Comments on: How to Survive in a Flat World http://www.leapwalking.com/2008/08/12/how-to-survive-in-a-flat-world/ Navigating Today's Future Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:52:16 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: dave terry http://www.leapwalking.com/2008/08/12/how-to-survive-in-a-flat-world/comment-page-1/#comment-333 dave terry Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:57:01 +0000 http://www.leapwalking.com/?p=148#comment-333 3. Go back to school I disagree. Read voraciously. Summarize the books you read. Take notes. Apply the concepts. Move on. Going back to school may give you some letters to put after your name but it’s a huge investment in time and money. If you are holding down a full time job, it’s killers on your energy, relationships, and current employment. If you don’t have a job and are loaded, fine. If not consider a technical class with certification. I’d argue that in this economy, a technical class with certification will get you further. (I’m speaking from an IT background here. Your mileage may vary.) …dave 3. Go back to school

I disagree.

Read voraciously. Summarize the books you read. Take notes. Apply the concepts. Move on.

Going back to school may give you some letters to put after your name but it’s a huge investment in time and money. If you are holding down a full time job, it’s killers on your energy, relationships, and current employment. If you don’t have a job and are loaded, fine. If not consider a technical class with certification.

I’d argue that in this economy, a technical class with certification will get you further.

(I’m speaking from an IT background here. Your mileage may vary.)

…dave

]]> By: concerned citizen http://www.leapwalking.com/2008/08/12/how-to-survive-in-a-flat-world/comment-page-1/#comment-129 concerned citizen Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:13:22 +0000 http://www.leapwalking.com/?p=148#comment-129 Concerning the relevance of the Friedman's book to those in the east, this is what Joseph Stiglitz (Nobel winner for economics and was Chief Economist at World Bank) said while on a trip to India - that 600 million people from India (out of the one billion!) have been left out of the “development” fold of globalization. So, obviously, all India is not going to migrate into middle class, if anything the inequality is far, far worse now, after the advent of globalization. Similarly newspaper reports have pointed out how Chinese workers are working in apalling conditions, to churn out the low cost products, with poor pay, cramped rooms, no accident or health insurance benefits, no job security, no overtime, long working hours - so who is actaully benefiting from this sort of globalization? Corporates ofcourse, and the few privileged people of India nd China who have been able to get educated in engineering and technology! Not the vast majority of population. I would recommend a small, but interesting book, by Aronica and Ramdoo, "The World is Flat? A Critical Analysis of Thomas Friedman's New York Times Bestseller," which offers a counterperspective to Friedman's theory on globalization. It is a small book compared to the 600 page tome by Friedman, and aimed at the common man and students alike. As popular as the book may be, some reviewers assert that by what it leaves out, Friedman's book is dangerous. The authors point to the fact that there isn't a single table or data footnote in Friedman's entire book. "Globalization is the greatest reorganization of the world since the Industrial Revolution," says Aronica. Aronica and Ramdoo conclude by listing over twenty action items that point the way forward, for understanding the critical issues of globalization. You may want to see www.mkpress.com/flat and watch www.mkpress.com/flatoverview.html for an interesting counterperspective on Friedman's "The World is Flat". Also a really interesting 6 min wake-up call: Shift Happens! www.mkpress.com/ShiftExtreme.html There is also a companion book listed: Extreme Competition: Innovation and the Great 21st Century Business Reformation www.mkpress.com/extreme http://www.mkpress.com/Extreme11minWMV.html Concerning the relevance of the Friedman’s book to those in the east, this is what Joseph Stiglitz (Nobel winner for economics and was Chief Economist at World Bank) said while on a trip to India – that 600 million people from India (out of the one billion!) have been left out of the “development” fold of globalization. So, obviously, all India is not going to migrate into middle class, if anything the inequality is far, far worse now, after the advent of globalization.

Similarly newspaper reports have pointed out how Chinese workers are working in apalling conditions, to churn out the low cost products, with poor pay, cramped rooms, no accident or health insurance benefits, no job security, no overtime, long working hours – so who is actaully benefiting from this sort of globalization? Corporates ofcourse, and the few privileged people of India nd China who have been able to get educated in engineering and technology! Not the vast majority of population.

I would recommend a small, but interesting book, by Aronica and Ramdoo, “The World is Flat? A Critical Analysis of Thomas Friedman’s New York Times Bestseller,” which offers a counterperspective to Friedman’s theory on globalization. It is a small book compared to the 600 page tome by Friedman, and aimed at the common man and students alike. As popular as the book may be, some reviewers assert that by what it leaves out, Friedman’s book is dangerous. The authors point to the fact that there isn’t a single table or data footnote in Friedman’s entire book.

“Globalization is the greatest reorganization of the world since the Industrial Revolution,” says Aronica. Aronica and Ramdoo conclude by listing over twenty action items that point the way forward, for understanding the critical issues of globalization.

You may want to see http://www.mkpress.com/flat
and watch http://www.mkpress.com/flatoverview.html
for an interesting counterperspective on Friedman’s
“The World is Flat”.

Also a really interesting 6 min wake-up call: Shift Happens! http://www.mkpress.com/ShiftExtreme.html

There is also a companion book listed: Extreme Competition: Innovation and the Great 21st Century Business Reformation
http://www.mkpress.com/extreme
http://www.mkpress.com/Extreme11minWMV.html

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