Silicon Valley veteran sounds a note of optimism
in an age pessimism and anxiety…

THE NEW NORMAL
Great Opportunities in a Time of Great Risk

By Roger McNamee

Nothing in today's world is constant -- from the stock market, to forces that threaten our personal and professional security, to the technology that eliminates the line between our professional and private lives. Silicon Valley visionary Roger McNamee offers an original and provocative take on our era in THE NEW NORMAL: Great Opportunities In a Time of Great Risk (Portfolio; November 22).

McNamee believes something very fundamental changed after March 10, 2000, when the NASDAQ began to plunge from its historic peak. It was much more than just a stock market crash or the onset of a recession; it was the start of a new age of uncertainty, anxiety, and pessimism that hasn’t gone away, despite the current recovery. There’s always something new to worry about -- terrorism of course, our leaders, the migration of jobs abroad, computer viruses, potential epidemics, and more.

And yet McNamee is deeply optimistic about the big picture. “The new normal,” he writes, “will reward the brave. As we already know, this is not your father's economy, where a corporation and your government provided a lifetime's worth of security. In the New Normal, you'll continually have to decide on things that, in the past, were decided for you, everything from how to keep your job to where to invest your retirement plan. The reward is that you will be in charge of your life. Truly in charge.”

McNamee's advice is cogent and optimistic and his information tight, featuring four secrets of THE NEW NORMAL and ten critical insights for navigating the future. He also demolishes what he calls the Myths of The New Normal:

Myth: Wall Street has never been more corrupt.
Reality: Individual investors have never had so much power.

Myth: Technology’s heyday is over
Reality: Technology's heyday is just beginning.

Myth: Businesses have less need for people.
Reality: Businesses depend on individuals more than ever before.

Myth: You would wait until a technology is proven before purchasing it
Reality: The true benefits will accrue to those who experiment with emerging technologies.

Myth: Wall Street is unrelentingly impatient and shortsighted.
Reality: Wall Street can be patient when the incentives justify patience.

Myth: Large Company have all the advantage.
Reality: Scale matters less now than at any other time in memory.

Myth: All the best business ideas have been taken.
Reality: Don't get me started…

McNamee has written a roadmap for the future, a book in the tradition of Megatrends that clarifies this new era and gives readers a practical blueprint for success.

THE NEW NORMAL: Great Opportunities in a Time of Great Risk
By Roger McNamee with David Diamond
Portfolio / $24.95 hardcover / 238 pages / ISBN: 1-59184-059-7
Publication date: November 22, 2204

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Roger McNamee

Roger McNamee is a co-founder of Silver Lake Partners and a Managing Director. He has twenty-one years of experience as an investor in technology companies at T. Rowe Price Associates, Integral Capital Partners, and Silver Lake.

Founded in 1991, Integral pioneered the crossover investment strategy, which seeks maximum capital appreciation by making investments in expansion-stage private companies and growth-stage public companies in the technology and life science industries.

Prior to founding Integral, Roger managed the T. Rowe Price Science & Technology Fund and co-managed the T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund, which was at that time the largest emerging growth fund in the U.S.

Roger is a frequent speaker at industry and investor conferences. He is also a panelist on Louis Rukeyser's Wall $treet and a frequent commentator on technology investing on ABC, CNN, and CNBC. In 2001, Roger was named to the "Ultimate Investment Club" by Money magazine for the third consecutive year.

Roger serves on the Board of Trustees of Bryn Mawr College and on the Board of Overseers of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.

He holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.

In his spare time, Roger plays guitar and sings lead vocals in the Flying Other Brothers Band (FOBs), a rock 'n' roll band that plays shows around the country. Visit them at www.flyingotherbrothers.com.