu, sehingga akses terhadap pangan tetap terjaga ketika sistem dunia terguncang. Fokus utama peringatan ini adalah melangkah dengan hikmat ke dalam penyediaan Tuhan yang berkelanjutan.

"Orang bijak melihat bahaya lalu bersembunyi, tetapi orang yang tak berpengalaman berjalan terus dan menanggung akibatnya" (Amsal 27:12).

"Hai pemalas, pergilah kepada semut, perhatikanlah tingkah lakunya dan jadilah bijak..." (Amsal 6:6).

Dalam jangka waktu paling lama tiga tahun ke depan, ambillah langkah-langkah nyata:

Jauhilah wilayah yang menurutmu akan sulit memperoleh akses ke lahan pertanian.

Belilah tanah, sekalipun hanya sebidang kecil, untuk bertani, berladang, atau beternak. Jika dana tidak mencukupi, gunakan hikmat Yusuf: sewalah lahan milik orang lain untuk jangka panjang (Kejadian 41:34–36, 46–49). Yusuf tidak menunggu krisis terjadi; ia mengamankan sumber daya dan menyimpan makanan selama tujuh tahun kelimpahan untuk menghadapi tujuh tahun kelaparan.

Berdoalah agar Tuhan, dalam kedaulatan-Nya, mengarahkan langkahmu ke tempat di mana engkau dapat bertahan hidup melalui pertanian, perladangan, dan peternakan.

Siapkan penyediaan air bersih—melalui sumur, penampungan air hujan, atau sumber air alami—sebab salah satu tantangan terbesar pada masa itu adalah air yang tercemar. Mintalah hikmat Tuhan untuk mengatasi persoalan air bersih dan sehat ini.

Jangan berjalan sendiri. Bergabunglah dengan komunitas di kotamu atau di mana pun engkau tinggal, atau bentuklah komunitas persiapan yang anggotanya saling melengkapi. Pola jemaat mula-mula tetap menjadi teladan yang abadi:

"Semua orang yang percaya itu bersatu hati dan sehati sepikir... mereka menjual harta milik mereka dan membagi-bagikannya kepada semua orang sesuai dengan keperluan masing-masing" (Kisah Para Rasul 2:44–45).

Pada akhirnya, ketika masa peralihan menuju The Great Tribulation tiba, mereka yang melepaskan ketergantungan pada sistem dunia dan membangun rantai pangan lokal akan tetap berdiri. Sebagaimana dinubuatkan oleh Yoel:

"Ladang-ladang telah musnah, tanah berkabung, sebab gandum telah hancur..." (Yoel 1:10).

Namun ia juga menyatakan:

"Jangan takut, hai binatang-binatang di padang, sebab padang-padang gurun akan menghijau" (Yoel 2:22).

Padang gurun menjadi hijau di tangan mereka yang mendengar dan taat. Perempuan dalam Wahyu 12 dipelihara di padang gurun selama 1.260 hari (3,5 tahun)—jauh dari sistem dunia dan disuplai langsung oleh Tuhan (Wahyu 12:6, 14). Di sanalah terlihat pola pemeliharaan ilahi: sederhana, mandiri, dan tersembunyi.

Apa itu demokrasi? Istilah demokrasi berasal dari nama seorang filsuf pra-sokratik Yunani, yaitu Demokritos, yang hidup sekitar tahun 460 SM hingga 370 SM. Ia adalah murid Leukippos, pendiri mazhab atomisme. Selain sebagai filsuf, Demokritos juga menulis berbagai catatan tentang ilmu alam, astronomi, matematika, sastra, epistemologi, dan etika. Ada sekitar 300 kutipan tentang pemikiran Demokritos di dalam sumber-sumber kuno.

Meskipun hidup sezaman dengan Sokrates, bahkan usianya lebih muda (Demokritos lebih muda 10 tahun dari Sokrates), ia tetap digolongkan sebagai filsuf pra-sokratik. Hal ini dikarenakan ia melanjutkan dan mengembangkan ajaran atomisme dari Leukippos yang merupakan filsuf pra-sokratik. Demokritos mengembangkan pemikiran tentang atom sehingga justru pemikiran Demokritos yang lebih dikenal di dalam sejarah filsafat. Selain itu, filsafat Demokritos tidak dikenal di Athena untuk waktu yang cukup lama. Misalnya saja, Plato tidak mengetahui apa-apa tentang atomisme.

Berdasarkan kekagumannya yang mendalam pada alam semesta, Demokritos mencari substansi yang menjadi asal segala sesuatu (phúsis). Ia beranggapan bahwa alam semesta terdiri dari atom-atom dan kekosongan. Di sini ia sependapat dengan Anaxagoras dan prinsip pluralisme Empedokles, bahwa realitas terdiri dari banyak unsur, bukan satu. Akan tetapi, bertentangan dengan Anaxagoras, ia berpendapat bahwa atom-atom tersebut tidak dapat dibagi lagi. Adanya kekosongan membuat atom-atom tersebut senantiasa bergerak ke segala arah, bersinggungan, mengelompok, berkombinasi membentuk gambaran-gambaran kecil (eidola) yang dapat ditangkap oleh pancaindera. Melalui konsep atom, Demokritos berpendapat bahwa alam semesta dan manusia saling terkait, tetapi bedanya adalah manusia tercipta dari kumpulan atom-atom yang sifatnya lebih halus (atom-atom api). Dalam jiwa manusia, bertemunya atom-atom benda dengan atom-atom jiwa tidak hanya memberikan berbagai sensasi, tetapi juga memunculkan perasaan-perasaan tertentu tergantung dari kondisi atom-atom tersebut. Sehingga ada orang yang mengalami peristiwa yang sama tetapi mengalami perasaan yang berbeda, seperti prinsip “cinta” dan “benci” menurut Empedokles, “a” artinya tidak dan “tomos” artinya terbagi.

Kata demokrasi (dēmokratía) sendiri berarti “kekuasaan rakyat,” yang terbentuk dari kata dêmos “rakyat” dan kratos “kekuatan” atau “kekuasaan” pada abad ke-5 SM, untuk menyebut sistem politik kota Athena. Secara teoritis, kata demokrasi berantonim dengan ἀριστοκρατία (aristocratie), yang artinya “kekuasaan elit.” Sebagai sistem pemerintahan, demokrasi sudah ada sejak abad ke-16, namun hanya menyertakan kaum elit dan tidak menyertakan kaum wanita dan para budak dalam partisipasi politik. Demokrasi modern sendiri benar-benar bebas di Indonesia setelah reformasi tahun 1998.

Dalam spektrum politik kita kerap mendengar istilah kanan atau kiri, namun tahukah anda di mana posisi anda? Apakah anda seorang konservatif atau liberal? Apakah anda seorang kapitalis atau sosialis? Apakah mungkin anda seorang fasis? Atau jangan-jangan komunis? Istilah sayap kanan atau kiri sendiri pertama kali digunakan saat French National Constituent Assembly pada tahun 1789. Kelompok konservatif yang mendukung kekuasaan raja dan mempertahankan kondisi sosial yang ada duduk di sebelah kanan (Monarchists), sedangkan kelompok progresif yang menginginkan perubahan dan menghapus kekuasaan raja secara total duduk di sebelah kiri (The Left).

Namun memasuki tahun 1930 saat terjadinya The Great Depression, isu ekonomi mulai dibawa dalam perdebatan politik. Kaum sosialis yang meyakini bahwa pemerintah yang berhak untuk mengalokasikan sumber daya dan kekayaan suatu negara dikelompokkan sebagai kelompok “kiri,” sedangkan para kapitalis yang “menyelenggarakan” kehidupan dikelompokkan sebagai “kanan.”

