Each month, Tony Uphoff, visionary CEO of Thomasnet.com, joins Cloud Wars Live for a recurring segment. “Uphoff on Industry” will explore the innovations, upheavals, and breakthroughs reshaping the the world of manufacturing and industrial markets. Join Tony and me as we discuss disruptive new trends in the digital-industrial world: not just how products are designed, sourced and manufactured, but also the new ways in which industrial companies are getting up to speed on marketing, sales and customer experience.
Episode 4
In this episode: Tony and I discuss the future, and the near-past. We heartily agree on just how fortunate we have been to have had a ringside seat for the utter transformation of technology in recent years. (We also agree that if you aren’t fluent in technology change yet, you’re going to be left behind.) Next, Tony and I discuss how his company, ThomasNet.com, covers 72,000 categories—and the fact that every second, someone’s buying a product or service.
Tony goes on to explore the business implications of massive population shifts. Namely, that the Baby Boom generation and the Millennial generation are now roughly 50/50 in the workforce. Also that there will be 10 billion people on the planet by the year 2050 (which isn’t very long from now). Finally, Tony does a bit of a rant on the restaurant industry – which you definitely don’t want to miss.
You can also stream the audio-only version of this episode:
Key Takeaways
I'm not a fan of 'millennials are unicorns and therefore you have to treat them different.' But I do think that understanding a multi-generational workforce is an opportunity. Click To Tweet The days of 'I can't get into retail' or 'I can't get into that supply chain,' some of that still exists… But those barriers are starting to break down a little bit. Click To Tweet We need to start thinking about the workforce in a bit of a different way, because it is changing. Click To Tweet
Cloud Wars Live Digital All-Stars
Tony Uphoff is one of our regular Digital All-Stars. The All-Stars are experts who will appear in regular video podcasts focused on the critical themes shaping (and re-shaping!) the business world in the digital age of 2019. Our intention is to provide regular chunks of timely ideas, insights and conversations on high-priority subjects from industry veterans with diverse backgrounds.
