Global Business Perspectives

I know, I just said what some would say are some very bad words.  This is very taboo in Detroit…as we are a union town.  Recently, though it seems the topics of Free Trade and Globalization keep popping up.  I have posted previously discussing the analogy of the globalization train. 

The train is running and picking up speed every day.  People and businesses are making choices every day to either get on or stay off the train.  By staying off people think they are standing up for something… history, what they know and ultimately an old way of thinking.  I am afraid they will be left behind and Detroit may be one of the ones left standing there like an old western with a deserted town and tumbleweeds rolling down Woodward Avenue. 

Right now, Detroit is on the move, we are doing so many new and exciting things and I hear in the media and from people around town how we want to continue to be the center of the automotive world, a research and development hub and a technology region.  So, where is the disconnect?  We are NOT welcoming the world to our doorstep.  When Gary Shapiro, the CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association came to town a few weeks ago and spoke to the Detroit Economic Club he says Detroit needs to embrace Free Trade.  I was so excited to hear someone address the elephant in the room. 

Personally, I know many times people think I am Anti or Un – American by discussing globalization.  I love my country and by living abroad, I feel that I have seen what it means to be an American from a very different perspective.  By looking through the lens of others, I have seen my culture in both a positive and negative light.  I have been judged negatively because I am an American and I was seen as rich brat (even thought of to live like Dynasty and Dallas)…when the reality probably lies somewhere in between.  In contrast there were times when people would just come up to me to meet an American in person.  I would like to think I am not the “typical ugly American.”  I believe that my world opened up when I stepped onto foreign soil and saw the world so differently from what I had always known.  I know I was young, I was open and I was even eager to make the experience amazing.  But 15 years later, I feel more conviction than ever. 

I think we are missing out on not only those special amazing personal moments but the opportunities to create bridges of understanding with the world and yes even the opportunity to make a buck.  After all, isn’t that part of what makes us Americans? 

Gary Shapiro acknowledged that “free trade hurts people in the short run, but we must look at the big picture and what’s best for our nation.” He said free trade helped the high-tech industry add 25 million jobs in the last 15 years alone.  So as an American, I think globalization is what is best for our country.  Are you ready to get on the train? I have my ticket.  Do you?