Kita semua seringkali sulit membedakan sosialisme, kapitalisme atau liberalisme. Kapitalisme meyakini bahwa setiap individu bebas melakukan usahanya untuk meraih keuntungan sebesar-besarnya, maka pemerintah tidak dapat melakukan intervensi pasar. Liberalisme berkembang sejalan dengan kapitalisme, hanya saja liberalisme tidak semata didasarkan pada determinasi ekonomi semata—melainkan juga filsafat dan kemanusiaan. Sedangkan sosialisme menurut saya adalah kritik terhadap kapitalisme, sebagai “moral dynamic” kata Benedict Anderson, karena nature sosialisme itu sendiri berkaitan dengan kapitalisme.

A revolutionary movement—a party—requires more than this: it must include intellectuals and petit bourgeois who alone can provide the essential theory of socialism. Culture in a capitalist society is in this sense a prerogative of privileged strata: only if some members of these strata go over to the cause of the working class can a revolutionary movement be born. For without a revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement.

It is wisdom to know others;

It is enlightenment to know one’s self.

The conqueror of men is powerful;

The master of himself is strong.

It is wealth to be content;

It is willful to force one’s way on others.

Endurance is to keep one’s place;

Long life it is to die and not perish.

The wise man, when abroad, impartial to the world, does not divide or judge;

But people everywhere mark well his ears and eyes.

1. Being comfortable in your own skin. Not to the point of missing social cues. But if we truly wish to put others at ease—a key to likability—we need to be at ease with ourselves. Job candidates for example, are sometimes coached to build rapport by mimicking the interviewers body language. Insert good-natured eye roll. Taking interest doesn’t work. Being natural does.

2. Being trustworthy. One recent article on likability encouraged readers to tilt their head slightly toward the other person, smile, and so forth. I’ve known two people who were masters at this, one went to earn my ex-girlfriend. The point is, of what use are all the right gestures if the person behind them can’t be trusted?

3. Competence. Few things are more inspiring than watching someone produce good work to a high standard, or being on the receiving end of that work. Competence requires discipline, delayed gratification, and continuous learning.

4. Reliability. There’s always a co-worker or colleague who didn’t convinced of your candidacy. Love what you do, get good at it, and let the chips fall where they may.

5. Appreciation. Who doesn’t enjoy being appreciated? Notice what gratitude does to your relationships, along with your spirits.

6. Kindness. People who are kind don’t hit us when we’re down. They don’t remind us of past mistakes. They know not to pick every battle. As best they can, they live and let live. Not surprisingly, they’re easy to be around.

Monetary policy refers to the strategies employed by a nation’s central bank with regard to the amount of money circulating in the economy, and what money is worth. Monetary policy can be restrictive (tight), accommodative (loose), or neutral (somewhere in between). When the economy is growing too fast and inflation is moving significantly higher, the central bank may take steps to cool the economy by raising short-term interest rates, which constitutes restrictive or tight monetary policy. Conversely, when the economy is sluggish, the central bank will adopt an accommodative policy by lowering short-term interest rates to stimulate growth and get the economy back on track. The impact of monetary policy on investments is thus direct as well as indirect. The direct impact is through the level and direction of interest rates, while the indirect effect is through expectations about where inflation is headed.

Monetary Policy Tools

Central banks have a number of tools at their disposal to influence monetary policy. The Federal Reserve, for example, has three main policy tools:

1. Open market operations, which involve the purchase and sale of financial instruments.

2. Discount rate, or the interest rate charged by the Federal Reserve to depository institutions on short-term loans.

3. Reserve requirements, or the proportion of deposits that banks must maintain as reserves.

Monetary policy affects the primary asset classes across the board. Equities, bonds, cash, real estate commodities, and currencies. The effect of monetary policy changes is summarized below (it should be noted that the impact of such changes is variable and may not follow the same pattern every time).

Accommodative Monetary Policy

During periods of accommodative policy or “easy money,” equities typically rally strongly.

With interest rates at low levels, bond yields trend lower, and their inverse relationship with bond prices means that most fixed-income instruments post sizeable gains. The demand for higher yield in this low-yield environment led to a great deal of bidding for corporate bonds, sending their yields to new lows as well, and enabling numerous companies to issue bonds with record low coupons. However, this premise is only valid as long as investors are confident that inflation is under control. If policy is accommodative for too long, inflation concerns may send bonds sharply lower as yields adjust to higher inflationary expectations.

Cash is not a king during periods of accommodative policy, as investors prefer to deploy their money anywhere rather than parking it in deposits.

Real estate tends to do well when interest rates are low, since homeowners and investors will take advantage of low mortgage rates to snap up properties.

Commodities are the quintessential “risky asset” and they tend to appreciate during periods of accommodative policy for a number of reasons. Risk appetite is stoked by low interest rates, physical demand is robust when economies are growing strongly, and unusually low rates may lead to inflation concerns percolating below the surface.

The impact on currencies during such times is harder to ascertain, although it would be logical to expect a nation’s currency with an accommodative policy to depreciate against it peers. The impact on currencies then depends on the extent of monetary stimulus, as well as the economic outlook for a specific nation.

Restrictive Monetary Policy

Equities underperform during tight monetary policy periods, as higher interest rates restrict risk appetite and make it relatively expensive to buy securities on margin. However, there is typically a substantial lag between the time when a central bank commences tightening monetary policy and when equities peak. As an example, while the Federal Reserve began raising short-term interest rates in June 2003, US equities only peaked in October 2007, almost three and a half years later. This lag effect is attributed to investor confidence that the economy was growing strongly enough for corporate earnings to absorb the impact of higher interest rates in the early stages of tightening.

Higher short-term interest rates are big negative for bonds, as investors demand for higher yields sends their prices lower. Bonds suffered one of their worst bear markets in 1994, as the Federal Reserve raised its key federal funds rate from 3% at the beginning of the year to 5.5% by year-end.

Cash tends to do well during tight monetary policy periods, since higher deposit rates induce consumers to save rather than spend. Short-term deposits are generally favored during such periods to take advantage of rising rates.

As it to be expected, real estate slumps when interest rates are rising since it more to service mortgage debt, leading to a decline in demand among homeowners and investors.

Commodities trade in a manner similar to equities during periods of tight policy, maintaining their upward momentum in the initial phase of tightening and declining sharply later on as higher interest rates succeed in slowing the economy.

Higher interest rates, or even the prospect of higher rates, generally tend to boost the national currency. The Canadian dollar—CAD, for example, 2010 to 2012, as Canada remained the only 67 nation to maintain a tightening bias to its monetary policy over this period. However, the currency fell against the greenback in 2013 once it became apparent that the Canadian economy was headed for a period of slower growth than the US, leading to expectations that the Bank of Canada would be forced to drop its tightening bias.

Conclusion

“The Blue Innovation,” more than just a color, trend, or simple communication concept. It’s a philosophy based on the principles of authenticity, integrity, commitment, dialogue, transparency, transformation, and constant evolution.

In terms of strategic sustainability, with a social media scheme. It was first presented by Saatchi & Saatchi in 2009. Adopted by many major corporates, organizations, artists, celebrities, even leaders and politicians.

In terms of opportunities, it’s strategic and flexible. “Blue thinkers” attract different interest groups: shareholders, employees, clients, suppliers, and communities.

Apple put the Intel deal into action with the release of its 2006 MacBook Pro and iMac, both using Intel’s Core Duo chip technology which made the systems significantly faster.

Apple’s increasing improvement was evident in the stock prices. At roughly $80 per share, Apple’s stocks had increased ten fold in ten years, up from $6 in 1997. In January 2006, Apple surpassed Dell’s market cap. Just ten years prior, Michael Dell had said that if Apple were under his control, he’d “shut it down and give the money back to shareholders.”

