Excerpt

On the Road to the Airport, Or On the Internet
This morning, and for many to come, large numbers of business and pleasure travelers around the world are on the road to the airport, headed for a location outside their home country. For the rest of us, were on the www.internet, integrally linked with an ever-expanding global community of buyers, sellers, and information gatherers. Just what is driving this phenomenon? Answer: Globalization!

How we interact as citizens of this new global economy and community remains to be seen. Will we take the gentler road of collaboration and cooperation, or will we continue to fight over religious beliefs, skin color, scarce natural resources, real estate, oil, ideology, political agendas, and wealth accumulation?


Looking forward, not back!
In this book we will be dealing with understanding globalization and new-age innovation as they relate to successfully living in the present, as well as planning for the future. In the pages that follow I have included real life examples, supporting research data, and discussions that will help bridge the gap between what is occurring today (globalization), and what businesses and individuals can, and must do (create and innovate), to survive and thrive in the new global economy. This is the central theme of the book! And, as we progress through the pages, I hope you will feel the pull of an underlying theme and emotional tone, as I focus on globalization and the rebirth of innovation as positive forces that will reshape the world into a better place for all. Hopefully, the process of globalization can ultimately be defined by the commonalities and interdependences among individuals, businesses and nations, rather than in terms of their differences!

At the end of each chapter I have included a short list of Recommended Action Items. These action items are intended to help readers turn the concepts and discussions presented in the chapter into real life winning operational strategies. The effective execution of these action items will bring about added value to all stakeholders in an organization. Many firms -- Procter & Gamble, General Electric, Apple Computers, Siemens, Motorola, Samsung, Toyota, IBM -- to name just a few, are already confronting the challenges brought about by globalization with innovatively designed organizational structures, investment arrangements, business processes, and products and services. Each has found that the strategic models of the past no longer work in the interconnected global economy in which organizations participate today! In this regard, I have included a chapter to help individuals and organizations formulate and implement globally-driven strategies -- strategies that will empower businesses and individuals to achieve and sustain a competitive advantage in the new global economy. The chapter is simply called Global Strategy, Hedgehogs, Martha Stewart, and Others.


Personal Thoughts
I believe it is fair to say that globalization has touched everyones lives in so many ways that we cant imagine or understand them all. As a resident of Leawood, Kansas (a suburb of Kansas City on the edge of the great wheat, corn, and soybean fields of the Midwest), I am constantly reminded of globalization and that agricultural products are the second largest items China imports from the rest of the world. (Electronic components and aircraft are numbers one and three.) And, on many a warm fall day as I sat at my kitchen table writing this book, I could hear the distant hum of wheat combines as they crawled across nearby fields harvesting wheat for the worlds bread and food supply. A major portion of this Kansas wheat was bound for China and India, the worlds number one and two consumers of wheat. They are also major producers of wheat, but they still need imported wheat and flour products to sustain food supplies for their 1.3 (China) and 1.1 (India) billion people. As I sat writing, and listening to the distant lullaby-like sound of these huge harvesting machines, I knew that globalization was at our communitys doorstep, begging to be embraced and understood, rather than feared. Symbolically, these golden brown massive fields of freshly cut wheat reminded me of the yellow brick road which led to the Emerald City of abundance in the well known Kansas classic, The Wizard of Oz. Only this time, the yellow brick road is a global connection that leads to the delivery of wheat and all sorts of products and services to distant communities around the world. One thing is clear -- were not just residents of Kansas anymore! Were all, no matter where we reside, connected and dependent on each other for our livelihood and existence. Are you ready for a ride on the yellow brick road of globalization and new-age innovation?

After reading this book and gaining an understanding of the concepts and recommended actions for leveraging globalization and new-age innovation, you may not like all that you see but you will be better prepared to effectively participate in the new global economy. After all, The World Is At Your Door! It is a door to the future!


Artistic and Creative Visions for Innovative Organizations -- A bit of history!
It is hard to look at creativity, innovation and globalization without running into China and India as two of the worlds greatest civilizations, greatest innovators, and largest economies. You might have forgotten - as I did - until my wife, whom I consider a rather astute historian, reminded me that until the late 19th century, China and India were the worlds largest economies, and major centers for inventiveness. The rest of the world was emerging. Now the tables have turned a bit. Today China and India are considered two of the largest emerging nations, with about 2.4 billion people between them and economies that are growing at extraordinary yearly rates of 7% - 10%. (The U.S. has just 300 million people).