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The Truth Challenge: We’re Unprepared for Global Competition!
Globalization. Multiculturalism. The “Death of Distance.”
Whether we like it or not – or are even aware of it or not – North America’s competitive position in the world is under siege. In a few short years, today’s high school and college students will enter the workforce and soon become our new leaders of industry, government, churches, civic organizations and of course, families. What they’ll find is a very “New World” waiting them – a world, which at present time, they are woefully unprepared for.
The fact is, these graduate/employee/managers will be working in a “Global Office” – even if they choose to work across the street in their hometown and have no physical contact with “outsiders”! Consider who their new colleagues might be: a boss from Japan …an employer from Germany …an employee from China …a customer from South Africa… a vendor from India… an affiliate from Mexico …a business partner from Brazil …an investor from Dubai … a “middleman” from Argentina…media from the UK …political influencers from Thailand…
It’s a long list – and guess what? They all think, manage, communicate, prioritize, plan, task (and often “value”) differently than we do. Like the Indian fable of The Blind Men and the Elephant, we find that our limited perceptions – fueled by lack of awareness or preparation – can create both comical and serious outcomes.
In today’s global marketplace, the challenge to our youth is serious indeed. Even if that hometown-employee believes he or she is buttressed from the “outside world,” risks are everywhere:
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Their job may be outsourced. In the 21st Century, outsourcing doesn’t just refer to blue collar jobs going to China or India or Mexico. These days, an amazing number of highly skilled positions are being outsourced: consider X-rays being “overnighted” (via emails with attached imagery docs) to skilled, lower wage medical technicians in Malaysia; or tax filings being prepared by accountants in Korea; or IT systems development “turn-keyed” to a software engineering firm in Ukraine.
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Their industry may be outsourced. Our global competitors aren’t just following our lead – they’re often outhustling us. What happens when our employer can’t be profitable anymore because the price of materials has become too high – because our vendor in Russia can now demand higher prices from Japanese consumers? What happens when our employer experiences shrinking international marketplaces because our (former) customers can now buy the same product (with equal quality) cheaper from Chilean suppliers?
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Their industry may be rendered obsolete: Take a look at who’s taking the lead in some of the world’s major growth fields: Green technologies – Germany; Robotics – Japan;