In this frequently updated feature I will be telling the story of Apple. I’ll start with the early days, the tale of how Apple was founded, moving on through the Apple I, to the Apple II, the launch of the Macintosh and the revolution in the DTP industry. To the tech-industry behemoth that we know and love today.

So sit back as I take a stroll down memory lane. Why not brush up on what really happened before you go and watch the new Steve Jobs movie, with its interesting interpretations of several important events in the company’s history?

On 1 April 1976 Apple was founded, making the company 41 years old as of the 1 April 2017. Here’s the historical breakdown of the company.

Steve and Wozniak, founders of Apple Computer, Inc.

Apple’s famous 1984 commercial was created by advertising agency Chiat/Day. In 1986, CEO Michael Spindler replaced Chiat/Day with agency BBDO. Under CEO Gil Amelio BBDO pitched to an internal marketing meeting at the then struggling Apple a new brand campaign with the slogan “We’re back.” Reportedly everyone in the meeting expressed approval with the exception of the recently returned Jobs who said “the slogan was stupid because Apple wasn’t back.”

Jobs then invited three advertising agencies to present new ideas that reflected the philosophy he thought had to be reinforced within the company he co-founded. TBWA/Chiat/Day was one of them. While Jobs thought the creative concept “brilliant” he originally hated the words of the television commercial, until changing his mind. According to TBWA/Chiat/Day’s creative director of the time Rob Siltanen: “Steve was highly involved with the advertising and every facet of Apple’s business. But he was far from the mastermind behind the renowned launch spot, while Steve Jobs didn’t create the advertising concepts, he does deserve an incredible amount of credit. He was fully responsible for ultimately pulling the trigger on the right ad campaign from the right agency, and he used his significant influence to secure talent and rally people like no one I’ve ever seen before. Without Steve Jobs there’s not a shot in hell that a campaign as monstrously big as this one would get even close to flying off the ground. It got an audience that once thought of Apple as semi-cool, but semi-stupid to suddenly think about the brand in a whole new way.”

Jobs said the following in an interview for ‘One Last Thing’ documentary:

When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and your job is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is—everything around you that you call life, was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. The minute that you understand that you can poke life and actually something will, you know if you push in, something will pop out the other side, that you can change it, you can mold it. That’s maybe the most important thing. It’s to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it. I think that’s very important and however you learn that, once you learn it, you’ll want to change life and make it better, cause it’s kind of messed up, in a lot of ways. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

The Return of Jobs to Apple, the Greatest Comeback Story of All Time: How Apple Went from Near Bankruptcy to Billions in 13 Years

“Back then he was uncontrollable,” an early Apple board member said of Steve Jobs in explaining why, in 1985, the board voted to fire him. “He got ideas in his head, and the hell with what anybody else wanted to do.” Even former Pepsi President John Sculley, who had joined Apple to play the role of Jobs’ babysitter of sorts, couldn’t handle working with him. In fact, Sculley orchestrated the ouster himself, comparing Jobs to a relentless zealot. (Though, to be fair, their relationship didn’t exactly start well; Jobs invited Sculley to join Apple by saying, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water to children, or do you want a chance to change the world?”) But in 1997, with the company operating at a loss and Microsoft’s Windows 95 flying off the shelves, Apple’s board decided that a zealot was just what it needed. In August of that year, Jobs rejoined the board in august, becoming CEO at first, with an “interim” the following month. “He had become a far better leader, less of a go-to-hell aesthete who cared only about making beautiful objects,” wrote Fortune’s editor-at-large Peter Elkind of the co-founder’s triumphant return. “Now he was a go-to-hell aesthete who cared about making beautiful objects that made money.” In time, he became recognized as one of the company’s most valuable assets. In 2009, after news broke that Jobs’ failing health had forced him to take medical leave, the company's stock fell almost 10%.

Partnering with the enemy, Microsoft (1997)

Just 13 years ago, Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy. But then—worried that it would be viewed as a monopoly without competition from Apple—Microsoft came to Apple’s rescue with a $150 million investment. Had that not happened the world may never have seen iPods, iPads, iPhones or iMacs. But that was just the start of Apple’s return to glory, the greatest corporate comeback story of all time.

When Apple co-founder Steve Jobs returned to the company in July of 1997, it marked the beginning of Apple’s resurrection. After 12 years of financial loss, Gil Amelio was ousted from the CEO position. Jobs took the interim position and was tasked with major restructuring, out of which a partnership with Microsoft was formed. One of his first decisions was to nix the Newton, a project that sucked $100 million out of the dying company, even though it was a product ahead of its time. The Apple-Microsoft deal was revealed at the ‘97 Macworld Expo. Gates and Jobs announced a five-year contract that would release an updated Mac version of Microsoft Office and Microsoft’s $150 million investment in Apple. Jobs humbly explained to the audience: “If we want to move forward and see Apple healthy and prospering again, we have to let go of a few things here. We have to let go of this notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose. So, the era of setting this up as a competition between Apple and Microsoft is over as far as I'm concerned. This is about getting Apple healthy, this is about Apple being able to make incredibly great contributions to the industry and to get healthy and prosper again.” As he spoke these words, Jobs was both booed and cheered.

The Lesson: Jobs had a daunting task ahead of him, but he wasn’t afraid to make difficult decisions to get the company back on track. Cutting costly projects like Newton and aligning with known-competitor Microsoft were controversial decisions that showed Jobs’ authority, confidence, and smarts.

Introducing the iMac (1998)

Apple was still struggling, and they needed a good product to turn things around. The iMac, introduced in 1998, was the solution. The unique design, which resembled the Macintosh 128K, was created by Jonathan Ive, designer of now iconic Apple technology, the iPod and the iPhone. Ive reinvented the ‘boring beige box’ and for the first time, you could actually see a computer’s guts. The all-in-one iMac sold nearly 800,000 units within its first five months. Apple returned to the software space that year with an acquisition of Macromedia’s Final Cut product. For the first time since 1995, Apple returned to profitability. According to FundingUniverse.com, the company turned a profit of $309 million in 1998.

The Lesson: Steve Jobs reportedly called a meeting at Apple, sat everyone down and said, “You know what's wrong with this company? The products SUCK—there's no sex in them.” Jobs’ decision to throw resources into a new, futuristic computer model drew people’s attention to Apple, and it paid off.

Apple stock reaches $99 per share, profits increase 94% (1999)

Apple continued its resurgence, seeing healthier profits and thus healthier stock prices. In 1999, their sales grew 3.2%, and profits doubled to $601MM, a 94% increase from the year prior.

The Lesson: Apple began expanding its products beyond just computers with the release of Final Cut Pro. They also noted what worked with the iMac, and built out new products based on proven success. Each success showed Jobs was turning the company around, and the public grew more confident in Apple’s stability.

Jobs becomes permanent CEO of Apple, but Apple has its most unprofitable quarter in three years (2000)

Apple announced a new strategy for tackling the Internet at the 2000 Macworld Expo. They unveiled iTools, Mac-only internet applications. They also announced Earthlink as their recommended ISP. Having successfully gotten Apple back on track, Jobs was able to drop “interim” from his CEO title and earned himself a permanent position. Jobs also announced that the previous quarter, 1,350,000 Macs were sold—that’s one product sold every six seconds. Later that year, Apple released new machines including The G4 Cube, a risky move that was an ultimate failure. Apple-History.com writes, “The Cube was Apple’s answer to those who wanted an iMac without a monitor, as well as challenge to the computing industry to continue to minimize the size of computers while increasing their visual appeal. The Cube was the biggest gamble Jobs had made since the release of the iMac. It would turn out to be a resounding failure.” This release marked the beginning of a tough few months for the rebounding company. Their third quarter was its first unprofitable one since Jobs’ return. While the tech industry was seeing an overall downturn, some poor decisions by Apple aided their unprofitable quarter. The first problem was the G4 Cube was a bust. Another factor was their decision to have DVD-ROM drives in their computers instead of CD-RWs, which prevented users from being able to burn CDs. In an attempt to right their wrongs, Apple cut prices on their PowerMac products.

