World Is Flat [Hardcover]

 

 

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If you've been on a space station for the past 6 years, or -- as I have been -- living (& pre-occupied with renovating an old house) in the rural south-east "toe" of New Brunswick where nobody reads anything & the topics of conversation are the collapse of the cod fishery and the price of lumber, this book would be a revelation, as indeed it was for me. I had no idea of the extent of change since I retired from the world of business in 2000. I was greatly impressed by what this book had to say.

But...6 months have passed, I cancelled "Time" & got a subscription to "The Economist" & have been reading more widely & Friedman's book begins to seem more superficial & less brilliant.

I have usually avoided best-sellers because my experience has been that any book which appeals to the least commmon demoninator must be simplistic, glib & trendy. While "The World is Flat" is all of the above, it was interesting and useful to me in my state of ignorance about the early 21st century Global Economy. But it is certainly not the last or best word on the subject.

Mostly dated book on the impact of globalization. Manufacturing jobs to China, programmers and telemarketers in India, and on and on it goes. Certainly anyone who is a businessman should read this book if they didn't already know the offshoring and outsourcing effect.

Friedman's writing is decent, although at times repetitive and laborious to read.

The World Is Flat is an easy, if long, read about the nature of global competition among countries, companies and individuals as circumstances stood in 2004.

Let me describe his key points. Mr. Friedman begins by describing ten forces that were powerful in creating today's extreme business competition on a global scale (the fall of the Berlin Wall, advances in computer communications and software, reductions in cost to connect organizations together by computer-directed instructions, new ways of partnering and the rise of portable, real-time information access over the Internet). He then describes a triple convergence that has accelerated change: World-wide, real-time, flexible collaboration that allows more horizontal ways to provide value; companies learning how to use the new technologies to create new types of organizations, services and structures; and the entry of several billion new people into global business competition.

Mr. Friedman goes on to describe the implications of the 2004 world for the future. He sees a need for more education, greater specialization, learning new skills and moving up the ladder of adding more value . . . or a job, a company or a country will see its position degraded or even replaced by a more effective competitor elsewhere. For the United States, he sees a "quiet crisis" as other nations outrace its citizens for advanced education and work harder to compete. Today's lead can soon become tomorrow's obsolescence. In the meantime, consumers will benefit from cheaper imported goods and offshore services.

For developing countries, the challenge is greater. They were behind to start with. Mexico finds itself being displaced by China in serving the U.S. market, even though Mexico is right next door. The key task is to free local entrepreneurs to operate efficiently and to put good infrastructure and education in place.

In geopolitics, much focus will turn to a fight over raw materials as developing nations add great needs for energy and the minerals and food needed to urbanize and industrialize. He also sees severe environmental problems ahead.

The Muslim world is mostly seen as being left out . . . and becoming resentful . . . leading to more terrorism.

Mr. Friedman also encourages companies and countries to find ways to open up this new world to the 3 billion poorest people.

At the end, he describes a world of unbounded opportunity if we only have enough imagination to create a better future.

Mr. Friedman is a good writer, a confessed humanist and a great teller of anecdotes. He traveled to many of the places he wrote about in the book which gives his story depth, color and texture. It also makes his messages more compelling and interesting.

The book has three flaws that will bother many people.

First, his points about global business competition are not new in any way. So this book will be largely a waste of time for those who have been following this development for some time. As a result, this book will be of most value to those who are new to the subject.

Second, his central metaphor of a flat world doesn't really work. Mr. Friedman is arguing that we have a level global playing field except for some minor advantages that already exist (location, raw materials such as oil, education levels, computer and communications access, and knowledge of languages). If he had called the book "The Playing Field Is Level," that metaphor would have worked. He is also arguing that communications place us in great proximity to one another and that trend is continuing. From that observation, it's possible to see the world as a concave bowl with ever rising sides causing all of us to slide closer together at the bottom. "The World Is a Concave Bowl with Rising Sides" isn't much of a book title, so I can see why he avoided that metaphor. Nevertheless, the title metaphor is wrong and it's annoying to have to read so much about it throughout the book. I also found the cover illustration to be annoying for this reason. The world he is describing is one where sailing ships will founder because they cannot survive pitched battles with other sailing ships that have better guns and maneuverability . . . not one where some people are falling off the end of the earth. It's a great illustration . . . but for another book.

Third, many of his solutions are more rhetorical than real. Mr. Friedman would have done better to seek out those who have created major solutions to difficult problems (such as the Grameen Bank in creating entrepreneurs among the impoverished) rather than to describe little experiments that companies have done. But the rhetoric will encourage you to think about what he has to say . . . and perhaps your imagination will be stimulated to see new ways you can contribute. If so, that would be good.

Find new ways to achieve old objectives! And good luck to you as you do.

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4.0 out of 5 stars This book will help your future, don't get bogged by 1st 100 pages
This book will most definatly help our future.
It assesses how the world is flat and what kind of collaboration will be needed for the middle class to re-align itself... Read more

Published on Aug 27 2008 by R. Lennox

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!
This book is definitely a must read for everybody who is having a hard time of understanding the globalism and its side effects. Read more

Published on Mar 30 2007 by R. Baris Akyurek

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Friedman's latest book is just plain disappointing. We all know that the world is growing more connected -- the internet, cell phones, global trade, etc. Read more

Published on Jan 11 2007 by Oliver

1.0 out of 5 stars Ostrich Approach Yields Little
Thomas Friedman has done what every best-selling journalist knows is the easiest way to sell a book and make a name for yourself: you take a complex problem and drag it through a... Read more

Published on Jan 8 2007 by E. Haensel

4.0 out of 5 stars The World Is Flat
My current favourite book is "'>The World is Flat", a brief history of the twenty-first century by Thomas Friedman. Awesome read. Read more

Published on Dec 20 2006 by J. Estill

5.0 out of 5 stars Much needed
Anyone concerned or interested in the condition of our global economy and the world in general MUST read this book. Read more

Published on Oct 20 2006 by G. Harding

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book
A brilliant, excellent, accurate but a brutal dissection of the Muslim World vis-à-vis an inevitable flattening world. My accolades to Friedman.

Published on Oct 13 2006 by Rehan Abid

5.0 out of 5 stars The World is Flat
This book is certainly an eyeopener. I never would have thought that we are offshoring so many of our service jobs. Read more

Published on Sep 26 2006 by John Mckibbon

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating!
I liked very much "The world is flat" because it is written objectively and presents mostly facts. Globalization has its friends and foes but Friedman proves that it IS valuable... Read more

Published on Sep 17 2006 by B. V. Michael

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Black Book of Outsourcing" clarifies "The World Is Flat
Best Tip:
When you order the newly revised, THE WORLD IS FLAT, I highly recommend you also order Brown & Wilson's THE BLACK BOOK OF OUTSOURCING: HOW TO MANAGE THE... Read more

Published on April 18 2006 by Ray Valone

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