Loving the bandwagon: The World is Flat

While I only sporadically do this, there were several recent events I wanted to comment on. Also, I didn't think my last blog posting was all that great, and wanted to give it another go :). Not wanting anyone's eyes to bleed, I'm going to give these items each their own installment, so stay tuned for another book review (man that sounds sad) and a run-down of the cruise I returned from yesterday.

On a flight a couple weeks ago, zipping briefly to LA on business, I decided to finally tackle Thomas Friedmans The World is Flat. For those of you unfamiliar, The World is Flat is very much in vogue right now, sitting on influential bedstands in influential bedrooms at influential homes in places like Washington, D.C. and New York. Buying it is practically an intelligentsia-membership requirement: when our new CEO was asked what books he is reading, it was the first one off his lips.

I had put off reading the book because it is non-fiction, and because it is huge. I read Friedmans The Lexus and the Olive Tree for a course in college, and did indeed enjoy it. As an excellent guide to understanding past and present factors in globalization and cultural friction, it was a cogent and comprehensive look at our world nearly a decade ago. The World is Flat is Friedman's follow-up to that book, reviewing the developments of those arguments and many more factors in a brief history of the 21st century. However, with a lot of fictional fun and fluff books contending for attention at bedside, this gi-normous, wordy, not-guaranteed-to-entertain tome had a hard time making it to the top of my list. Deciding to bring only it on my flight was making the tough choice to deal with any potential boredom and do the right thing in absorbing what it had to say.

This book was awesome. I was engrossed from the start, and found myself radically inspired, optimistic, depressed, anxious and frustrated, along with a handful of other emotions I'm probably just not remembering now. Examining the course of global business through outsourcing, insourcing, and just plain sourcing; evaluating the drivers that have shaped the past decade, and will influence our future profoundly; understanding the state of American capitalism and education; glimpsing the capability of globalization to enhance and strengthen local cultures rather than steamroll over them and many other compelling arguments and research make this a vital read in considering what you want to do through your career, how to understand recent news, and key issues to consider the next time you vote.

I found myself very energized about the technological and social changes that are just starting to make themselves seen now, and very worried about what America's role will be in shaping these growing treds going forward. And it was very revealing to explore just how complicated and confusing issues of globalization can be. Take an example from Arkansas: the Democratic administration outsourced the operation of it's unemployment office to an Indian firm. Ironic to be sure to see formerly U.S. government jobs to go to a foreign firm to help support other Americans out of work. Local Republican efforts made a field-day of the story, and the contract was cancelled. While millions had been spent on the Indian firm - who by all accounts had thus far done an excellent job - the work was given to an American firm that charged a great deal more (and also wasn't located in Arkansas).

In the end, a Democratic administration tried to source work to the lowest bidder regardless of the company's national origin (rather than protecting American labor, as might be expected), a Republican opposition opposed the move (rather than supporting free trade and less government spending, as might be expected), and Arkansas taxpayers and workers lost out all around: once for having a lot more money spent on their unemployment program than originally planned, twice for not being able to properly spend that money on the training that would avoid future unemployment, and again for not even getting the jobs that went from India to the large American firm. As is so often true, the politically acceptable course of action (and what media outlet wouldn't support the steps that were taken) ended up bringing about the poorest result. But doing the "right" thing (which is admittedly very hard to figure out) would probably have not been possible in the public eye. We're in fascinating times, but not easy ones.

Definitely, definitely read this book.