Customer Reviews

The Coming Jobs War

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There are many things about this fascinating new book from Gallup Chairman Jim Clifton that will stop you in your tracks, but the most profound for me is that the current state of our country, and perceived prospects for the future, has redefined the American dream. No longer are peace, family, independence and freedom of religion at the top of the list for most Americans. It's having a good job.

Some of the information Clifton reveals is staggering, like the fact that 40-50 years ago Detroit was the richest city in the world, but because of poor local leadership over the last several decades hundreds of thousands of good jobs have been lost and the city has become a socioeconomic disaster. Or that 20 years ago passage of the Gore Act gave US companies the lead in commercializing the internet - and attracting top technical and entrepreneurial talent from around the world -- something that has accounted for virtually all the growth in the US economy since the mid 90s.

Clifton's writing is compact, thought provoking, motivational, scary and realistic. But it's also hopeful. It's a compelling book based on years of Gallup polling and research and a must read for everyone who cares about the future of our communities, cities and country.

"The Coming Jobs War" by Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup, provides a provocative look at our next world war, the war for jobs. "If the US allows China or any country to out-enterprise us, out-job create us, out-grow its GDP, everything changes." This war is "for all the marbles" as it will determine the leader of the free world. And "if countries fail at creating jobs, their societies will fall apart. Countries and more specifically cities will experience suffering, instability, chaos, and eventually revolution."

If we fail, it will be due to bad policy, wrong-headed social assumptions, mentors who do not connect with potential entrepreneurs, cities that collapse, kids who could have graduated into productive contributors to society but did not, people who could have been healthy became an economic drag on society, workers that could have been engaged but were never inspired, and jobs that could have been created but were not. Clifton resources Gallup's base of knowledge and combines it with his experience and observations to outline a national focus on the critical seven strategies we must adopt for a winning effort:

1. Today, the "global will" is centered on the creation of "good" jobs over all else. "What would create worldwide peace today, global wellbeing, and the next extraordinary achievements in human development, the immediate appearance of 1.8 billion "good" jobs." Nothing would change the current state of mankind more.
2. The supercollider of immediate job growth is America's top 100 cities, top 100 universities, and top 10,000 local tribal leaders. Job creation must be initiated in the cities.
3. Innovation is not rare but those who can translate good ideas into new customers, and jobs - entrepreneurs - are. "The scarcest, rarest, hardest energy and talent in the world to find is entrepreneurship. Call it rare salesmanship, call it genius business-model design, call it rainmaking, but whatever the case, America does not have enough to fight the coming global jobs war." We must switch our investment focus from innovation to entrepreneurship - from investment into the cart o the horse pulling the cart.
4. Healthcare is a drag on call economic activity and is sucking the economic lifeblood out of this country. There must be a focus not only on performance and growth but also on overall health and wellbeing.
5. Most workers today are not fully engaged at work, and are costing us valuable productivity as well as sources of inspiration. "Highly inspired workplaces hatch literally millions of new startups, while low-energy, uninspired workplaces hatch virtually none." Companies must focus on improving worker engagement.
6. 30% of our students drop out of school resulting in a significant loss of human capital. Our fate rides on literacy of the population and the resulting entrepreneurial energy that it provides.
7. With the global economy growing from $60 trillion in GDP to $200 trillion in thirty years, we must understand and prepare for a war that is going to be fought globally - for global customers.
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Clifton argues that Gallup's own studies covering the world's 7 billion inhabitants, across every country and demographic and sociographic group, shows that we are reaching a new evolutionary stage of civilization. With basic needs met, "What the whole world wants is good jobs."

This is our next battleground. Leaders must consider this everyday in everything they do. Leaders must make this their number one priority.

This is a must-read for national and local, educational, economic, political, non- and for-profit leaders.

Only once every two years do I actually read a book that completely changes the way I'm looking at a problem or world situation. This is one of those. The first book to actually put data behind it's hypothesis as to what ails the world today.

I agree with much of what Mr. Clifton says in the book. However, I find it long on statements and short on facts. For example, he argues very strongly that one of the keys to creating the kinds of jobs we desperately need is to be found in the cities. The rationale for why the cities is based more on his opinions than facts. Again, this is a point with which I agree but one for which I would have preferred to see some facts.

