Need, Speed, and Greed

Introduction

Welcome to the Ideas Economy

“I have worked in over sixty jobs in my life,” says Trevor Rose, an Australian tinkerer, describing a lifetime of frustration in the workplace. “I couldn’t think of a line that says ‘I am this,’ because I have done a million and one tiny little things, none of which was really a career in the way most people experience—meaning the money was absolute rubbish.”

Yet Trevor is a born innovator. He has always had bright ideas, and he loves solving problems. He even put himself through most of a university course in engineering and computer science a few years ago, until the money ran dry and he had to drop out. But employers often do not take him seriously, so he has not had the chance to shine. After all, ...