Addicted to Adrenalin
Throughout society, people are increasingly living on the edge. In business, the same holds true:

• Constant innovation has become the most important part of the value creation index, spurred on by technology which creates fierce competitive challenges.

• Entrepreneurial fever is fast taking hold around the world. For example, in France 12% of French students want to start their own firm as soon as they graduate, and another 40% want to be entrepreneurs at some point, depriving the safe, secure life of government service of its traditional recruits.

• The quick rush of wealth is crowding out ethical behavior. The level of fraud by employees is rising, partly attributed to the stock market boom that created so many overnight millionaires and caused impatience with occasional rises. In Silicon Valley, every IPO was expected to produce a billionaire, and there was desperation when that didn't happen.

The stock market is no doubt a major force behind today's "adrenalin addicts." Despite the market corrections in high-tech, the effect of 300 U.S. billionaires and 5 million millionaires is that patience is no longer seen as a virtue. Fast money is a popular sport. Household stock ownership is up dramatically in the past decade, and venture capital is becoming democratized, placing many more average people in the daily psychic rush of high risk.

We seem to be seeking thrills everywhere, with no time off. In Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, you can shoot craps or dine in an exotic restaurant while waiting for a plane. There are 2,300 hate sites on the Internet. Thereƒs a new culture of guns in Britain, driven by drug money and gang warfare. Every day, in every way, we seek or are exposed to excitement of unprecedented magnitude, and the more exposed we are, the more and faster we need to seek it. There is no question that, as with all addictions, we are not only becoming dependent upon our need for thrills, but we must seek out higher levels in order to get the same stimulation.

Implications:
We are doing things faster and faster, perhaps a major cause of societal boredom and alienation. Depression (in 1950 said to have been suffered by 50 people per million) is now thought to afflict 100,000 per million, or 1 in 10, with panic disorder and obsessive compulsive behavior also becoming widely diagnosed. Our psyches are running rampant, and for the pharmaceutical companies, this is becoming big business. The healthcare system in general will see major changes and opportunities grow out of our frenzied wiring. HeartMath is an institute that provides studies of, and remedies for, stressed-out adults

Managing and raising young people weaned on this addiction is becoming a source of serious concern. College students easily reject a task at hand; they have high expectations of technology and are disappointed if it doesn't immediately perform up to their expectations. Youngsters are exposed to the impatience of their adult role models - witness the occurrences of sports rage by parents at children's athletic events. Their willingness to experience thrills is marked by their immaturity in doing so. Much costly computer mischief, like hacking and viruses, is caused by youngsters around the world seeking thrills. The classic childrenƒs stories have become slow and boring. In the Harry Potter books, magic occurs in every paragraph, and there is a constant unfolding of surprise and creativity. And interactive technology allows youngsters to become constantly involved in the action and the shaping of outcomes.

Tradition is falling victim to the need for excitement. Even though about 2/3 of all couples live together before marrying, weddings and honeymoons are planned to be unique and eventful, with lifestyle gifts replacing household items. Owning is becoming outdated. Experience and access is accounting for more. The rise of the Bohemian bourgeois points out the contradiction that the more we have, the more bored we are. Consumers want "experience,"even when they shop, and brands are having to reposition themselves away from the underlying products and toward a lifestyle, reflecting more aspirational dreams and expectations. Impulse buying is becoming more common on the Internet. The desire to shake things up is leading to everything from what Naomi Klein calls 'culture jamming' to what Scott Woolley terms 'thought contagion," the rapid spreading of ideas affecting the marketplace, causing irrational bidding to take place simply because others are buying. This all reflects the power of "recency," in which people forget the past and concentrate only on current events.

The average U.S. household generates and/or receives an average of 115 messages each week, via phone, mail, e-mail, fax, cell phone, beeper, pagers and over 40% of this is work-related. We are tethered to what's happening, time is speeding up, the world is constantly intruding, patience wears thinner, and our need for stimulation spirals upward.