Customer Reviews

The Next Global Stage: Challenges and Opportunities in Our Borderless World

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Whenever I meet top corporate strategists for the first time, Kenichi Ohmae's books always come up. Someone will ask, "Which one do you like best?" With The Next Global Stage, my answer has changed to this book. For those who want a more conceptual version of The World Is Flat that applies to future company and government decisions, The Next Global Stage is a good choice.

Mr. Ohmae makes several important arguments that will stimulate your mind for years to come.

1. Business decisions must be considered in terms of four dimensions in today's borderless world: communications, capital, corporations and consumers. This new perspective replaces his famous three c's in The Mind of the Strategist (competitors, the company and consumers).

2. The proper geographical entity to consider for decision making is a region rather than a nation state or a trading bloc. Such an entity will usually have at least 10 million people in it and will usually be part of a country.

3. Competitiveness is enhanced by expanding up and adding more common platforms (such as Windows, the Web, English, credit card systems, influential paradigms, and parallel educational backgrounds) whether as a company or as a geographical region.

4. Paradigms for making national political and economic policy are obsolete because they do not encompass solutions and money flows involving other countries. The new reality is here, but the paradigms to address the reality are not.

5. The borderless world has changed the tasks of political and business leaders in ways that most leaders are ignoring to their peril.

The book is enriched by a variety of perspectives involving geographic regions and countries that have prospered where success could not be assumed (such as companies in Sweden, Finland, Singapore, Dalian in China, the Multimedia Super Corridor in Malaysia, and Ireland) and which regions have the potential to become such prosperity centers in the future (especially in Asia and the Baltic). Mr. Ohmae is a strategist . . . and also an entrepreneur. His examples of own businesses enliven and illuminate his points in ways that considering Dell cannot do alone.

Regional politicians and CEOs will find that they can use this book to help decide which questions and issues they should be addressing. Although it's not clear what exactly has to be done, the result will be more agile responses in terms of amending business and political models to fit the shifting environments than would otherwise occur. As someone who advocates continuing business innovation in The Ultimate Competitive Advantage, I was pleased to see that Mr. Ohmae reaches the same conclusion in The Next Global Stage.

For those in Europe and the United States who are new to thinking about global competition and global supply chains, this book will be an essential primer to help acquire the insights needed to prosper over the next decade.

The first thing I noticed about this book were the actual words and sentence structure. I do not want to make too much out of it, but you can tell that the author is not a native westerner. This made the book more enjoyable for me because of the sing song way the author writes. Now on to the book. One could argue that the world has changed more in the last 20 years then ever before and it is due to or has caused what we call globalization. Everything is changing and at a much faster pace then most of us would like. This book takes a good look at how business and individuals can take advantage of or at least be prepared for even further globalization.

The book starts by taking a look at the current state of the world and how we fit into it. The author talks to us about the areas of the world that are exploding as well as the overall global economy. The author then explores what major trends are taking place in the global economy. He ends the book with a review of how the trends he covered will change nations governments. Overall it is a very interesting and well written book. I felt I was learning something new on each page. The only minor criticism I would have is that the author did seem to be very confident in him self to the point of being a bit arrogant. The book is well worth your time if you are interested in the global economy.

This book was a pleasant surprise. The author argues that economic theories have become outdated by our new realities, especially technology and international outsourcing. The information about specific economies, such as Finland's, is fascinating. The author's Japanese background forces Americans (like me) to recognize a new perspective.

I related to this book because I work via computer from a small town in southern New Mexico. I do business with people I will never see and take receipts (via credit card) from all over the world. So I live the society Ohmae writes about (except that he needs to revise his belief about technololgical aptitude of the over-40 set).

Ohmae is best when he's discussing global strategies on a broad, conceptual level. When it comes to implementation, the discussion gets fuzzier. For instance, it's hard to imagine any government voluntarily changing, especially in terms of giving up power.

And while new leaders need to be trained in analytical thinking, our current educational system seems to be moving to rote memory, tested by exams. While borders may be coming down, security measures are going up.