It is well written and an enjoyable read, just not up to Gallup standards.

As an 81-years "old" multiple-award-winning scientist, whose personal library of nearly 10,000 volumes covers Philosophy, Science, Engineering, and Technology, I feel entitled to assert that this is "the most important book published in my lifetime!" It's as easy to understand as a personal, face-to-face conversation (I read it in ~ 4 hours), but the epochally significant information it contains struck me like an epiphany! This is a "must-read" for every voter & every leader, either local, state, or national, whether in politics or education or in a non-profit or for-profit organization! The case for Kahneman's "behavioral economics" versus "strictly rational classical economics" is awesomely convincing! I hope & pray that the next President invites Jim Clifton to be his chief advisor!
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert W. Bass

The Coming Jobs War by James Clifton begins with the
USA having won the 1970-2000 jobs war by leading in new
internet technologies, superior business models and
export knowhow. Winning future jobs wars can preserve
the current 25% USA share of the global economy.
James Clifton believes that this growth can be
sustained by tapping the resources of large cities,
huge universities and the community connections
possessed by local leaders.

Most solutions begin locally. James Clifton believes
that whatever improves the jobs picture at the
neighborhood level should be facilitated through
the prism of local leadership. If rezoning improves
jobs and economic opportunity, then part of the solution
is to rezone. In the new economy, there is a definite
need for entrepreneurialship or salesmanship. Leaders
of countries who create new jobs require adequate
support systems in law, education, military plans
for transitioning resources for peaceful use and municipal planning.

Student engagement is needed to prevent large drop-out rates.
Key personal traits ae excellence in mathematics coupled with
leadership skills. Ultimately, student graduation is a very
important predictor of a municipality's future innovation and
entrepreneurialship potential.

Increments in the GDP are good for workers because
new jobs are created in the economy and more people
are hired. When more people are hired, consumer
spending increases. Growth may be achieved by cutting
taxes and raising business output. When take-home pay
is reduced, spending is lowered , as well as GDP.
China's GDP is expected to reach $70 trillion dollars
by 2040 with the United States trailing at $30 trillion
dollars in the same time frame.

The Coming Jobs War demonstrates that health care
costs are a large fiscal drain by multiple layers
of government. The area of behavioral economics
recognizes that more optimal eating choices, smoking
cessation and moderation in drinking are critical
ingredients to reducing health care costs rationally
and permanently.

The Coming Jobs War by James Clifton is a wonderful
book which explains how the United States can keep
growing well into the future provided that simple
steps are taken now.

Credits: First Published on Blogcritics

The Coming Jobs War by Jim Clifton (Chairman of Gallup) is a very sober and instructive read. An organization with Gallup's reputation has to be taken seriously, and their numbers about the economy are very serious. Here's the cliff-notes summary: Currently the U.S. has the leading economy (GDP), with China #2. However, our GDP is only growing at 2% a year, China's at 10%. Do the math, and the story's more than sobering in the coming decades. According to Gallup's research, job creation remains THE critical answer to the GDP growth problem. Also, small to medium-sized companies, not large companies, grow 99% of the jobs. The author argues that entrepreneurism and innovation are the very lifeblood of job creation and the economy. Clifton cites three key elements of such job creation: Cities, local tribal leaders, and key universities. To win the jobs and economic war, we need employees who are engaged. Currently, less than 1/3 of US workers are truly engaged, and 19% are actively (toxically) disengaged. Also, we need to view global, not just domestic, customers as our target market. We must get our arms around our schools, where 30% of K-12 students leave or delay graduation and where 50% of minorities drop out. Finally, we must fix healthcare, which is about to break the American economy--70% of the $2.5 trillion healthcare problem orbits around obesity-related disease! Note the entire GDP of Russia and India is only $1.5 trillion each. However, here's the hope: We can win this jobs/ economic war, just like the Greatest Generation won World War II in the 1940s against Japan and Germany; just like the Baby Boomers won the technical economic wars in the 1970s-90s; and hopefully just like we will win the job wars in the 21st century. Clifton argues that will happen if we focus on our secret weapons: Behavioral economics (understanding what motivates people to act), entrepreneurship, and innovation. Job creation and entrepreneurship live together like twins, and anything we can do to cultivate entrepreneurs helps not only local cities, but also the nation, and the world--our new playing field.

