“It’s a Flat World After All” - NY Times
Has anyone reas this article? It is fascinating. There’s a bit of a rant towards the end, but I find it’s lessons are easily applicable to most businesses.
Microsoft on competition: “Remember, in China, when you are one in a million, there are 1,300 other people just like you.”
e-mail me if you want a copy, subject title “Want article”
Thank you. I look forward to reading that.
Friedman made a whole book out of this subject.
For a funny review of the book, see
thanks for the very interesting article. i would agree with everything except for one area: “china’s leaders want for the next generation of products not just be sold in china and made in china, but also designed in china and even dreamed up in china.”
it is the very last part i disagree with. my travels to china, japan, korea, singapore, taiwan and my knowledge of asian schooling and schooling traditions suggest to me that that last step may be still very, very far away.
the usa has crappy schools and crappy students, but there is something in our cultural and educational tradition that keeps an amazing level of creativity and innovation alive here. and generally that tradition is not nearly so cherished or valued in asia to the degree that it is here in the usa.
Greg and All,
I’m not trying to rant. I just wonder to what degree freedom of expression and free enterprise enters into this equation that nurtures creativity?
Does anyone really think that limiting/restricting thought and ideas and frowning upon the “excesses” and “corruption” of free enterprise is the recipe for creativity and excellence?
What many of these Far Eastern Governments are good at is pirating ideas and technology to compensate for their own lack of creativity. Many of these governments are extremely fearful of the possible consequences of their country’s population being unrestricted in thought or expression.
Control of the masses is where it is at for them, first and foremost.
In many of these societies, whatever one creates or develops belongs to the “people,” not the individual. The individual only benefits from his creativity as one of the “people” that benefits from this creativity.
But the West is Evil and driven/led by Satan. The West is the root of all Evil. Praise all other societies for they are better!
I still am perplexed why so many immigrants, aliens, and people of these other “better” societies desire to or try to come to the West to live “better” lives? Why is this? Is it that they merely flunked out in the educational systems of their mother countries and never discovered that the grass wasn’t greener in the West on the other side of the fence?
Rant off.
Thanks for the article James.
It makes one think. And I totally agree with Bill that our education system is “obsolete”! I sure think so for Canada.
I just wonder to what degree freedom of expression and free enterprise enters into this equation that nurtures creativity? Does anyone really think that limiting/restricting thought and ideas and frowning upon the “excesses” and “corruption” of free enterprise is the recipe for creativity and excellence? What many of these Far Eastern Governments are good at is pirating ideas and technology to compensate for their own lack of creativity. Many of these governments are extremely fearful of the possible consequences of their country’s population being unrestricted in thought or expression.
Generally, I agree that our freedom of expression has a lot to do with it. But so does our being a nation of wacky and wild immigrants. And in China, the govt. has a lot to do with the destruction of individual intiative, but not so in many other parts of Asia. In many cases, it is truly a cultural and educational system that rewards performance and amazing memorization, but less mastery of problem solving, creativity, and insight within a particular field. And yes, piracy is a way of life in many places in Asia. But there have also been STUNNING innovations that easily stand on their own (look at almost anything Toyota has done, or compare shimano DA 10 to Campy Super Record of the 1980s). We’ve come a long way.
Thanks for the article… Very thought provoking… One thing I was thinking though is that some of these cultures that are pushing like they are haven’t had a chance to be “poisoned” by the marketing machine… A generation of Britney Spears, Marlboro, McDonalds, and Motley Crue, I think, will level the playing field once again.