Six Imperatives for Global Success

Faced with a globalized system that imposes increasingly similar rules and expectations on countries, corporations, and individuals alike, a system that is operating at faster and faster speeds, what are the ingredients of success? What are the formulas for winning and for staying ahead of the pack? We outline here a set of principles, the six imperatives of success in a globalized world.

The first of these imperatives is effective social organization, the ability of a community or a country to marshal its resources in a disciplined way. This requires a sense of common purpose, an efficient, honest, and accountable government, an education system that is advanced and open to all, an entrepreneurially driven economy that is productive and agile, and a social identity defined by high levels of health and public safety and a fair distribution of income.

The second imperative for success in a globalized world is speed of adaptation — the facility with which countries, governments, businesses, and workers must respond to change. Until relatively recently, in most parts of the world, rapid change was feared and resisted. Those countries that embraced change most willingly, and were buttressed by an effective social organization, generally prospered the most.

The role of governments is crucial. Indeed, as a result of globalization, governments matter more than ever. Small government, efficient government, focused government, honest government — these are powerful sources of competitive advantage.

If the role of governments is to help create the climate for change, the role of business is to be the engine of change. Companies today more than ever before operate in a Schumpeterian environment where the virtues of creative destruction can be seen at work. New ideas, new companies, new products, new skills, and an ever-accelerating cycle of innovation are revolutionizing the way we work and live. The speed of change has become unsettling to some who run businesses, driving them to support protectionism and regulation and to seek out subsidies. If any, the relief is temporary, the benefit fleeting, and the ultimate damage possibly irreparable. Business leaders around the world increasingly understand this danger.

The third imperative for success in a globalized world is the need to be open to ideas and to competition from beyond a country’s borders. Not long ago, the hallmark of product development was one of secrecy. Business people believed that market share was won by shutting competitors out. That world has been turned topsy-turvy. Monopoly businesses are doomed, and a lock on information is impossible. Today the dominant standard is the open standard. The ability to succeed in a wide-open race is the measure of true competition.

Countries are now being judged to a degree in the same way. There is a direct correlation between a country’s degree of openness and its level of prosperity.

The fourth imperative for success in a globalized world is the need for openness within national borders. Countries that aspire to be leaders in a global arena increasingly characterized by disappearing walls cannot afford to live with walls at home. Internal barriers to the unfettered movement of people, goods, services, and capital within a defined state make no sense whatsoever. They stifle development and are a powerful disincentive to the achievement of economies of scale on the part of homegrown enterprises seeking to bulk up for global competition.

The fifth imperative for success in a globalized world is an entrepreneurial culture and the ability to manage well. Given that competition for ideas, talent, and market share is increasingly a global exercise, the bar for testing the quality of entrepreneurs and managers is ever higher. At the heart of entrepreneurialism is the willingness to take risks, to test the unknown, to weather adversity.

The sixth imperative of success in a globalized world is perhaps the most important: people must be empowered with knowledge and skills in a never-ending process of renewal. The more knowledge and the greater the skills, the more creative and productive a society will be. This reality places a solemn responsibility on the shoulders of society as a whole. We must foster knowledge and succeed in imparting it to our young and to future generations.

We have identified six imperatives of success in a globalized world. Without any one of them, countries, companies, and individuals would be handicapped.

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