“The Golden Rule”

            We all (hopefully) learned some basic rules when entering our first form of schooling, usually at a very young, impressionable age.  The first several days of class were spent going over…..and over….and over how we should act when coming into contact with new and differing personalities.  “Treat others how you would want to be treated.”  In other words, show some tolerance.  Respect others, and their right to have a different view than yours.  This is the most fundamental principle for developing prosperous relationships. The same can be applied to developing countries that want to gain some advantage.  “When tolerance is the norm, everyone flourishes - because tolerance breeds trust, and trust is the foundation of innovation and entrepreneurship.”  Amazing!  Miss America has been right all along……world peace really IS the answer!  If only it were so easy.  But, an attitude of acceptance and the willingness to be open to new ideas has repeatedly led to success.

As the old saying goes…..necessity is the mother of all invention.  So, when we ask ourselves why exactly it is that some countries or regions are better at doing certain things than other countries or regions, the answer can be very simply put.  They have no other choice!  They actually HAVE to be better at doing those things in order to survive!  When the options are so black and white, cut and dry, generally the outcome is that you do what you have to do and come up with something!  Make… it… happen.  This is exactly what some of these seemingly podunk little countries have done.  By taking what they DO have to offer and using it to their advantage, they have managed not only to survive, but flourish!

            As consumers, we have changed over time as well.  We have very sneakily been led to believe that what we really want and need is just a bunch of choices.  The company that offers the greatest variety ultimately becomes the best.  “These companies create a platform that allows individual customers to serve themselves in their own way, at their own pace, in their own time, according to their own tastes.  They are actually making their customers their employees and having them pay the company for that pleasure at the same time!”  Wait……what the??   Yes, you read that right.  And the stink of it is that it is absolutely true! We are what is called a “self-directed consumer”.   I literally had no idea this is what is happening even though I actively participate.  And now that it has been brought to my attention, it is really quite frustrating.  Does that mean I am going to stop? Of course not.  There is no better way to get what I want than to make it myself!

            As Americans especially, we have been very nearly trained to expect what we want, when we want it.  On the other side of that, America has stepped up to the plate to offer a wide range of goods and services to fulfill these ever growing needs.  This huge wave of American products caused an even bigger wave…….concern.  With America almost literally able to produce everything, what chance did any of the other countries really have?  Globalization was just a fancy name for Americanization.  This was the general fear, but it did not come to pass.  The great balancing factor was uploading.  The flatter the world gets, the harder it becomes to exclude anyone.  Each individual has equal access to equal information, and the ability to share their own ideas and cultures as well. The trick now is to remember to keep an open mind and be willing to collaborate.

So we come full circle. Back to the simpler times of preschool and kindergarten where the greatest expectation was simple……..tolerance.

“Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?”

        It feels like, as Americans, we collectively have this picture in our head of other countries such as India and China, lurking in the shadows.  Sneaking and creeping stealthily, like a stalking predator, just waiting to pounce and steal work from the honest, decent, hard-working people that inhabit these great United States.  A statement that really resonated with me, and feeds into this somewhat unfounded fear, is “When you lose YOUR job, the unemployment rate is not 5.2 percent; its 100 percent.”  In some ways it seems almost silly to be so worried about someone halfway around the world slipping in under the radar and swiping our job right out from under our nose.  In light of the ever flattening world we live in, however, I believe I better start watching where I sneeze!

                Friedman’s novel has been an extremely eye opening experience for me thus far.  As an example, I had recently made the decision to upgrade my cell phone.  Now, because I was at work, and not able to just get up and go to the closest authorized dealer for my particular service, I called up customer service to discuss my options.  Normally, a man with a very thick, Indian sounding accent, telling me his name is “Joseph”, and how can I help you, would have elicited an eye roll from me.   I now just chuckled to myself and thought, “HOLY CRAP!! THE WORLD REALLY IS FLAT!!!” 

Free trade is an integral part of our world as a whole.  There are innumerable instances of countries shutting themselves off to this policy and the disaster that follows.  Yes, they may very well be what we could refer to as “self-sufficient”, but they do not thrive.  There is very little, if any, innovation or progress.  Free trade opens up the world to increased demand.  Increasing need for supplies will in turn increase employment.  Increased employment will feed the desire to stay ahead, which in turn increases breakthroughs and invention.  It seems like a fairly simple win-win scenario overall, although I realize that nothing is ever as simple as it seems.  Especially when it feels as though the “wolf” is pacing the perimeter!

                To survive in this cut-throat type of world, we need to learn new skills to make ourselves so valuable that it would be insane to even consider digitizing what we do, even if it might save a little on cost in the long run.  This adaptable class of people is referred to as the “new middlers”.  This group has to possess specialized skills in order to prove the merit in sticking with them rather than going automated.  Primary in these skills is the ability to effectively collaborate and orchestrate to get the job done.  Team work has always been an important skill to have, but it becomes even more so now.  The flat world is looking for those that can find a way to achieve the desired end result.  Along with this, the new middlers are synthesizers, great explainers, they can leverage their assets, are incredibly adaptable and literally ready to do anything.  They adhere to regulation, and care about renewable resources, have the ability to personalize and localize to add value, and last but definitely not least, they love math!  Whew! That’s quite an extensive list just to make yourself an “untouchable”.

The formula given, CQ + PQ > IQ refers to yet more great tools to navigate through the new flat world.  Passion and curiosity must be nurtured and encouraged.  They are even greater assets today than simple knowledge.  There is literally no limit to what you can learn with the available technology.  Finding subjects that you are deeply passionate about and feeding your curiosity through harnessing the new frontier, now conveniently located at the click of a button, will only serve to add value to what you have to offer.  In other words, just being smart is not necessarily enough to keep the wolves at bay.  You also need the drive and interest to find the quickest, smartest, easiest way to drive them off and keep them from prowling at your doorstep.