The Lesson: Under the reign of Steve Jobs, Apple proved they weren’t afraid to take risks and fail. They also showed that when something wasn’t working, they could adjust quickly, pulling plugs and changing strategy as necessary. Jobs has said, “We’re gambling on our vision, and we’d rather do that than make ‘me-too’ products.”

The iPod, iTunes and the Apple Store are born (2001)

On May 15, 2001, Jobs unveiled the first Apple Store. They were such a hit that he later remarked, “We had 26 million visitors during the holiday quarter in retail stores. I mean think about it, this is more people than live in any state in our union besides California.” A few months later, Jobs announced their next big hit, the iPod. The portable music player went from concept to market in about 8 months. The iPod undoubtedly changed the music industry, but iTunes, which was also introduced this year, was Apple’s true genius. iTunes broke music industry standards and helped the major labels including Universal and Warner, fight piracy. “We said: These [music subscriptions] services that are out there now are going to fail, people don't want to buy their music that way,” Jobs tells Rolling Stone. “They’re going to want to buy downloads. People want to own their music. You don’t want to rent your music—and then, one day, if you stop paying, all your music goes away. It’s cheaper to buy and that’s what they’re gonna want to do. 80% of the people stealing music online don’t really want to be thieves. But [it’s so] compelling—it’s instant gratification. We don’t see how you convince people to stop being thieves, unless you can offer them a carrot, not just a stick.”

The Lesson: With multiple product hits, Apple’s comeback was in full swing. Each product launch became highly-anticipated events by media and the public alike. The company proved with the iPod that they could execute ideas quickly, and successfully dominate other hardware besides computers. The Apple Store was a brilliant solution to a problem Apple was having—other retailers weren’t giving Apple products proper shelf-life and space. Apple was able to create a real consumer experience in their stores, and give their products the displays they deserved. Gigaom writes, “When you enter the Apple Retail Store, you find a well-lit place that is inviting and aesthetically appealing, and more importantly, the company lets you play with its devices as much as you want. Nothing makes the sale as effectively as the iPhone or the iPod touch itself. You like what you see, then you buy.”

The swivel-neck iMac gets Jobs on the cover of Time (2002)

At the January Macworld Expo, Apple released a redesigned iMac with a swivel neck, which would be discontinued two years later. That same year, they released the Xserve 1U rack mounted server. This was Apple’s effort to enter the enterprise computer market with a cheaper version. Apple sleeked up it’s overall look, replacing the ‘happy mac’ icon with the gray logo when Jaguar was released. Still, the company saw financial struggles in late 2002 thanks to poor macroeconomic conditions and weak PowerBook and PowerMac sales. They announced a quarterly loss of $45 million, despite the release of one of their most successful ad campaigns ever, “Switchers.”

The Lesson: Jobs kept the company new and fresh by coming up with out-of-the-box concepts. He did this in all aspects of Apple, in new products, and even in hiring decisions, drawing inspiration from everywhere. “Part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians, and poets, and artists, and zoologists, and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world,” Jobs has said.

The iTunes Music Store is released (2003)

January 2003 marked the end of the ‘Classic’ Mac OS era. The first PowerBooks were released in 2003 and were the first to use the aluminum exterior. Next the third generation iPod was introduced with a dock connector in the bottom, which would lead to USB support. The same day the iPod was released, iLife and the iTunes Music Store were announced. The online music marketplace was fully integrated into iTunes for Macs, and shortly after it was released for Windows. The store was an instant success, selling one million songs in its first week. This year, Apple also placed its first store in Japan.

The Lesson: Think ahead, and connect the dots. Apple released products that were innovative in and of themselves, but they also connected with other products. The integration of iPods, iTunes and the iTunes Music Store prove how a sum can be greater than all of its parts.

iTunes leads to 70% market share, iPod mini released (2004)

Apple’s market share in the computer industry continued to decline, hitting a low of 3% in 2004. But with the iTunes/iPod integration, Apple positioned itself to take the music industry by storm. Also that year, Apple released the hit iPod Mini, and by the end of iTunes’ first year, Apple had 70% market share of legal downloaded music. More than 100 million songs were downloaded by July, 2004. Keeping with the mini trend, Apple opened a series of mini stories, about half the size of their other retail locations, in hopes of expanding to smaller markets with less demand.

The Lesson: Simplicity is bliss. iTunes made downloading songs easy and legal. The iPod Mini was sleek and simple, without any bells and whistles. Apple’s designer Jonathan Ive confirms their strategy: “We are absolutely consumed by trying to develop a solution that is very simple, because as physical beings we understand clarity.”

Release of the iPod Shuffle, Mac Mini, and transition to Intel-based Macs begins (2005)

Apple began its transition to Intel-based Macintoshes in 2005. They made the announcement at a June keynote, confirming rumors. Continuing to push their lead in the music sector, Apple released the video iPod in 2005. This pushed iPod sales over 30 million. This year, the Mac Mini and the iPod Shuffle were also released.

The Lesson: Keep innovating and improving. Apple presents multiple forms of the same devices with entirely different looks and packaging (the Nano versus the Mini). Even if improvements are slight, each product has a new identity that gets people excited.

Apple passes Dell’s market cap, and its Intel-based computers are significantly faster than ever (2006)

Apple put the Intel deal into action with the release of its 2006 MacBook Pro and iMac, both using Intel’s Core Duo chip technology which made the systems significantly faster. Apple’s increasing improvement was evident in the stock prices. At roughly $80 per share, Apple’s stocks had increased ten fold in ten years, up from $6 in 1997. In January 2006, Apple surpassed Dell’s market cap. Just ten years prior, Michael Dell had said that if Apple were under his control, he’d “shut it down and give the money back to shareholders.”

The Lesson: Sell dreams, not products. Customers first and foremost care about themselves, and if you help them find out what it is they want, they will latch onto your brand. Jobs doesn’t use focus groups or wait for people to make demands. Instead, he releases must-have products before people even know they will want it.

The iPhone revolutionizes the mobile industry, Apple TV is announced (2007)

In 2007, Jobs announced a company name change. Apple Computer, Inc. would now be known as Apple Inc., a sign that the company was planning to definite itself by much more than its original goal. The iPhone and Apple TV were announced at that year’s Macworld Expo, and by May 2007, Apple’s shares broke $100, an all-time company high. The iPhone was Apple’s first mobile attempt, and it immediately revolutionized the industry, essentially turning a video iPod into a personal device like no company had done before.

The Lesson: Steve Jobs is a relentless innovator, and Apple always seems to find a new way to produce products that improve our lives. Thinking differently has been a key component to Apple’s second coming.

The App Store is unveiled, along with trackpads with multi-touch technology (2008)

Apple brought touch capabilities to their computers and iPhone with the release of trackpad in 2008. The multi-touch technology was designed exclusively for Apple and can interpret many three-finger strokes. They also released the App store in 2008 for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The App Store was another instant hit, bringing in 60 million app sales and generating $1 million for Apple daily just one month after its launch. Jobs has said that the App Store alone could be a billion-dollar invention for the company. Later that year, it was evident just how popular the iPhone was when Apple became the third-largest mobile-handset supplier in the world.

The Lesson: Apple is great at connecting separate products to one another. The App Store, for example, was made to enhance both the iPhone and iPad. According to Jobs, “Creativity is just connecting things.” The MacBook Air was also released this year.

