Outsource!

Ever wonder about the clear blue skies and fresh clean air when travelling to the West? Where is the pollution? I mean, the First World countries are the most advanced and industrialized, so wouldn’t it be fair to assume that they should also boast (complain?) of the signal signpost of industrialization – pollution!

The simple answer goes back to the middle of the 20th century, to the start of the Age of Modern Outsourcing in the post war economy.

While the current US presidential election debate rages fiercely over the economy and job creation, it would help to remember that in the beginning ‘Outsourcing’ was good. Besides sensible commercial reasons of lower costs and cheaper labour for profit hungry corporations, Outsourcing actually worked well for all concerned. The struggling Third World economies got the factories and jobs, the rich First World the incredibly cheap goods and the good life.

Global Outsource exported pollution and imported cheap goods.

The average Westerner who today complains about the depressed economy, dying innovation and job insecurity will be well advised to stop and consider for just a tiny-winy moment the clean air they breathe, the quality produce & products they consume, the excellent infrastructure they take for granted…No such thing as a free lunch, ever 😦

Like all macro-trends, this kind of stuff plays out over giant arcs of time. Two, three generations pass as the game of life completes a full circle. Obviously it can be bothersome (or blissful) for individuals, growing up and living in different geographies and at varying points of time in the Global Wheel of Fortune.

At a planetary scale, it all makes sense. What goes around comes around. Societies and civilizations rise and fall, prosper and decay, time and again. Even without war or natural disaster, population dynamics, human behaviour and sufficient passage of time will always create flaws and weaknesses in any thriving ecosystem. Eventually, a crisis must occur. Resolution of the crisis almost always means significant departure from past practice and tradition.

For the individual, it would help to understand how the wheel turns, where it is headed and where the opportunities lie. Big Corporations do exactly that. It’s called strategic planning, diversification, expansion, de-risking, etc – a whole slew of management jargon to basically describe ‘prediction of market direction & anticipation of human need”.

If companies do it, so should individuals and entrepreneurs. Be unafraid of industry, geography, nationality or technology. Just anticipate need, and collaborate. That’s what fortunes are made of 🙂