Different this time?

Niall Ferguson, professor of history at Harvard University, contended in a recent BBC interview (sorry, there doesn't seem to be a link) that the world needs "historically informed leaders" so that they can be alert to, and better understand, future developments. He continued to remind listeners that some of the worst wars occured during periods of rapid economic and technological progress. His view is at once gloomy and refreshing. Some people would simply call it "getting real."

Firms trying to innovate also need to be historically informed. It's all too tempting to cast the past aside and get sucked into the notion that it "will be different this time." Chances are it won't be. You can listen to an old interview with Niall Ferguson on National Public Radio (NPR). It was recorded in 2003.

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