I'm a big Gallup fan. This book by Gallup's CEO Jim Clifton both delighted and startled me.

I read it in two quick sittings. Clifton's build from the humble 'good job' to strong cities, breakthrough US strategy, and US-China competition for global dominance is riveting. In introducing and illustrating Gallup's behavioral economics method he gives readers a blueprint for creating a place for themselves and their organizations in the emerging world of work.

The startling part for me was to get into a Gallup book, the "just the facts" people, and encounter a story more editorial than news. "The Coming Jobs War" is an economic call to arms that draws deeply from Gallup data but draws more deeply from one man's passion, wisdom and political perspective on where the world is headed and how America and democracy can remain viable. I don't align squarely with the politics but this story was eye-opening and worthy. It's a gift to hear from one so wise from having listened so long to others.

A great read for future-looking folks and work groups.

This book was very detailed and well written. I have worked in a few different sectors of business during the market crisis and have seen some pretty incredible things ring true with Clifton's words. When the market took a dump, I worked as an advertising executive and saw many businesses on a city level close and/or struggle. I decided to become a teacher in the public school and watched as the school system made the mistake of relying on the federal government to pick up the pieces to rebuild our schools. Clifton's thought processes really start by improving things at the city level in order to rebuild our infrastructures.

He believes that communities should take responsibility and pride for their regional area and grow from the inside out instead of having their little hands in the cookie jar of the federal government, which in my eyes will never improve graduation rates, business, or entrepreneurship and innovation. And on a personal level the federal government needs to keep their hands out of the city's cookie jar for this plan to really work. This book is a really fascinating, mind provoking read. I wish it would have been longer...

Jim Clifton cuts through all the noise and flailing about to identify the real problem of the new millennium - jobs. He predicts that countries that fail at creating jobs will have their societies pull apart, followed by chaos and revolution. Drawing on resources available only to Gallup, he tells us that an estimated 3 billion now work or want to work, yet there are currently only 1.2 billion full-time jobs in the world. U.S. political and military forces will be of no value in this coming confrontation; however, the outcome will determine world leadership.

Reduced U.S. GDP growth has already brought the U.S. less respect, ability to fund entitlements and other government services, and our infrastructure maintenance. Clifton also reports that virtually no economists thinks the U.S. will win the economic contest vs. China. He suggests that our prior success vs. Japan and Germany may offer hope - however, both those nations are much smaller than China and lacked the extreme economic and leadership advantages that it possesses.

Clifton believes the U.S. needs to obtain 5%/year GDP growth to preserve its status and stability - growth during the last decades has been less than 2%/year, on average. Clifton's book, however, goes way off-track in making recommendations, believing that a positive combination of great cities and great universities as the key to success. This ignores most all the lessons that China offers - little university involvement in their initial forays into light industry (eg. textiles), and then steadily forward into heavy industry (eg. steel). The U.S. needs to regain jobs lost in those areas, and university excellence is not factor. Only now that China is moving into new areas of high technology (eg. solar power) has university training become an issue - and that only for the few actually doing the research. Further, Clifton's recommendations completely ignore the major role played by Chinese protectionism for new industries.

Worse, China's pervasive cost advantage makes it unlikely that any new technology developed in the U.S. would create significant numbers of production jobs in the U.S. - instead, they would be created in Asia (eg. Apple, and most of the rest of the computer/cell phone, etc. manufacturing). Further, given the preponderance of manufacturing that has already moved to Asia, it has become much more difficult to innovate here in the U.S. - the skills and experience/learning are occurring in Asia.

My answer, in place of Clifton's, is simply to sharply limit Free Trade, and move most outsourced jobs back to the U.S.

Bottom-Line: Clifton's recognition of the problem is a very rare asset - for that I gave the book a five-star rating, even though his prescription (more easily corrected than missing the problem in its entirety) is off the mark.