Around about the time of the opening of this year’s Conservative Party conference, I concluded that there’s now potential ‘clear water’ between Labour and the Conservatives. This is, at this time, just a hunch. If one reflects on the last generation of politics, various phases can be compared to the way in which projects are managed and developed:

• 1979-1992 (ish): Classic management, driven by top-down development and hundreds of Gantt charts.
• 1992-2006: ‘Hack it together’. I’m not sure if there is a proper term, but given the number of things that have been tried, failed, undone, redone, it’s a useful analogy.
• 2006-: Agile politics.

It’s no coincidence that Zurich’s latest ads talk about business models changing every four hours. Today’s lifestyles, people’s needs, and the pace of technology means that everything is evolving much quicker than it did just a decade ago. What we need to be, globally and individually, is more agile.

Want another example? Consider the Airbus A380, which can seat up to 853 passengers, and is now due to be delivered from October 2007. Sure, it can fit into standard airport gates, but it’s possible that airports will be required to make other infrastructure changes (taxiways, aprons, terminals etc.) Then look at the Boeing 787, designed to carry between 210 and 330 passengers, and due to enter service from 2008. I’m betting on the 787 to win.