Steve gets sick (2009)

For the first time in 20 years, it was announced that Jobs would not attend Macworld Expo. In January 2009, an internal memo to Apple employees was made public and rumors were verified that Steve Jobs’ health was waning. Later that month, Jobs announced a six-month medical leave of absence to recover from his illness. Despite his absence and the recession, Apple continued to surge, reporting its best non-holiday quarter ever in Q1 2009 with $8.16 billion in revenue and a profit of $1.21 billion. Jobs returned to the company in June after having a liver transplant.

The Lesson: Trust your team. A company may only seem as great as one person, but if you hire smart people, they’re perfectly capable of stepping up to the plate.

The year of the iPad (2010)

2010 is the year of the iPad, Apple’s solution to Amazon’s kindle, creating a mobile-laptop hybrid device. The iPad uses the iPhone’s touch technology and apps. 500,000 units were sold during its first-week debut. The iPhone 4 was released with new features such as Skype-like FaceTime video calling. In October, Apple’s stock reached an all-time high of more than $300 per share.

The Lesson: Innovation doesn’t require focus groups. Steve Jobs doesn’t believe in asking customers their opinions. You can develop products people will want before they even know they want it. Sometimes, you can know customers better than they know themselves.

In 2010, for the first time since 1989, Apple’s market cap exceeded Microsoft’s. This feat would have seemed impossible back when Gates poured money into the nearly bankrupted company. By creating great products enhanced by brilliant packaging, and by changing their computer-only mission, Apple became a technology titan. Almost every product released is a guaranteed, instant hit, and every keynote Jobs gives is a media frenzy. From $6 per share to $300, the company has never been stronger and there seems to be no limits to what the company can achieve. So what’s to be learned from their story?

The key takeaways

Think simple—the iPad is so simple a baby can use it.

Be different—like the iMac.

Be a risk taker and make tough decisions—Jobs partnered with Microsoft and nixed the Newton.

Make great products, and package them even better—show customers what they want, like the iPhone did.

Create an experience—Apple did this with their stores. And hype, like Macworld does for the media.

Be confident—don’t hold focus groups and ask people what they think.

Be passionate—Steve Jobs said in his Stanford commencement speech: “Have the courage to follow your heart and your intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”

Apakah anda sadar, logika berasal dari proses membayangkan dan menentukan target-target (yang sengaja) lebih tinggi dari kemampuanmu? Tetapkan sasaranmu, kemudian pikirkan secara praktis mengenai bagaimana kau bisa mencapainya, karena segalanya mungkin tercapai.

Mengutip Rabi Chaim Kanievsky, rahasianya tersembunyi dalam keterbukaan pikiran pada tingkat kemampuan beradaptasi terhadap kondisi-kondisi yang berubah dengan cepat. Itulah kenyataannya, jika kau dapat membayangkan kenyataan yang berbeda, menanggalkan semua logika dan kesempatan, maka kau mungkin dapat mewujudkannya.

Inspirasi menanamkan kepercayaan diri. Membangunkan keyakinan dan kekuatan di dalam diri tanpa kita sadari. Membantumu menjadi yang terbaik. Albert Einstein pun mengakui bahwa hanya dengan bantuan imajinasi ia mencapai teori relativitasnya.

“Akan seperti apa jadinya, jika aku berlari berdampingan dengan cahaya pada kecepatan yang sama?”

Mengagumkan. Seperti sesuatu yang memberimu cukup beban yang akan membuatmu merasa berkewajiban untuk menjadi lebih baik. Seperti cahaya Tuhan yang menembus hingga bagian terdalam segala sesuatu. Seperti doa yang secara logika memohon kepada kekuatan inti dalam dirimu. Doa adalah deklarasi niat.

Kebanyakan orang lupa terhadap lamunan kecil di dalam kepalanya. Tetapi sebagian orang berbeda, mereka merenungkan pertanyaan itu selama lima sampai sepuluh tahun, atau mungkin lebih lama, sampai akhirnya menemukan jawabannya. Mimpi adalah kenyataan, anda setiap hari berjalan di dalamnya, hanya pada malam hari anda mendapat kesempatan melihatnya.

Gagasan-gagasan utopis, lalu menyerahkan diri anda secara tulus untuk meyakinkan logika anda mencapainya. Poin persisnya, berdirinya negara Israel di “Tanah Perjanjian” yang tandus, tanpa air atau sumber daya alam, di tengah-tengah Timur Tengah yang liar. Sungguh selera humor yang gila.

Anda sebaiknya menguasai emosi anda, menjauhkan diri dari kemarahan secara lebih tepatnya. Sebab kemarahan hanya akan membawa anda pada tingkat retardasi yang mempengaruhi perilakumu, yang ditunjukkan oleh gerakan-gerakan fisikmu, yang akan mempengaruhi cara berpikirmu. Jauhkanlah dirimu dari segala bentuk distorsi yang mungkin dapat mengganggumu atau menjengkelkanmu.

Orang yang watak alaminya cenderung pemarah, semua jenis neraka akan menguasainya. Saat manusia sedang marah, jiwanya meninggalkan tubuhnya dan digantikan oleh energi negatif dari luar. Terdengar sedikit konyol, tetapi apakah anda sadar bahwa gerakan mengayun menciptakan ritme tertentu yang membantumu berkonsentrasi, lalu meningkatkan aliran oksigen ke otak? Oksigen inilah yang meningkatkan kemampuan seseorang untuk dapat berpikir jernih.

Dibandingkan perang-perang besar lainnya, Perang Dunia I memiliki beberapa keunikan, misalnya perang ini kerap dikatakan sebagai perang modern pertama. Perang ini juga acap dinyatakan sebagai perang yang mengubah pola pikir dan kehidupan manusia. Dikatakan sebagai perang modern pertama, karena mulai dari perang ini dunia menyaksikan pengerahan peralatan, persenjataan, serta wahana angkut (udara, laut, darat) buatan abad ke-20. Dalam perang ini mulai digunakan mesin-mesin pembunuh baru seperti U-boat, Zeppelin, senapan mesin (Lewis, Hotchkiss, Maxim), pesawat bomber dan fighter (Fokker, Caudron, Caproni, Vickers), juga senjata pembunuh massal paling mematikan, gas beracun (sulfur mustard, chlorine) yang bekerja menghancurkan struktur DNA dan sel tubuh. Tak ayal, kemudian disadari begitu pentingnya arti kecepatan, kemudahan, daya jangkau dalam pengerahan pasukan, dan secara tak langsung juga ikut mendorong revolusi industri.

Battle of Verdun karya Paul Thiriot di Vaux, Vienne

Tak seperti perang-perang modern pada masa berikutnya, para pengamat kemiliteran tak menaruh minat tinggi untuk mengulas model dan tingkat kecanggihan persenjataan yang digunakan dalam perang ini. Kebanyakan lebih tertarik menyimak perang ini sebagai sebuah konflik global yang timbul akibat semakin menguatnya keinginan negara-negara untuk beraliansi.

Perang Dunia I sendiri timbul akibat adanya pertentangan antara Triple Alliance (Jerman, Austria-Hungary) dan Triple Entente (Prancis, Rusia, Inggris Raya). Seperti apa aliansi ini membesar, menciut, lalu membesar lagi karena kemenangan dan kekalahan dari kedua belah pihak.

