Winning the Race Among Nations for Economic Superiority by MK Moran

The American political system has been thrown into chaos. Who would have predicted the success that Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are having? But look under the surface and the answer is obvious. Americans are deeply worried their economic future. They worry that other countries, like Germany, Japan, China, and South Korea are gaining, or have passed us, while the American middle class falls farther behind. Why are those countries winning? Why are we losing? Welcome to the world of global specialization. Today, countries and regions of the world are focusing and dominating in certain industry sectors like never before. For Japan, it’s the auto industry; Asia the electronics industry; in Germany, it’s machine tools and industrial machinery. Even tiny countries, like Singapore and Finland, have targeted certain industries with definitive strategies. What’s important to note is that these are the countries with expanding middle classes. To achieve this level of success, these countries have focused on ‘retainable’ industries with dense business ecosystems with manufacturing at its foundation. They use a combination of industry, academia, government and a long-term strategy to eliminate their competitors. As former Intel CEO Andy Grove once said, “It feels like Intel is competing against their entire country”. That’s why traditional American solutions to create the ‘ideal’ economic climate, like fewer regulations and lower taxes, will never be enough in this new era to compete against countries with such a focused, long-term strategy. In ‘Winning the Race among Nations for Economic Superiority’, the author uses the deep knowledge that he gained in working in over 25 countries, to articulate what the next political and economic era will need to be, if the US wants to reverse the decline of the middle class. Key points in this book: •The rest of the world is indeed competing against us. They have pride and want to be number #1, like us. •The defining characteristic of America is individualism. However, most of the world is more group and family-orientated, which strongly influences their business philosophy. Other countries tend to be much, more nationalistic than here in America. •For example, Americans would like competition to be our company A versus your company in your country - with no outside interference. But, the rest of the world doesn’t adhere to this model. Rather, they willing to use all means at their disposal to win. •Unfortunately, most Americans have a poor understanding of how foreigners approach business. For this reason, the book includes a detailed comparison of Japanese (Asian), German, and American business practices. •Countries with expanding middle classes, like Germany, are long-term and strategic. •In fact, certain industries form essential ecosystems and are more important than other businesses with regard to their future growth potential. Foreigners appreciate this concept more than do Americans. •That’s why foreign countries prefer manufacturing over service businesses. •That also explains why engineers and production people are king in foreign countries. Financial people assume support roles. •Government’s role in the globalized world has evolved to be mission-orientated economics. It’s about creating those transformative, future-orientated businesses. Payouts are enormous, but are more than 5+ years in the future so they are beyond venture capitalist’s capacity to fund. It’s similar to when the US created the foundation for the computer industries through our effort to defeat the Soviets. •Americans must cut health care costs by 50% to free up money for investments in key business areas, education, and overdue infrastructure projects to catch back up. •The rest of the world considers free trade to be madness. They are much more strategic and tend to approach trade like a GM for a sports team. Read more