The Twenty-first Century—Will you be a participant or an observer?

(Notes for upper school language students-2011)

Keep in mind Charles Dickens’ introduction to The Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”—because it is probably a good description of how your generation will fare in this new century! Which part of this equation you occupy will be determined to a large extent on how able you are to communicate your thoughts or just to understand what is going on in what Fareed Zakaria calls The Post American World.

Never since the Roman Empire has one nation so dominated the world’s economy, politics, and culture as the United States has these past seventy years.

China-born American publisher Henry Luce is credited with observing that the Twentieth Century was to be the “American Century.” Powered by an enormous and growing economy, America’s dominance became absolute as the world tore itself apart in World War Two. There was a long time from the late 1940s through the 1950s when most of the world’s manufactured goods, professional services, and advanced intellectual property in the form of computer hardware and software, music and films, as well as chemicals and disease fighting drugs came from US-owned and operated organizations. We got used to this didn’t we?

But then this US economic dominance gradually diminished relative to the rest of the world as first Europe’s and then Asia’s economies rebuilt themselves (in most cases with US help, along with adherence to the principles of free and fair trade), and we are coming to terms with the reality of where we place as a nation of 300 million people relative to a world of 7 billion.

Clearly the US will continue to be a major player economically. More ideas are patented here and more new business start-ups happen here than in any other nation on earth—and that is not likely to change anytime soon. As a nation we have and will have much to offer the rest of the world; but the nature of our relationship with the rest of the world will clearly change. In fact it is changing already. Project our economic growth figures against countries like China and India which are growing at double digit rates and see for yourselves where the US will place in another decade—about when you will be coming into the job market! What does this “Post American” world mean for you?

While American accented English has become the world’s lingua franca, this presents certain advantages and disadvantages to your generation. On the one hand we are using a language that is the first or second language to the major part of the world’s population. But on the other hand most of the world—including those fastest growing parts of it, do not speak English, have never traveled to the US and most probably have no expectation or desire ever to do either!

Speaking a foreign language fluently involves more than translating one thought or concept from one language into another. Fluent speakers of other languages know you actually think differently, as cultural context shades meanings in ways that non-speakers can hardly appreciate. Not having this educational experience is a great handicap in a Post American world.

Do you know the joke the Europeans tell about us? What is a person who speaks three languages called—the answer: trilingual. What is a person who speaks two languages called—the answer: bilingual. And what is a person who speaks only one language called—you guessed it, an American! We are living on a continent in a very large economy where you can travel in a straight line for 3,000 miles and find yourself surrounded by people who speak the same language and who share the same cultural values as you do. In such a country it is easy to be parochial without seeming to be uneducated! But when we step outside our boundaries we are at a clear disadvantage when compared to educated people in most of the rest of the world. Here’s why:

• The US and US-affiliated economies around the world are large, but non-US and non-affiliated US economies are larger and getting more so every year.

• Understanding foreign markets and foreign cultures used to be the domain of specialists—now it is a prerequisite of anyone who aspires to managerial positions of any kind in business or government.

• People instinctively like and relate to those who have made an effort to understand them and their culture. Ugly Americans were never very welcome in other countries—even less so now that our wealth is not as impressive as it once was.

• We learn from others—how much easier it is then if we can understand others in the languages they use to express themselves.

• People who have mastered foreign languages understand the difference between international and global—that “international” is anything that crosses national borders while “global” means being at home wherever you are in the world.


So you/we are entering a world in which those who know how to navigate in and through our globe’s many different national cultures and languages have a better chance of doing well professionally, of feeling comfortable with themselves personally and of knowing what it is like to be a global citizen than those who have not pursued this part of their education. This new world is one full of opportunities and adventures—or filled with dangers and threats, depending to a large extent on whether you are prepared for it. So what will it be—are you going to be a participant or an observer?

A New American Century?

Henry Luce is credited with observing that the Twentieth Century was to be the “American Century.” Powered by an enormous and growing economy, America’s dominance became absolute as the world tore itself apart in World War Two. For sixty years from 1945 to the beginning of the Twenty-first Century this US economic dominance gradually diminished relative to the rest of the world as first Europe’s and then Asia’s economies rebuilt themselves (in most cases with US help, along with adherence to the principles of free and fair trade).

All this is right and normal, but we are now at a time when nearly five generations have passed since we entered the “American Century”, what sort of century lies before us and what will the US role be?

Clearly the US will continue to be a major player economically. More ideas are patented here and more new business start-ups happen here than in any other nation on earth—and that is not likely to change anytime soon. But there is one other area of difference that I believe will be key to the Twenty-first Century being a new American century: this lies in US dominance in the field of values as espoused by the plethora of NGOs and nonprofit organizations that have sprung out of US initiatives.

Military might backed by economic power is no longer enough to impose policy on the planet’s nearly seven billion people. We cannot even achieve this in Afghanistan. Rather, the future belongs to those who seek to empower the lowliest individual through the four freedoms: the freedom from want and hunger; the freedom from ignorance and prejudice; the freedom of speech, and the freedom of faith. Governments and for-profit companies have roles to play in this certainly; but don’t these four freedoms sound a lot like the mission statements and visions of our nonprofit communities?

I suggest that this largely unheralded sector—the nonprofit sector—could play the defining role in this coming century, IF they look outward and not inward and are savvy enough to navigate the global opportunities and pitfalls that lie before them.

