Esther Dyson the grand dame of technology intelligentsia made a disturbing proclamation recently at a Nov. 16 summit in San Jose, hosted by the bipartisan political-action network TechNet and moderated by public-television personality Charlie Rose (Charlie bipartisan?). Disturbing because this happy horseshit passes as enlightened 21st century business strategy. Esther said:
"Instead of trying to figure out how to beat the
Chinese", we need to try to "beat ourselves and help the
Chinese" succeed, so that the U.S. has that huge market to sell to, she
said.
Which made me wonder. First, why do we have to "beat" America? And second, what makes her think that once we’ve "beat" ourselves to help the Chinese succeed – that the Chinese will then "allow" us to sell into their market? Why won’t they manage their currency, erect barriers, favor Chinese firms, in other words, do all the things any smart competitor should do to protect it’s advantage?
Esther please meet Jim MacGregor. Jim wrote "One Billion Customers : Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China". Here are a few of MacGregor’s tips excerpted by the October 18, 2005 edition of the The Wall Street Journal:
- The Chinese understand the outside world much better than the outside world understands them.
- The Chinese will ask you for anything because you may be just stupid enough to agree to it. Many are.
- In China a conflict of interest is considered a competitive advantage.
- Any tech company doing business in China should assume that its designs and products are being copied.
- Partnership is about China obtaining your technology, know how and capital while maintaining Chinese control.
Please re-read point number two above and then tell me again why America needs to beat itself to help China succeed.
In the past weeks several articles appearing in the Wall Street Journal and Business Week have put a very sharp point on the potential threat and opportunity presented by Asia and how out-of-touch America’s business intelligentsia are when it comes to competing in this new world order. Here are a few more articles on the topic:
The Wall Street Journal’s Carol Hymnowitz’s 11/14/05 piece on diversity and competing globally.
Toyota Motor Corp. is making a big bet that it can ride a host of new models past struggling General Motors Corp. next year to become the world’s biggest maker of cars.
The New White Flight. In Silicon Valley, two high schools with outstanding academic reputations are losing white students as Asian students move in. Why?
Silicon Valley’s Call: Smarten Up, America! An all-star cast of tech execs is demanding a raft of changes in government and social policies to spur innovation.
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