In this last weekend prior to the US election I am reading a rather outstanding book titled “The New Industrial Revolution” authored by Peter Marsh. I would like to extract a few passages from this book while encouraging you to get it and read it.
“In 1750, the leader in global manufacturing was China, responsible for more than a third of the output, followed by India with a quarter.”
I thought that might put a few things into context for some of you. In 2010 for the first time since around 1900 China passed the US as the largest world manufacturing country. Some things can change but they might go back to where they once were again. India will soon surpass China as a result of the demographics of that country. The average age in India is 28 years old.
America has become a service country. This is the value added portion of the supply chains across the world. The major trouble with this change is the opportunity for the undereducated people in the country has become a challenge. In 1900 the choice for the undereducated was agriculture, in 1950 the choice was a production line, what has it become in 2000? To many it is the fast food Industry but few view that as a “career” choice. This is one of the many new challenges facing the next administration. Yes we need to revive the job creating engine that America once was by completely overhauling the tax codes for individuals and corporations by eliminating as much as possible any deductions from taxable income for both. This will deal a serious body blow to the lobby profession which has hijacked the government from the people. Next we need to reexamine the use of the regulation. Regulations are not necessarily bad things but they need to be measured against the impact on the economy and on peoples’ lives. Next we need to become resource independent. That way we can control more of our lives and not be beholden to others.
American ingenuity is a wondrous thing. America seems to have the capacity to reinvent herself about every twenty years or so. We need a new iteration now and it is none too soon. The time is now.
Friday Filosophy #37
You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today
Abraham Lincoln
The death of the heart is the saddest thing that can happen to you
Chinese Proverb
Be a good listener, your ears will never get you in trouble
Frank Tyger
Never Forget
Before you can be of any value to anyone else….you must be of value to yourself.
2012 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
Click here to see the complete report.
Friday Filosophy #36
He who is to be a good ruler must have been ruled.
Aristotle
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Buddha
God gave burdens, also shoulders.
Yiddish proverb
The time is now.
Thought of the Day #13
In this last weekend prior to the US election I am reading a rather outstanding book titled “The New Industrial Revolution” authored by Peter Marsh. I would like to extract a few passages from this book while encouraging you to get it and read it.
“In 1750, the leader in global manufacturing was China, responsible for more than a third of the output, followed by India with a quarter.”
I thought that might put a few things into context for some of you. In 2010 for the first time since around 1900 China passed the US as the largest world manufacturing country. Some things can change but they might go back to where they once were again. India will soon surpass China as a result of the demographics of that country. The average age in India is 28 years old.
America has become a service country. This is the value added portion of the supply chains across the world. The major trouble with this change is the opportunity for the undereducated people in the country has become a challenge. In 1900 the choice for the undereducated was agriculture, in 1950 the choice was a production line, what has it become in 2000? To many it is the fast food Industry but few view that as a “career” choice. This is one of the many new challenges facing the next administration. Yes we need to revive the job creating engine that America once was by completely overhauling the tax codes for individuals and corporations by eliminating as much as possible any deductions from taxable income for both. This will deal a serious body blow to the lobby profession which has hijacked the government from the people. Next we need to reexamine the use of the regulation. Regulations are not necessarily bad things but they need to be measured against the impact on the economy and on peoples’ lives. Next we need to become resource independent. That way we can control more of our lives and not be beholden to others.
American ingenuity is a wondrous thing. America seems to have the capacity to reinvent herself about every twenty years or so. We need a new iteration now and it is none too soon. The time is now.
Friday Filosophy #35
Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.
Mark Twain
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use to being anything else.
Winston Churchill
What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do.
Aristotle
The time is now.
Marketing Missile v2.0
Branding is a critical element of Marketing. It is who you are and what the market believes you to be. A brand is an elusive element of marketing. How do you create a brand? It is the same as your culture. It is not what you want it to be it is what it is – plain and simple.
Do you remember the amazing Kreskin? He made his incredible skill of reading minds a marketable skill. He is still going strong well into his seventies. There was a recent article on him in the American Way the inflight magazine from American Airlines, my preferred airline, even in these troubled times. Back to the subject – Kreskin – he says “To those who understand there is no explanation necessary…but to those who don’t no explanation is possible. That is the same with marketing and branding.
You must have a brand. It must represent who you are and what you do. You must have marketing in order not to remain in the shadows of the market.
In today’s world of social media it is now being said that unless you are using Twitter and Facebook you lack credibility with the younger generations. The older generations have differing needs and channels. The point through all of this clutter is that your brand and your marketing have to span all generations and all motivations for your products or services.
So what is your brand image? How do you protect it? Who drives your marketing? How is it designed? These are critical questions for you to answer. The time is now.
Friday Filosophy #34
Nobody really cares if you’re miserable, so you might as well be happy.
Anonymous
Little things please little minds.
English Proverb
Adversity causes some men to break, and others to break records.
Unknown
The time is now.
Friday Filosophy #33
The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.
Norman Peale
Love is the force that ignites the spirit and binds teams together.
Phil Jackson
I can’t believe that God put us on this earth to be ordinary.
Lou Holtz
The time is now.
Education #11
In 1987 Allan Bloom the landmark “The Closing of the American Mind,” then last year Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa published their landmark study of collegiate learning, “Academically Adrift.” So starts an article in the National Review on October 15th, 2012. I won’t dwell on the article other than to extract a key metric. (Those of you interested in learning will find the article refreshing in its candor and I believe enlightening.)
The key metric I want to refer to is the “Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA). The CLA measures what American undergraduates learn in college. In the work of Arum and Roksa they find that 36 percent showed “small or empirically non-existent” gains in “general collegiate skills” – critical thinking, complex reasoning, writing, and computational skills – after four years of college. Rather astounding don’t you think? The article goes on to identify some of the reasons for these poor results. I don’t think you will find there is much that is a surprise to you.
Meanwhile in the Texas legislature there are efforts underway to pass a law requiring all students at public colleges and universities requiring all students to take the CLA during their freshman and senior years. “Every institution would be called to account for how much students learn under their tutelage.” “The CLA would ultimately serve as an alternative credential to the bachelor’s degree.” “This would help students, parents, and legislators to take a more open-eyed view of the current state of higher education.” This might also begin to allow more parents and educators to come to the conclusion that specific technical learning is an important alternative to the sacred cow thinking that everyone should have a college degree. The time is now.