pain | CLEMENT MOK President | American Institute | Crossover

Truth will be the mantra of business for the next few years. As consumers, investors, and members of society, we will demand it. The hard part will be to accept it. Did we really believe that dot-com mania made the laws of economics obsolete? Of course not. But we were willing to suspend our disbelief. The Bible teaches, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." What it doesn't say is that freedom demands responsibility and the willingness to accept the consequences of the truth: to live without hype and its dazzling, if unfounded, promises. This year, that will be our challenge - and our hope for turning the past year's pain into true progress.

CLEMENT MOK President, American Institute of Graphic Arts
I'm not focused on the next big thing but rather on the thing that will help us get there: a way of thinking and seeing that extends far beyond the design world. Call it the art of crossing boundaries. The next 10 years will require people to think and work across boundaries into new zones that are totally
different from their area of expertise. They will not only have to cross those boundaries, but they will also have to identify opportunities and make connections between them. Crossover artists - let's call them that - are experts in a particular subject, but they have the ability to work in multiple modes and disciplines. They see problems through a multilayered lens.

The world is infinitely more complex than it used to be. To appreciate the complexity of a networked economy, people have to push themselves not only to know what they don't know, but also to get to know it. If you're a designer, take an economics course. If you're an engineer, take up painting. If you're