Still, the only prediction I am willing to make about tomorrow is that our future will change even faster in the 2000s than it did in the Nineties, especially because of the Net. That's why I like to call this the Management Millennium. If the first flush of liberalisation catalysed the realisation that only a science could create competitive advantage, that will be a thousand times more true in the New Economy, especially if we are to make this the India Century. In the Knowledge Economy, management is power.

While everyone says that everything will change, no one tells you how to manage that change. That's something we at BUSINESS TODAY try to do. Moreover, since leaders talk only to leaders, we decided, a year ago, that the cusp between a new millennium and an anniversary was the perfect moment to create our first compendium of essays. So, we asked the best academics, businessmen, and consultants in the country to write about mastering business in the Information Economy-which, incidentally, is impacting our business more than any other.

When I perused the 21 chapters that make up this tome, I was stunned by only one thing: how radical we all sound about the impact of the Net on business-and, by comparison, how conservative our responses are. The message is clear: radical problems require radical solutions. And that's a radical idea that none of us can afford to ignore in what is destined to be the most revolutionary millennium in India's history!

Best Wishes For A Prosperous Millennium.

(Aroon Purie)