..and I'll take that one step further to be reminded of Og Mandino's admonition that we should

Beginning today, treat everyone you meet
as if they were going to be dead by midnight.
Extend to them all the care,
kindness and understanding you can muster,
and do with no thought of any reward.
Your life will never be the same again.
- Og Mandino

As we automate, think through processes and go through the transformation, we have to not forget to be human.   That, to me, is our ultimate challenge as technologists.

The key is to have a management team that has the foresight to anticipate and not be taken in by the "fad of the day".        Lou Gestner anticipated it and worked to transform IBM--a transformation that continues even today as epitomized by some of the great thinking done as we speak that Kim Davis headlined within the last couple of days.

@mpouraryan: Agreed. And even if it's not part of your culture you develop it once you're faced with the pressure from outside. A lot of companies have transformed and have become innovative while they were once quite static.

It's worth mentioning that there's really competition EVERYWHERE, even if indirect, because even if no one else does anything similar to what you do, you are still competing with other businesses for a customer's money.  In that way, you have to prove your value -- the necessity of what you have to offer.  Relevance is a highly competitive field, if diverse.

Living over 100 does not necessarily mean being self-sufficient over 100.  People may live longer, more decrepit lives!  That would certainly increase demand for robotic solutions!

@mpouraryan's thoughtful comment and question: "Everything is being transformed by the power of technology.   The question I struggle with is whether this will render us all useless or not." is the root that we should be addressing.

Look at the transformation that railroads brought America, and especially the West. Where are the buffalo? Are we only going to be found on a few, isolated, sanctuaries in 100 years? My best guess is not but I've been known to be wrong more than once.

Are we a society or not? If a society, then what does that mean? My comment on the bumper strip that was popular on pickups and other cars that said, "He who dies with the most toys wins" was simple: You are still dead, and like the Pharaohs of old with all their accoutrements to help them in the afterlife, they were found untouched by archaeologists.

For what it's worth I think a slight variation on Ann Beattie's bumper strip is much better: "Practice senseless acts of kindness, and random acts of beauty."

Innovatiion has to be part of the DNA....innovative or you die.   Bottome line.   

Harnessing technology to improve and enhance the human experience is what we're all about.    But the fear of the unknown, though, is real and people are naturally concerned.    Everything is being transformed by the power of technology.   The question I struggle with is whether this will render us all useless or not.

@Joe – I think you're right and it was certainly my point. It did seem the article ultimately ended up reflecting the idea in your comment. However, its conclusions didn't circle back to connect to the irony behind, "the Internet is about ruining your business" or the examples used to support it. So in the end, it left me wondering.

"Part of it, I think, is a matter of whether you see innovation as a task or as an ongoing process."

@Joe: Companies need an incentive to innovate. As long as they don't fear anything happening to their current earnings, they will not be motivated. Unless there's competition, companies would not be forced to improve themselves by innovation.