The World is Flat

If you want a thought provoking read on what is happening in the world today pick up Tom Friedman's The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century.

Friedman highlights 10 world events that have taken place since 1989 to revolutionize how businesses operate in the 21st century. He starts with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the release of the Windows operating system in 1989.

He then discusses the dot com boom, bubble and bust which happened as a result of the Y2K software concerns beginning in about 1995. While the individual investor may have taken a beating in this market, businesses were given a world-wide information superhighway providing them access to markets around the globe. A concept Friedman refers to as "making the world flat." Or leveling the playing field of competitive advantage based on geographic location.

World Flatteners #4 - #9 include:

4. Uploading -- placing your own created work on the Internet where anyone can gain access to it and download it for themselves. Individuals are no longer just consumers of electronic products, they are now producers. Think blogging, YouTube, and Wikipedia.

5. Outsourcing -- sub-contracting all or part of your work functions to another company or individual. Then re-assimilating their work back into your organization.

6. Offshoring -- moving an entire operation, such as a whole factory, overseas or off shore.

7. Supply-Chaining -- horizontal collaboration between suppliers, retailers and customers to deliver products smoothly, quickly, just-in-time, and add value during the process.

8. Insourcing -- allowing collaborating companies to actually come inside your organization and perform functionality for you.

9. Informing -- making all the knowledge of the world available at your fingertips. No longer are you limited by the experts you can talk to. You can Google anything and learn from the best and brightest in the world.

In The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, Friedman suggests that these flatteners have allowed 3 billion new competitors to enter the global job market. Any job that is not bound by physical proximity is fair game for these new job seekers.

Physical proximity jobs include: mowing your yard, fixing your car, unplugging your toilet, serving your food, etc. But even some traditionally geographically based jobs can be done over the Internet such as: teaching you Spanish, preparing your taxes, taking your order at McDonalds (the food will still have to be prepared and served locally, but your drive up order can be taken from anywhere), and providing you medical advice.

In these economically challenging times, you owe it to yourself to read this book to gain a better understanding of what you are really up against!