Hingga kini masih terus dibicarakan, mengapa sebuah peristiwa pembunuhan di Bosnia bisa sampai memicu peperangan yang melibatkan banyak negara ini? Seperti yang kita ketahui, pada 28 Juni 1914, terjadi pembunuhan putra mahkota Kekaisaran Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand dan istrinya Sophie, oleh seorang militan ultra-nasionalis Serbia, Gravilo Princip. Princip diketahui sebagai anggota organisasi “tangan hitam” atau “persatuan kematian” (ujedinjenje ili smrt), kelompok rahasia orang Serbia di Bosnia yang memperjuangkan cita-cita orang Slavia untuk merdeka. Dia dihukum penjara 20 tahun, hukuman maksimal bagi pelaku kejahatan yang usianya di bawah umur. Tatkala tragedi Sarajevo terjadi, usia Princip belum genap 20 tahun.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand dan Duchess Sophie

Pembunuhan tersebut rupanya memberi pengaruh luar biasa terhadap kesetimbangan kekuatan (balance of power) di Eropa yang selama lebih dari tiga dasawarsa “stabil” di tangan monarki Austria-Hungary dan Jerman. Masalah terjadi ketika Serbia yang saat itu “diultimatum” Austria, meminta pertolongan Rusia. Pada masa yang sama, Jerman menyatakan perang kepada Rusia dan Prancis, sembari menginvasi Belgia dan Luxemburg. Menghadapi Jerman, Rusia lalu menggandeng Prancis. Berbagai proses kedengkian, persaingan, benturan yang bertali-temali dan mengerucut menjadi penyebab perang.

Di lain pihak, Inggris merasa tertantang turun ke medan pertempuran setelah Jerman masuk ke Belgia, yang melanggar netralitas negara ini. Konflik tak ayal membesar setelah negara sahabat kedua pihak ikut mendukung dan mengirim pasukan. Turki misalnya, bergabung dengan kekuatan sentral (Jerman, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria). Sementara Amerika belakangan ikut membantu kekuatan sekutu (Inggris, Prancis, Belgia, Rusia, Italia). Tak kurang dari 65 juta tentara terjun dalam peperangan ini, belum termasuk 3 juta tentara yang dikirim dari Kanada, Australia, Selandia Baru, Afrika Selatan, dan India untuk membantu Inggris.

The Great War, perang dari segala perang yang begitu besar dan seakan mengkerdilkan semua perang yang pernah terjadi di dunia. Besarnya korban dan hebatnya kehancuran, merupakan akibat dipertemukannya taktik abad ke-19 dengan peralatan perang buatan abad ke-20. Diterapkannya perang parit juga dianggap sebagai taktik konvensional yang menuntut pengerahan tentara, amunisi, juga persediaan secara massal. Perang Dunia I membawa peradaban manusia ke era baru, era di mana kita menjadi kerap bercanda dengan maut dan kehancuran, tanpa batas yang jelas. Namun demikian, perang telah memberikan pemahaman kepada kita semua tentang arti, kemaslahatan, juga alasan untuk hidup. Itu hanya karena kita disadarkan, betapa dangkalnya arti peperangan itu sendiri. Perang membuat dunia kian dimengerti, meski harus ditempuh dengan cara yang amat tragis. Data menyebutkan hampir 17 juta tentara yang tewas, sedangkan jumlah korban sipil diperkirakan tak kurang dari 12 juta jiwa.

SIAPA MENDANAI PERANG?

Tak lengkap rasanya membahas peperangan yang amat besar ini tanpa mengetahui kisah yang bertebaran dari balik layar. Mereka bukanlah panglima perang atau jenderal lapangan yang tahu bagaimana cara berperang dan memenangkan perang. Bukan pula pimpinan pemerintahan atau politikus yang lihai menggertak di panggung diplomasi. Mereka adalah konglomerat dan bankir kelas dunia yang fasih melempar dadu dan mendulang untung dari peperangan. Tentang sepak terjang sekelompok orang kuat yang diam-diam mengendalikan perang ini. Setidaknya ada empat nama yang punya andil dalam mengobarkan api Perang Dunia I, mereka adalah Paul Warburg, John D. Rockefeller, Rothschild, dan John Pierpoint Morgan, Jr.

Uang yang mereka sodorkan untuk menalangi biaya peperangan hampir tak bisa ditampik berbagai pemimpin negara, karena untuk perang memang diperlukan ongkos yang sangat besar. Dalam Perang Dunia I, dana yang mengalir ditaksir mencapai miliaran dolar. Dana tersebut dipakai untuk membeli dan memperbaiki peralatan tempur, merehabilitasi gedung-gedung dan fasilitas pemerintahan yang hancur, dsb. Dana talangan ini (berikut bunganya), tentu saja baru akan dikembalikan setelah perang usai. Para bankir ini sama sekali tak khawatir kehilangan uangnya, karena dengan kekuatan uang pula mereka bisa menentukan kemenangan dan kapan perang harus berakhir. Di mata mereka, perang tak ubahnya mesin pemutar uang. Sebab itu, banyak penganut teori konspirasi mencurigai bahwa mereka sesungguhnya para pencipta dan pengendali perang. Namun demikian, tak seorang pun bisa membuktikan tuduhan itu benar atau tidak.

Istilah “ekonomi baru” dicetuskan pertama kalinya oleh BusinessWeek pada tahun 1994, sebuah revolusi teknologi yang melibatkan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi yang memengaruhi hampir semua aspek dari ekonomi, bisnis dan kehidupan pribadi kita. Masalah yang ditimbulkan usaha bisnis bukanlah sesuatu yang baru, dan bahkan tidak asing jika dilihat dari sudut pandang etis. Namun, hal ini harus mendapatkan perhatian khusus, terutama saat ini, di tahun-tahun awal abad 21, saat kita sedang merasakan dampak sepenuhnya dari perubahan yang dibawa oleh revolusi teknologi ini.

Gambar 1.1. World Economic Forum (WEO) di Davos, Swiss

Ekonomi baru bukanlah sesuatu yang sama sekali baru. Tidak diperlukan teori ekonomi baru untuk memahaminya, ataupun aturan-aturan baru untuk menjalankan perusahaan, maupun prinsip-prinsip baru untuk mengaturnya. Tetapi kita harus memahami keadaan-keadaan khusus yang menimbulkan masalah etis di dalam ekonomi baru. Dan hal ini harus dilakukan dalam setiap keputusan, dalam dimensi yang berbeda-beda: teknik-ekonomi, sosial-politik dan moral.

Dalam ekonomi baru, tak semuanya merupakan hal yang baru ataupun hal yang sedang mengalami perubahan yang pesat. Ekonomi lama masih hidup dan menggeliat, dan bagi jutaan orang, mencari nafkah akan selalu dihubungkan dengan metode kerja, alat-alat, dan mesin-mesin di mana teknologi baru mungkin hadir namun belum sepenuhnya tertransformasikan. Hal ini juga dapat berarti bahwa, dalam jangka panjang, kehidupan kita akan berubah sepenuhnya. Namun, dengan mengesampingkan lonjakan inovasi pada tahun 90-an, perubahan ini kemungkinan akan terjadi bertahap, dan dapat diramalkan, juga ada kemungkinan mundur kembali pada tingkatan tertentu, sebagaimana yang dapat kita amati sekarang.

Gambar 1.2. Pedagang di pasar tradisional menjajakan dagangannya

Dalam tulisan ini, saya menjabarkan masalah-masalah teknologi, ekonomi, sosial, manajerial, dan moral dalam skala luas, yang dihubungkan dengan kehadiran dan implementasi ICT (Information and Communication Technologies). Kemungkinan besarnya, banyak dari masalah-masalah ini yang bersifat temporer akan kehilangan keunikannya, atau bahkan mungkin menghilang, ketika ICT telah diadaptasi sepenuhnya.

Tetapi hal ini tidak membuat analisis yang kami lakukan sekarang menjadi kurang penting, karena:

1. Yang dipertaruhkan di sini adalah “kebahagiaan” dari jutaan orang, yang saat ini sedang mengalami masalah-masalah etis sehubungan dengan hal ini dan masih akan mengalaminya lebih lama lagi.