The Principal Strength of Nonprofits is also their Greatest Weakness

One of the interesting facts we discovered in a human resource survey we did years ago, was how few people in the nonprofit sector are drawn to jobs offering higher salaries in the for-profit sector. For profit employees often take jobs in the nonprofit sector but the transition does not often work in the opposite direction. One can only assume that people choose the nonprofit sector for the “higher purpose nonprofits serve in society” that governments the world over recognize as the reason to award them tax exempt status.

The value-based foundations of this sector are truly inspiring—but nonprofit thinking can also be a manager’s nightmare when otherwise hard-nosed business people leave their brains at the door of nonprofit board or committee planning meetings.

Even if we weren’t living in these economically stressful times, it makes no sense for nonprofit organizations to commit their organizations to markets and projects that have no plan or deadline for ever being economically sustainable. Such actions can and do stress organizations to the breaking point—particularly these days--and in point of fact such “altruistic” acts sometimes disguised or excused as “lost leaders” more often than not achieve only one thing: the destruction of their organization. Those who are the intended beneficiaries of this largess often obligingly take these “gifts” in puzzled amusement at these wealthy people who have nothing better to do with their resources. But don’t expect appreciation—if they truly wanted what you are giving them they would have found the means to pay for it--so nonprofit organizations that are squandering their resources in this way find that they have not only wasted their time and money, but they likely also have alienated the loyal members who are subsidizing these acts.

If there is a quicker or more blatant way for an organization to self destruct we have not seen it. This is one of the major themes of The Association Guide to Going Global. For your organization’s sake, please offer this book as good holiday reading material to your professional and volunteer leaders!

Read more about the subject here, with an article by Plexus Consulting Group's President, Steve Worth.

The Key to Globalization

In a globalization workshop we facilitated this weekend, a simple truism surfaced that I thought was worth reflecting on. "The key to globalization is not in imposing uniformity. Rather, it is in accomodating diversity--even while being faithful to what you are all about."

The Victory of the Cradle

As we project international economic growth trends over the coming decades a new world emerges through these figures, one in which the most populous nations with the greatest investments in the development of human resources will assume more dominant roles in virtually every economic sector and in all those other areas that are linked to monetary wealth (such as in the arts and humanities as well perhaps as military strength).

Of the different metrics we can use to measure future potential none is so determinative as population growth—it is what determines the difference between emerging markets and Big emerging markets and it is certainly one of the key factors why China passed Japan this year as the world’s second largest economy. When a nation feeds, clothes and educates its population and gives them opportunities for growth through stable economic and social policies in a culture that values learning and hard work it becomes only a matter of time before the results start to show.

Some see new mouths to feed as a burden to be avoided, others see it as an opportunity. It is hard to dispute the power of the human mind, or the strength of numbers, or the energy of youth. Technology and wealth were and still are important but they now can be transmitted around the globe in the blink of an eye. It is the end users of technology and wealth that matter; that and the new generations who are constantly seeking to create better technology and newer wealth.

If you are seeking growth, look at where growing masses of humanity can be found. Those are the markets where you need to be!

The Key to Competitiveness

Competitiveness: the ability to compete successfully in a contest.

We are all in a contest, aren’t we? From the day we are born as individuals, organizations, and nations whether we like it or not we are judged and measured against others and rewarded accordingly. We see this plainly in sports athletics of course where the fastest, strongest, most coordinated win over those who are less so; but it is harder to measure and harder to accept judgment for those qualities that are less visible—like character, work ethic, intelligence, and skills relevancy for example—yet these less tangible qualities are ever more critical in determining whether individuals, organizations and nations grow and thrive…or not. They are ever more critical because we are running out of space where people or organizations or nations could thrive based on their luck of the draw in being born in places where natural resources were plentiful.

And this is a good development, isn’t it? Martin Luther King could see a time when a child would be judged by his character rather than the color of his skin. Similarly, in this “flat world” in which we live, it has become increasingly apparent that associations are being judged by the quality of what they offer rather than where they are located in North America, South America, Europe or Asia.

And what precisely is it that successful associations are offering? From our perspective in working with hundreds of associations these relate to:

• Skills transfer—otherwise known as education and training
• Credentialing—to ensure peers, current and future employers, customers, etc.--that you meet certain minimum standards
• Networking and the opportunity to learn from peers and experts in your field

Note that every aspect of these three broad categories of products and services can be transmitted through the Internet; and note also that all relate in some way to skills or knowledge development. This means that our competitors may be next door, or they may be half a world away. These facts also underline that it is not the color of your skin or the place of your birth that is important but the cultivated qualities of the mind and heart that will determine tomorrow winners. And in these areas, haven’t nonprofit organizations always played a leading role?

The Call to Globalize

If people, companies and organizations of all kinds are drawn together to form associations for the purpose of exchanging information, networking, solving problems and addressing opportunities—it stands to reason that local contacts are better if linked to regional networks, which in turn are better if they are linked to national networks, and so on.

Ideas have no boundaries, and history has shown that those societies, which create such boundaries or walls, eventually whither and die. It follows from this that those associations that will do best are those that succeed in linking the largest number of the planet’s best and brightest minds. Who does not want to be in the mainstream of human thought?—particularly in those areas that are critical to your livelihood as a professional, as a researcher, or as a business.

The problem of globalization is not whether you should—you really have no choice, any more than you can choose not to breathe! Globalization is simply a fact of life—the defining trend of our times. No, the real problem of globalization is how best to do it—how best to identify the markets that are most important for your organization, as well as the types of sustainable programs and governance structures that will have the greatest change to grow and thrive in those markets.

Simply put, the organizations that are asking themselves these questions right now are the ones that are still going to be calling the shots fifteen years from now.