Mar. 17, 2009 - The 21st Century Blue Print for Recovery
During the past century we believed that reason and logic could solve all problems. Reason has created unimagined prosperity but is now delivering diminished returns and at what cost? Now, as we look into the future, we see rising populations, aging populations, income disparity, and social uncertainty and economy decline. A more complete form of thinking is now required, focused on 21st Century complexities, to form the lasting foundation for economic recovery.
I would argue the lack of public awareness and deregulations of our business and government institutions lead to a distorted economic reality, causing an ultimate correction to take place; and the pain of this correction is "The Great Recession of 2008". We need to change; to develop a fluid, creative, thought process that question our past assumptions and provide a fresh look at the 21st century world. Our brains enormous capacity must be used in new ways to solve problems of greater complexities. We need to become Problem Solvers once again, instead of Problem Managers, engaging ourselves in a more socialized process of reasoning.
I am an American optimistic who believes in the creative empowerment our nation has uniquely developed. Surrounded by economic opportunities; global warming, toxification, energy management, hunger, medical transformation, with the great advancement of scientific knowledge we have the ability to meet the challenges before us. Our cultural ingenuity, capital, and entrepreneurial culture will tackle the problems of the 21st century and new economic leaders and solutions will emerge from the, “The Great Recession of 2008” leading the way to new enterprises and economic growth.
The speed and complexities of globalized world require our American innovation. We must lead by challenging ourselves and our institutions to change course in service of a better tomorrow. In a finite, high speed world, responsibility for business to serve the common good is critical. People, Planet and Profit, are becoming the 21st century measurement of performance, ‘The Triple Bottom Line’.
No longer can the speed of change out pace regulations by a 20 and 70 year old regulator gap. Disconnected markets can only cope with a certain amount of bad policy, and can adjust to some bad policy, but by piling up bad policy after bad policy, markets can not respond rationally. We need technology, intelligent policy and a high level of transparent governance to modernize our approach to regulations.
We need to all be more knowledgeable about the world we live in, and not confuses knowledge and science, with opinion. Pay attention to government, governance matters, and do not let the world numb you from asking questions and challenge conventional wisdom. Just look at where the financial leader’s lack of government oversight has led us to. Markets do not always know best but neither does government. We need informed judgment to select enlightened leadership.
We need to hold ourselves accountable to reestablish trust and faith; the requirements for a healthy economy. The concept of a hand shake, ‘my word is my bond’ and ‘we do what we say’, are not just slogans but the very pillars of trust which has served America so well for over 200 years. It is time for Business to focus on personal responsibility and ethics as much as they focus on creating wealth. The commitment to ethics is not an option. Without the immediate establishment of ethics in business we will not see the return of wealth. It is our American responsibility.
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