Conclusion-Lessons Learned

The Laws of Disruption, written by Larry Downes, a partner with the Bell-Mason Group, is an 12-chapter book published by Basic Books/Perseus Books Group. Composed of four sections, the book explores a simple but unavoidable principle of modern life: though technology changes exponentially, social, economic, and legal systems change incrementally. This disparity in change, Downes argues, will inevitably instigate conflicts between systems rooted in the past and the current and future generations who are dramatically rewriting the rules of both business and social interaction. Downes suggests nine emerging principles that are shaping a new legal code - the laws of disruption - that will close the gap between institutions of the past and those of the future. In the twelfth and final chapter, the author states, "Our new laws won't look much like the old ones. Treaties, statutes, regulations, and judicial opinions are giving way to more organic forms. The Declaration of Independence of digital life has already been written. Its Constitution, made up of wikis, terms of service agreements, privacy policies, and software code itself, is now being drafted." In his view, lawmakers have disappointed us, while regulatory agencies have behaved even worse. He offers a possible source of hope, the old-fashioned virtue of understanding your customers: "As businesses shift the focus of their attention from wooing regulators to engaging customers, innovators will find they have a lot to learn about working with the latter as equal partners."

• Innovation
• Strategy
• Business law
• Intellectual property
• Organizational change