Starting at a young age, Mei and I traveled a lot because of our family. We continue to do so since we’ve caught the travel bug! I’ve recently decided that I need to do more analysis when visiting a new place. My dad always does a lot of thinking when he visits a new country and as a result, is a very wise person.
Visiting Sweden and China recently and seeing the troubles of the US and Europe has me thinking. My recent thought is: there are fewer barriers between countries today as compared to ten years ago.
Companies do business across borders. People work and live in different countries. Mei and I, even with a Taiwan passport, can visit many more places without a visa than two years ago. Also, thanks to technology and people’s rights, most everyone, all over the world have access to the same information and opportunities.
Previously, the west had a competitive advantage over developing countries. They had access to more information, an educated labor force, and a democratic government. Not anymore. Now developing countries have access to the same things thanks to Google and upheavals in recent governments. Developing countries are saying - anything you can do, we can do better!
When I was in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, everyone was really happy. However, things were 40% more expensive than in the US. Shops were closed by 6 pm and we couldn’t find a place to eat after 9 pm. There is a great work life balance but how are people earning enough to live or continue to live? The plus is that everyone is very educated and fluent in both Swedish as English. Let’s compare to my recent trip to Beijing. This capital of China never sleeps. Everyone works very hard and very efficiently too. Similarly, most everyone speaks both Chinese and English. Comparing both cities, Stockholm is more content while Beijing has more drive and motivation.
I believe that US and Europe still has a competitive advantage in innovation, creativity, and independent thinking. However, it’s hard to stay ahead when the citizens of China are 10x more motivated and work 20xs as hard…the west needs to continue to educate and work hard.
Probably because of my field, I think that natural resources is going to be a limiting factor for the economy. There is only so much coal, oil, water, and other resources to run the engine of an economy. There is not going to be enough resources to make all the products we want and also feed everyone. The west is still ahead in thinking about how best to utilize the limited natural resources and it would be amazing if we can continue to focus in that direction.
So with all that writing, the one line conclusion is that it would serve a country government well to start thinking like the CEO of Coca-Cola.
And how does this apply to our lives? Make sure we still have a job after 10 years, that's what! I’m probably going to stick with working with the environment. I still think that we haven't figured out how to balance the environment with the economy. It’s no good making lots of computers if we’re all going choke to death. We shall see - I'm probably biased and don't have the full picture. However, either way, I’ll stick with that for now.
However, I should definitely continue to build the right language skills and gain the right experiences to be competitive in an increasing global market. We're not just competing with people in the US anymore, but people from all countries. This will involve improving my Chinese and when/if there is an opportunity, work in an emerging market or two. Most importantly, make sure that I keep an eye out for the next big new idea since innovation seems to be the key to staying ahead.
That’s enough blabbering for one day.
Signed,
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