It’s been two years since much of the world’s financial institutions started demonstrating just how flawed they’ve been in their practices and values. Since the major meltdown in September 2008, a lot of what we thought we knew about the institutions we’ve counted on as the backbone of capitalism - banks, Wall Street, public corporations and the federal government - have been proven to not be worthy of our confidence.  Indeed, many of those organizations - GM, Chrysler, Lehman Brothers, Fanny Mae, Freddie Mac, the list is long - are either not there anymore or crippled versions of their former selves.

So what’s next? The global marketplace - and its relationship with government - is experiencing a gut-check right now and one thing is clear: Where we’re going isn’t going to look like where we’ve been.

Recently, on my radio program, The Small Business Advocate Show, I talked with my friend and Brain Trust member, Bill Halal about his ideas on this topic.  Bill is Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology & Innovation at George Washington University, author of Technology’s Promise and founder of the website, Techcast.org.  Be prepared: Bill and I often don’t agree. But he’s one of the smartest guys I know, he is intellectually honest, and I place a high value on his contribution to the debate. Consequently, Bill Halal will always have a place to offer his ideas on my show.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to listen to our conversation, and be sure to leave your own thoughts. Listen Live! Download, Too!