Thomas L. Friedman's book "The World Is Flat" (previous review) is the hottest read within state government these days. Whether its the Governor's office or the Legislature, the State Office of Education or the System of Higher Education, Republican or Democrat, almost everyone is talking about the book and discussing the impacts of a global economy in shaping public policy.
Last Friday, KCPW reporter Julie Rose, had a nice news report on the the books influence on Utah politics with a diverse array of perspectives from key players shaping policy.
The one point I wish she would have shared the following African proverb from the book:
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle.
When the sun comes up, you better start running.
(The World is Flat)
This proverb conveys a key success factors in the global economy -- you must run to survive. With competitors at every turn, if you're not always at the top of your game, someone is ready and willing to knock you out of the game.
Some may interpret the proverb to mean that government must do more to ensure people's success. For me, it says don't wait around for someone to take care of you, instead take care of yourself. It means getting government out of the way so it doesn't slow down our citizens and businesses, making them less competitive. To be competitive in the global economy you must be quick and nimble, not slow and bureaucratic. And government by its very nature and design is slow and bureaucratic.
Welcome to the realities of the "flat world" -- eat or be eaten. So, run, baby, run!
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