2. Kita kurang memiliki pengalaman dan perspektif untuk dapat memahami, mendiagnosis, dan memecahkan masalah-masalah tersebut—juga dari sudut pandang sosiologi, politik, ekonomi, juga teknologi.

3. Akan banyak budaya dalam masyarakat dan perusahaan yang telah, dan akan hilang, dengan alasan (yang mungkin salah) bahwa budaya tertentu itu tidak lagi berlaku dalam ekonomi baru. Akibatnya, banyak orang mencoba menangani masalah dengan serius tanpa standar moral dan budaya yang memadai.

4. Pembelajaran moral terjadi selama proses keputusan dan tindakan itu sendiri, dengan akumulasi kesalahan, proses pembelajaran ini memerlukan lebih banyak usaha dan waktu yang lebih lama.

Gambar 1.3. Deforestasi hutan di Indonesia

ICT memiliki sejumlah fitur/ciri yang telah menarik perhatian para ahli dan ekonom. Berikut adalah beberapa dari masalah penerapan ICT dalam ekonomi baru:

1. Barang/jasa ICT adalah experience goods, mereka harus dikenal dahulu untuk bisa dihargai, namun nilainya akan turun tajam ketika telah diketahui. Contohnya, sebuah program software mungkin sangat bermanfaat bagi calon pembeli, tetapi dengan mengetahui manfaat software tersebut berarti memilikinya, dan oleh karena itu dapat mengcopynya, yang akan menghancurkan nilai ekonomi program tersebut. Masalah dapat diringankan dengan mensegmentasikan pasar (sehingga hanya mereka yang menghargai produk tersebut yang akan membayarnya), seperti dengan menawarkan produk gratis namun tidak lengkap; menawarkan versi dasar secara gratis dan menarik bayaran untuk produk yang lengkap (premium), dsb. Namun, hal ini juga menimbulkan masalah moral: kepercayaan pada kualitas produk, tipu muslihat atau kurangnya transparansi informasi (terkadang, dilakukan sebagai senjata untuk pertahanan, tetapi juga sebagai perilaku oportunis), dst. Selain itu, hubungan jenis ini dapat membawa kita pada “budaya hadiah” di mana individu tertentu “memberikan” sesuatu kepada pihak lain (sebuah software, database, dan lain-lain), dengan harapan kelak pihak lain tersebut akan menjadi pelanggan, membayar sejumlah uang untuk barang atau jasa, atau pada waktunya memberikan informasi tersebut kepada pihak lain (tentang kebiasaan belanjanya, seleranya, dan lain-lain). Masalah ini akan menimbulkan konflik inheren (atau sebagian menganggapnya keseimbangan yang rapuh).

2. Produk ICT biasanya memerlukan biaya tertanam untuk masuk yang tinggi (high sunk fixed entry cost), biaya produksi marjinal yang sangat rendah (bahkan nol), dan tanpa kendala kapasitas. Sebagai contoh, memulai sebuah portal sangatlah mahal dan investasi tersebut sesungguhnya hampir tidak dapat dikembalikan jika proyek tersebut gagal, walaupun biaya untuk mendapatkan pengunjung baru ke portal tersebut adalah nol. Dari sudut pandang ekonomi, hal ini mengimplikasikan bahwa strategi terbaik adalah dengan menjadi besar secepat mungkin. Tetapi apakah hal ini sesuai dengan persaingan? Masalah etika terletak pada fakta bahwa persaingan mungkin tidak lagi berlaku di dalam ekonomi baru: sebagai contoh, isu yang penting bukanlah pangsa pasar yang dikendalikan oleh suatu perusahaan, tetapi kemudahan bagi pesaing baru untuk memasuki pasar, kecepatan dari perkembangan teknologi, keberadaan kekuatan penyeimbang (countervailing forces) di pasar, dan sebagainya. Tak satupun dari hal ini mencegah keberadaan praktik-praktik yang dianggap tidak adil atau tidak sesuai dengan persaingan.

3. ICT memiliki “efek jaringan” yang signifikan: nilai sebuah jaringan terutama tergantung pada jumlah pelanggan (jasa telepon atau internet hanya menawarkan sedikit daya tarik bila hanya mampu menghubungkan segelintir pelanggan, namun nilainya akan meningkat secara eksponensial dengan sejumlah pelanggan yang terhubung).

Gambar 1.4. Kabel internet bawah laut

Dihadapkan dengan akibat-akibat ini, perusahaan berlomba-lomba untuk menjadi yang pertama memulai jaringan, meningkatkan ukuran jaringan dengan biaya berapapun (untuk menarik lebih banyak pengguna), mencari sekutu dan rekan (untuk memperluas jaringan dan membuatnya lebih kuat), dan mempersulit para anggotanya untuk keluar dari jaringan.

Gambar 1.5. BRIsat oleh BRI senilai $250,000,000

Jika ekonomi baru berputar sekitar teknologi informasi, seorang ekonom dari Barcelona bernama Professor Antonio Argandoña beranggapan bahwa persyaratan moral dari informasi ini memegang posisi penting, berikut beberapa di antaranya:

1. Kejujuran dan akurasi: orang yang memberikan informasi harus yakin bahwa informasi tersebut jujur dan akurat, atau paling tidak, masuk akal.

2. Menghargai privasi: orang yang menerima dan mengumpulkan informasi harus mempertimbangkan batas-batas etis dari privasi individu.

3. Hal yang sama dapat dikatakan terhadap rahasia perusahaan, spionase industri, dst.

4. Masalah keamanan jaringan: sabotase, penghapusan informasi, penyamaran, dan yang semacamnya.

5. Sikap yang tidak bertanggung jawab, di bawah perlindungan anonimitas.

6. Bagaimana si penerima menggunakan informasi.

Jelas-jelas bahwa hal-hal tersebut bukanlah masalah-masalah etis yang baru: penyebarluasan berita tidak benar, pencurian informasi, spionase industri, dan penyalahgunaan oleh staf pengawasan, adalah masalah yang sudah lazim terjadi. Namun, sebagaimana yang telah kami paparkan, teknologi baru membuatnya lebih mudah, lebih menyebar, atau lebih serius.

Gambar 1.6. Subprime mortgage crisis pada tahun 2008 yang menyebabkan resesi ekonomi dunia

Ada beberapa fenomena yang tidak dapat digeneralisasi dengan baik oleh ICT seperti berikut ini:

1. Periode pertumbuhan produktivitas yang tinggi yang bersifat temporer namun berlangsung lama. Contohnya di Amerika, terutama di pertengahan kedua dekade 1990-an, periode ini diinterupsi oleh resesi tahun 2001, lalu tumbuh kembali dalam waktu dekat.

2. Mungkin suatu periode kemakmuran temporer namun berlangsung lama yang dimungkinkan oleh “siklus kebaikan” yang diciptakan oleh tingkat pertumbuhan produktivitas yang tinggi, inflasi rendah, disekuilibrium makro yang dapat dibatasi dan angkatan kerja yang terserap penuh, yang berlangsung paling tidak sampai resesi dunia tahun 2008 dan melampaui perubahan teknologi yang menjadi perhatian kita di sini.

3. Lonjakan harga saham di pasar modal, sampai tingkat yang menunjukkan bahwa aturan tradisional yang dulu digunakan untuk menilai saham terlihat tidak valid—berdasarkan kenyataan bahwa perusahaan-perusahaan yang diramalkan tidak akan memperoleh keuntungan untuk waktu lama, ternyata mencapai nilai yang sangat tinggi. Dengan melihat sekilas ke belakang, kita dapat mengatakan bahwa hal ini bukanlah fitur inheren dari ekonomi baru, dan kelihatan seperti gelembung spekulatif dibandingkan perubahan pasar modal yang bertahan lama.

