The world isn't really flat, Tom Friedman admits by page 375. In saying that it is, he exercises literary license to make a point about the global forces of technological convergence—a point that he makes very convincingly, backed up by mounds of evidence and keen observations. Technology and dramatic trends in education, specifically in science and math, are placing people in developing nations on an even keel with their counterparts in rich countries, in effect "flattening" the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Today's haves may be tomorrow's have-nots, and vice-versa, he predicts.
By acknowledging that the world isn't really flat, however, he moves the discussion beyond sweeping economic trends to explore the potentially dangerous effects of a flattening world on all those people, hundreds of millions, who are too sick, disempowered, or humiliated to participate. His multidimensional outlook on the simple frame of flatness makes for a timely and valuable read.
Friedman, an influential columnist for The New York Times and respected authority on Middle East politics and society, traveled widely to research The World is Flat. Much of what he shares about business trends will not surprise sophisticated managers, but the telling itself is often enjoyable. He conveys the same degree of respect and admiration to call center employees in Bangalore and a working housewife in Utah as he does to the numerous CEOs and big-wigs he lunches and dines with. (His interviews include Bill Gates, Colin Powell, and heads of major companies in India and China.)
His message: Wake up, America, and stop resting on your laurels. "In China today, Bill Gates is Britney Spears," Friedman writes. "In America today, Britney Spears is Britney Spears—and that is our problem."—Martha Lagace
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Table of Contents:
- While I was sleeping
- The ten forces that flattened the world
- The triple convergence
- The great sorting out
- America and free trade
- The untouchables
- The quiet crisis
- This is not a test
- The Virgin of Guadalupe
- How companies cope
- The unflat world
- The Dell theory of conflict prevention
- 11/9 versus 9/11
Flattener #1. 11/9/89
Flattener #2. 8/9/95
Flattener #3. Work flow software
Flattener #4. Open-sourcing
Flattener #5. Outsourcing
Flattener #6. Offshoring
Flattener #7. Supply-chaining
Flattener #8. Insourcing
Flattener #9. In-forming
Flattener #10. The steroids