"The World Is Flat"
I'm reading a fascinating book by Thomas L. Friedman, an editorial correspondent for The New York Times.
The World Is Flat does a marvelous job of recounting the political, economic, cultural and technological forces that have equalized the world - first, second and third worlds, all included. Information and bandwidth have set free skills and ambition all over the planet, and this helps explain why India, China, Korea, Romania and other heretofore small players in the world economy are having a big impact today, perhaps especially on the U.S.
Friedman's premise is that such a convergence of factors has created a flattening of opportunity, that the advantages of geography have been minimized. It's a powerful book, one that is basically divided into two sections. The first part recounts what's gotten us to this point. The second is a more sobering look at why this is especially difficult for the U.S. and what will have to change in order for us to remain a leader, a force in the world economy.
According to Friedman, there are four categories of employee in the U.S. who can survive, among them those who can remain flexible, who can adapt their skills and add education to stay one or more steps ahead of being outsourcing or offshoring victims. He tells the story of his friend Bill Greer, formerly an illustrator/artist. "If he was doing an illustration for a newspaper or a magazine, or proposing a new logo for a product, he would actually create a piece of art - sketch it, color it, mount it on an illustration board, cover it with tissue, put it in a package that was opened with two flaps, and have it delivered by messenger or FedEx." Well, we all know what happened to that kind of work: it went the way of the typesetter and the color separator. So Greer had to either adopt new skills (Photoshop or Quark or Illustrator, working on a computer instead of an easel) or develop and market a new competency. Friedman quotes him:
"'It was unconscious,' said Greer. 'I had to look for work that not everyone else could do, and that young artists couldn't do with technology for a fraction of what I was being paid. So I started getting offers where people would say to me, "Can you do this and just give us the big idea?" They would give me a concept, and they would just want sketches, ideas, and not a finished piece of art. I still use the basic skill of drawing, but just to convey an idea - quick sketches, not finished artwork.... It is more like being a consultant rather than a JAFA (Just Another F--king Artist).'"
I've been saying for months: that the execution of marketing communications is being commoditized. "Good enough" is much less expensive, and we have to find a way to offer something more ... and something more valuable.
"Ideas" are what we need to sell.
The World Is Flat does a marvelous job of recounting the political, economic, cultural and technological forces that have equalized the world - first, second and third worlds, all included. Information and bandwidth have set free skills and ambition all over the planet, and this helps explain why India, China, Korea, Romania and other heretofore small players in the world economy are having a big impact today, perhaps especially on the U.S.
Friedman's premise is that such a convergence of factors has created a flattening of opportunity, that the advantages of geography have been minimized. It's a powerful book, one that is basically divided into two sections. The first part recounts what's gotten us to this point. The second is a more sobering look at why this is especially difficult for the U.S. and what will have to change in order for us to remain a leader, a force in the world economy.
According to Friedman, there are four categories of employee in the U.S. who can survive, among them those who can remain flexible, who can adapt their skills and add education to stay one or more steps ahead of being outsourcing or offshoring victims. He tells the story of his friend Bill Greer, formerly an illustrator/artist. "If he was doing an illustration for a newspaper or a magazine, or proposing a new logo for a product, he would actually create a piece of art - sketch it, color it, mount it on an illustration board, cover it with tissue, put it in a package that was opened with two flaps, and have it delivered by messenger or FedEx." Well, we all know what happened to that kind of work: it went the way of the typesetter and the color separator. So Greer had to either adopt new skills (Photoshop or Quark or Illustrator, working on a computer instead of an easel) or develop and market a new competency. Friedman quotes him:
"'It was unconscious,' said Greer. 'I had to look for work that not everyone else could do, and that young artists couldn't do with technology for a fraction of what I was being paid. So I started getting offers where people would say to me, "Can you do this and just give us the big idea?" They would give me a concept, and they would just want sketches, ideas, and not a finished piece of art. I still use the basic skill of drawing, but just to convey an idea - quick sketches, not finished artwork.... It is more like being a consultant rather than a JAFA (Just Another F--king Artist).'"
I've been saying for months: that the execution of marketing communications is being commoditized. "Good enough" is much less expensive, and we have to find a way to offer something more ... and something more valuable.
"Ideas" are what we need to sell.
posted by Mark Burris - BURRIS at 5/23/2005 07:57:00 AM
3 Comments:
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Too often you look around today and see people who just do not get it. They fail to realize how much the world has and is changing and there is no assurance of anything, including standard of living just because you were born in a developed country. As Friedman points out repeatedly...the Indians and Chinese are not raising us to the bottom....they are raising to the top!
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