Gambar 1.7. Ilustrasi cetak biru ekonomi terintegrasi

Apakah ekonomi baru itu ada? Pertanyaan ini terus menjadi subjek pembahasan di antara para ekonom, salah satu alasannya karena, seperti yang telah saya jabarkan, tidak ada kesepakatan mengenai apakah ekonomi baru itu, apa akibatnya, dan apakah akibatnya akan permanen atau temporer, dsb. Karena waktu terlalu pendek untuk memastikan apakah perubahan yang diamati adalah nyata, atau apakah itu hanyalah khayalan statistik, dan apakah mereka akan segera berlalu atau kelihatannya menjadi permanen. Tesis pembuka (tentatif) dapat ditampilkan sebagai berikut:

1. Tingkat kemajuan teknologi yang dialami oleh ICT yang cukup besar sejak tahun 50-an. Pada awalnya, perubahannya tidaklah revolusioner karena produk “baru” (terutama komputer dan telepon seluler) hanyalah varian produk “lama” (kalkulator, typewriter, telepon). Namun, pada akhirnya proses teknologi secara signifikan telah meningkatkan faktor produktivitas total dalam industri yang memproduksi ICT (komputer, software, telekomunikasi, dan sejenisnya). Sebagai hasilnya, kualitas, kecepatan, kapasitas, dan karakteristik serupa dari hardware, software dan media komunikasi meningkat, dan biaya produksi menurun. Hal ini meningkatkan permintaan terhadap produk mereka dan meningkatkan output, sedemikian rupa sehingga bobot industri ini di dalam ekonomi secara keseluruhan menjadi semakin besar.

2. ICT adalah teknologi bertujuan umum, yang digunakan sebagai faktor produksi dari berbagai macam barang dan jasa, dan dikombinasikan dengan teknologi yang saat ini ada dalam industri lainnya, sehingga memunculkan bentuk organisasi, proses dan produk baru. Menurunnya biaya produksi ICT menghasilkan tingginya permintaan akan produk tersebut dari industri lain, yang mengganti tenaga kerja dan modal konvensional dengan komputer, robot, sistem komunikasi yang baru dan semacamnya, atau menciptakan barang dan jasa baru menggunakan teknologi ini. Hal ini menghasilkan peningkatan yang pesat dalam produktivitas dari faktor-faktor lain, terutama tenaga kerja, sebagai hasil dari semakin intensifnya penggunaan modal terkait dengan teknologi baru (perluasan modal).

3. Pada waktunya, spesifikasi teknologi baru ini mengubah permintaan bagi faktor produksi lainnya: keahlian baru dari tenaga kerja, sistem manajemen baru, kebutuhan bagi infrastruktur pendukung, dan sebagainya. Hal ini juga meningkatkan produktivitas dari modal informasi dan teknologi.

4. Karena kemajuan teknologi menyebar dari satu industri kepada industri lainnya, akibat sampingannya adalah meningkatnya faktor produksi total dalam industri yang tidak terkait secara langsung pada penggunaan barang modal dari teknologi baru, dan pada akhirnya, di dalam ekonomi secara keseluruhan.

5. Semua akibat-akibat ini telah terjadi, atau sedang terjadi, pertama-tama di dalam perekonomian AS dan kemudian di negara-negara lainnya, yang dalam hal ini bertindak sebagai pengikut.

The life story and ideas of Sutan Sjahrir, the first prime minister of the Republic of Indonesia (1945 to 1947), general chairman of Indonesian Socialist Party (1948 to 1960), ‘national hero’ (1966), forerunner of independence, statesman and advocate for democracy and humanity, have been exposed in various writings.

In two of his letters from the Cipinang jail and from Boven Digul, where he was sent to exile, Sjahrir quoted some lines from the German poet Friedrich Schiller (1723). The original quote reads ‘und setz ihr nicht das Leben ein, nie wird euch das Leben gewonnen sein’ (life that is not put at a stake will never be won).

Reading Sutan Sjahrir ideas, I get the strong impression that politics was not his main interest, but rather something he could not get rid of in his life. Similarly, politics did not primarily mean a struggle to gain and to exercise power, a sort of machtsvorming (power formation) and machtsaanwending (use of power), according to Soekarno’s formulation (1964).

Saying that Sjahrir looked at politics as having the courage to put one’s life at stake in order to win it, may lead to the impression that he was a romantic politician, who did not grasp the mechanics of power in practical politics.

In such deeply felt love for his nation, it appears that there is a big cultural and intellectual gap between Sjahrir and his people. Once in a while he complained that his way of thinking, his reason for gladness and for sadness, differed so much from that of the people around him.

Very likely Sjahrir himself was aware from the start that his politics with such heavy moral load would not prevail in a short time, merely because they would be fairly unbearable and not always understood. However, politics in Sjahrir’s sense is not just a project, not just a programme, but life itself. His political party has lost, defeated by political power. Nevertheless, his legacy for us now is a political ethos providing us with the conviction that human dignity and the classical spirit may not always win, but no doubt, will never be defeated completely forever. In this sense Sjahrir has fullfilled his promise; he has put his life at stake and has won it.

1. Strategic MGMT, what is it actually?

Strategic management is the process where managers establish an organization’s or corporate’s long-term direction, set the specific performance objectives, develop strategies to achieve these objectives and undertake to execute the chosen action plans.

2. Define the strategy.

Strategy is a blueprint of all important entrepreneurial, competitive, and functional area actions that are to be taken in pursuing organizational objectives and positioning the organization for sustained success and reveals how the targeted results will be accomplished—a detailed action plan is necessary to achieve both short-run and long-run results.

3. Enumerate some characteristics of strategic management.

It is a combination of strategy formulation and strategy implementation; it is the highest level of managerial activity; it is performed by an organization’s CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and executive team; it provides overall direction to the enterprise.

4. What specific entrepreneurial aspects include the strategy formation process?

Searching actively for innovative ways the organization can improve on what it is already doing; ferreting out new opportunities for the organization to pursue; developing ways to increase the firm’s competitive strength and put it in a stronger position to cope with competitive forces; devising ways to build and maintain a competitive advantage; deciding how to meet threatening external developments; encouraging individuals throughout the organization to put forth innovative proposals and championing those that have promise; directing resources away from areas of low or diminishing results toward areas of high or increasing results; deciding when and how to diversify; choosing which businesses (or products) to abandon, which of the continuing ones to emphasizes, and which new ones to enter or add.

5. What involves the strategic management function?

The strategic management function directly involves all managers with line authority at the corporate, line-of-business, functional area, and major operating department levels.

6. Which are the steps of strategic management?

Specifying an organization’s objectives; developing policies and plans to achieve these objectives; allocating resources to implement the policies.

7. How is strategy formulation process?

First, determine where you are now. Second, determine where you want to go. Last but not least, determine how you get there.

8. Strategy implementation?

Allocating resources such as time, financial, human resources, technologies. Making an organization structure, hierarchy or chain of command. Whatever, you name it.

9. Enumerate the most important strategic objectives.

The market position and competitive standing the organization aims to achieve; the annual profitability targets; key financial and operating results to be achieved through the chosen activities; any other milestones by which strategic success will be measured.

10. How does an entrepreneur, aspiring manager, CEO, politician, or even a mogul become a master of strategy?

We argue that everyone can learn from three of the greatest strategist of modern time: Bill Gates, Andy Grove, Steve Jobs who built some of the most valuable companies in the world. As individual personalities, they could not have been more different. Yet despite their differences, they shared a common strategic framework, which we distill into five rules and 20 principles that any ambitious leader can learn:

a. Look Forward, Reason Back

b. Make Big Bets, Without Betting the Company

c. Build Platforms AND Ecosystems—Not Just Products

d. Exploit Leverage AND Power—Play Judo AND Sumo

e. Shape the Organization around Your Personal Anchor