“Time Wounds All Heals”

           

It seems like no matter how fast we run, as soon as we think we are caught up, the finish line jumps ahead again.  The ever present passage of time reminds us that the innovation of yesterday has become the old news of today.  Just as realization and acceptance began to sink in that the world was indeed flat, the Triple Convergence happened.

            The first convergence came from this awareness of a new and equal playing field.  As the idea spread and took root throughout the world, it was only a matter of time before connections were made.  In the book, Paul Romer gave a perfect example of how this happened.  “There are goods that are complementary - whereby good A is a lot more valuable if you also have good B.  As soon as you get more of one, you got more of the other, and as soon as you got a better quality of one and a better quality of the other, your productivity improved.”  So in other words, change breeds more change.  There is no room for anything stagnant in this new flat world.

            Second, came horizontalization.  This was essentially a whole new way to collaborate.  Rather than a top-down approach, success stories now came from those willing to fraternize with the competition so to speak.  Now, instead of asking who was in control of which system, the question became what is the outcome I want to produce, and how can I get the best end result?  The entire way of thinking had to be changed in order for this to take place, and that of course, takes a great amount of a very precious commodity, time.

            Third, came the unwashed masses.  Literally billions of people now had access to compete in a new and unseen way.  These three things, referred to as the triple convergence, shook the technological world.  Never had it been so incredibly flat.  Ideas and breakthroughs were now free to come from anywhere on this planet!

            An example of this comes in the form of the story regarding India and Indiana.  An Indian consulting firm won the bid to revamp the computer systems that processed unemployment claims in the state of Indiana.  “Indiana was outsourcing the very department that would cushion the people of Indiana from the effects of outsourcing.”  Could anything really be more ironic than this?!  If you look at it from a different perspective, though, it makes complete sense.  This firm was proposing to get the job done at an incredible savings to the other competition.  Just imagine the possibilities, the improvements that could have been made with 8.1 million dollars!  But in a seemingly typical knee jerk fashion, the contract was terminated because of the overwhelming mockery it seemed to make of the entire system in general.  Wasn’t what was happening the EXACT reason that there were so many unemployment claims to begin with??  Still, I feel that the comprehensive effect would have been positive, and should have been handled much differently.  These types of issues ultimately seem to turn into a he-said she said argument when trying to decide who played the role of victim.  Can we really fault either side for wanting employment?

            As the push to collaborate gets more intense, a new question comes into view.  Who owns what?  When we are almost forced into cooperation with those in direct competition, who decides what portions belong to whom?  Intellectual property is the ideas and innovations that are created and shared through this amazing flat world.  How then, does one stop others from using their intellectual property to copy and distribute it?  The answer comes in a system of governance through patents and licensing options.  These allow creators to get the benefits of their ideas while still being able and open to share them with others.

            What a scary and changing world we live in!  All that seems made whole, inevitably gets broken again.

“Job Weld Done”

            When given the assignment to conduct research on a job that deals with computers, networking, and software, I can almost guarantee that the very last job most people would think of would be a welder.  Don’t worry, it was quite a shock to me too!  I spoke to my friend Luke, who is indeed a welder and field warehouse supervisor for a company called Great Basin Industry (GBI).  We had spoken before on an informal basis about his job and the type of things he does on a day to day basis.  So when reading the details for this week, I immediately thought of him.

            Welding begins and ends with computers.  The initial idea begins in the engineering department where the design and structural issues are tackled.  Of course, this is done on a computer with specialized software.  Next, the project manager gets involved.  He also uses specific programs to estimate the man power, hours, and supplies needed, and form a tentative budget for the project.  The field supervisor is the man in charge on the job site.  Everything fails or succeeds with him.  He must be in constant contact with the project manager, mainly through email, to stay on schedule and within the budget.

            Luke will receive a list of estimated equipment needed to complete the job via email.  Nearly every step needed to complete his job from here is done in the virtual world.  He begins contacting suppliers online, located anywhere from California to Texas, and comparing quality and price of the needed products.  A major factor in determining which supplier to purchase from comes down to time.  Not only do they need quality products at the best possible price, they also need to be able to have it onsite in the least amount of time.  This goal is achieved through the usual routes of Fed Ex, and UPS, again depending on time and budget constraints.  Each piece of equipment is logged and tracked through a barcode that is scanned using a phone, and relayed to the main computer system, so that they are always aware of the exact location of each piece of equipment owned by GBI.

            When all the required tools and equipment have been ordered, purchased, and shipped to the warehouse, a trucking company must be found (usually through a search on……you guessed it, Google!) to load and transport it to the job site.  Once onsite and unloaded, the computers REALLY take over.  The sheer level of technology that is used is absolutely incredible to me!  One of the tools used is called a plasma torch.  It is actually programmed, by a drafter before it is shipped out, with very specific radius and diameter measurements for each individual sheet that must be cut.  This boils down to anywhere between five and one thousand different cuts!  Another amazing piece of equipment is called the girth welder.  This is actually connected to a computer system through what they call “brain cables”, and the computer drives the welder.  This machine alone cuts their man hours down from two days to one hour!

            One of the last steps was the most astounding to me.  Every single weld that is made is actually x-rayed, onsite, by a computer!  What?  Yes, you read that correct.  A technician brings a computer onsite that will x-ray each individual weld to check for any errors or issues that could make it potentially unstable.  There are, of course, many other steps, but it is easy to see how technology fuels the entire process from idea to construction to inspection. It is so computer oriented that most of the workers are actually referred to as “operators” rather than “welders” because they, in fact, operate a machine that does the welding rather than welding themselves!