Since being exposed ten years ago to the work of futurist Joel Barker (“Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future”- 1992) his concept of “paradigms” has become the lens through which I view the world.

What is a “paradigm?” Defined in great detail by Thomas S. Kuhn fifty years ago in his classic 1962 book, “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions,” a paradigm is basically the set of assumptions, or the vision of reality, through which each of us perceives the world.  

Building on Kuhn’s work, Barker picked up the ball and ran with it to popularize the concept of paradigms beyond the scientific realm to apply it to the world beyond…and, more specifically, to the world of business.

The biggest misconception about paradigms and "paradigm shifts" (i.e., the change to a new paradigm) is that ANY change is a paradigm shift. But that's a common misunderstanding and misapplication of the term. Switching from Coke to Pepsi is not a paradigm shift. The societal switch from tap water to bottled water is. Why? The first is just a change in brand choice. The second is a fundamental change in thinking, leading to a whole new way of behaving.  

Growing up, when you wanted a drink of water you simply turned on the tap and filled up your glass, or stopped for a sip at a public water fountain. (I don’t recall anyone lugging around their own water bottle back in the day…do you?) Water was ubiquitous, unlimited, and free. And it still is. 

And yet, today, we overwhelmingly choose to go with the non-free option. Consumers and businesses spend billions of dollars a year on bottled water – Poland Springs, Sparkletts, Evian, Fiji, Dasani, Aquafina, etc. – even though that free and unlimited tap water supply is just a few feet away…and even though (as John Stossel confirmed in his classic 20/20 report) there is no real difference between the quality of tap water and bottled water in most modern U.S. cities. 

So over the years we, as a society, have simply chosen to pay for something that is readily available and free. For good or bad, that’s a simple example of a paradigm shift.

We live in a world of constant change and continuously shifting paradigms large and small, even if very few paradigm shifts compare in size, scope, and impact to the scientific revolutions driven by people like Einstein, Darwin, and Copernicus ("Hey, you guys -- check it out...the Earth revolves around the Sun -- not the other way around!").

Among the biggest paradigm shifts of the last 10 years have been the transitions from analog to digital, and from wired to wireless. These revolutionary technological changes have led to major sociological and behavioral modifications that impact our everyday lives – from the way we live and work, to the ways we entertain ourselves and engage with others.

So, what would you say is the biggest paradigm shift currently going on today?

To me, the answer can be summed up in what I call “The 4 ‘Any’s”: Anyone, Anything, Anytime, Anywhere.

As a result of the aforementioned paradigm shifts to digital and wireless, it is now possible for Anyone who has access to this technology (regardless of age, education, or geography), to gain access to virtually Anything (information, advice, entertainment, services, or products originating anywhere in the world), at Any time (24 hours a day, 365 days a year), from Anywhere in the world (wherever they are).

Looking at it in terms of the six classic questions – Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How: A person (who) needs something (what) at any time (when), regardless of location of that person or the thing needed (where), for any reason (why) can use a wireless, mobile, electronic device (e.g., a smartphone or tablet) to immediately fulfill that need (how).

The ability to do any of the following things:  look up information in a matter of seconds; tweet about an experience in real-time while it is happening – from where it is happening; deposit a check into a bank account simply by taking a photo of it; order with one click a product you just heard about; email or tweet a comment to the CEO of a company half-way across the world…and get a response just a few minutes later; watch any movie or tv show on a whim…on a phone – has changed virtually everything, practically overnight.

And that's just a small sampling of the individual benefits. Beyond that is the ability to mobilize the masses: from fun and ridiculous “flash mob” dances in local shopping malls and large-scale pillow fights in Times Square, to the far more serious protests and social movements that can pop up instantaneously across the country and around the world.

That's the power of people plus wireless technology plus social media in action.

Marshall McLuhan’s 1962 conception of the “Global Village” is no longer just a metaphor. It is real and growing truer by the day. 

As paradigm shifts continue to come along faster and faster, it’s Anyone’s guess how much smaller our Global Village will get, and what might be coming next.