The Change Agents: Decoding the New Work Force and Workplace

This book offers a detailed, and sometimes humorous profile of the driving force behind the New Economy. In some respects, this book is inspiring in its take-no-prisoners approach to ambition and success.However, in as much as it glorifies the dress-down, work-till-you-drop, super ambitious types who drive the New Economy, the author never asks the critical questions of cost. Nickles describes people postponing weddings, having no time for friends or romance. These are people who practically live in their offices because a home is not condusive to the frenetic pace of e-commerce. I admire the ambition and innovation of the Change Agents, but I'm not sure I want to see these people thirty years from now. Apparently Ms. Nickles (who I assume didn't go through such a lifestyle) finds none of this disturbing.

A fascinating read about today's internet driven world and the young turks behind the wheel. I thought the book might be a bit too statistical, but it was not at all. Nickles explains the behavior and psychology of the new technology-fluent generation and their far-reaching influences, from traditional corporate environments to culture changing dot coms like wedding planners and on-line magazines. A lot of intellegence gathering research went into the book, but it is presented in an enjoyable, anecdotal fashion.