I was also a little puzzled by Ohmae's discussion of distance learning. He's right: mainstream universities in the US have tended to regard distance learning as an unwanted stepchild. Yet he fails to observe that "alternative" universities have seized the opportunity to attract working adults with money and motivation. The quality of these non-traditional options can vary a great deal -- perhaps an example of a market failure.

I believe this book should be read in conjunction with another Wharton business book, Power of Impossible Thinking. Ohmae introduces a new mental model: a world where borders disappear as we use ATMs and buy through credit cards. Yet (as Wind et al point out) some paradigm shifts are two-way streets: many institutions continue to retain old-fashioned gateways.

For instance, in the US, we still have archaic state borders that make little sense today. There's a certain irony when the term "long distance call" has lost meaning, but if we move across a state line, we need new health insurance.

In a more amusing example, I was offered a part-time job where I'd be working from home, over a thousand miles from the institution, communicating over the Internet. The company sent complex forms that had to be completed by hand (lots of little square boxes) and also a form to sign, promising I would bring no illegal drugs to the workplace. I do not use drugs but I wondered, "Does this mean no catnip for the cats in the room I use for my office? What does 'the workplace' mean when you're telecommuting?"

I didn't pursue the job ...but after reading both this book and Power of Impossible Thinking (Wind et al.) I realized I was caught up in a conflict of mental models created by the Next Global Stage.

When a man has written over 100 books, it would be easy to assume there's nothing more for him to say. That assumption would be unfounded when you consider the work of Kenichi Ohmae. This prolific professor-in the broad sense of the word-still has a lot of ideas and opinions to share...and a worthwhile portion of it is in this book. Although he weaves in some work from previous writing, all the pieces in The Next Global Stage fit nicely together.

Looking at the title of this book, I thought about the expression that "All the world's a stage...." And, sure enough, that's the way Ohmae approaches his perspective of what's coming next. He presents his thoughts in theatrical terms, beginning with the plot to open our thinking. Part one is The Stage. The curtain rises with a world tour as our eyes are opened to some of what is happening in various parts of the world. For those who have focused so intently on China and India, insight into Ireland and Finland will be a new direction in thinking. A range of other low-on-the-radar countries are also addressed in the book by the extremely well-traveled author. The global economy is defined as we learn more about Ohmae's view of the end of economics. Beyond nation-states, it is now more appropriate to think of regions, he argues.

Stage Directions (Part 2) takes us on a journey to understand the playmakers and views of global regionalism and their roles in future development. Government and politics are discussed in the third section of the book and readers gain insights into future markets and a wide range of countries where things are happening...probably beyond the knowledge of the average reader. There is much to be learned from reading this book.

As we look at the world of today and consider where we may be going, The Next Global Stage will help us to appreciate what's next. Thoughtful reading, easy to follow and absorb. Good index supports research and re-reading. Global strategists seeking food for thought will find what they need in these pages.

Ohmae is one of our most insightful thought leaders. this new book is timely, straight forward and speaks to the emerging community, not simply the global economy. I have used several of his works (Mind of the Strategist, Borderless World (& revisied), The End of the Nation State, and others) as required reading and discussion in my MBA course "Marketing Management" at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota. His works drive our "open-ended" discussions that cover issues of not only globalization, but ethics, culture and the concern for the larges single problem facing the community know as the United States of America, "How will the United States and its citizens learn to become a minority nation" on this planet of more than 6+billion people"

A new world view is taking shape.

Rising from the ashes of nation-based economies, economic growth springs from regional-based states. Yesterday's economic theories are no longer relevant. Today's worldwide economy is powered by technology. Knowledge is its currency.

Kenichi Ohmae, a business and corporate strategist and author of more than 100 books, explores the implications and opportunities posed these new drivers of growth and economic power. He offers a strategy for coping in an era where it is tougher to define companies, customers and competitors than ever before.

Among his insights:

* Leaders who ignore the borderless world are doing so at their own peril.
* National- and economic-based policy is obsolete. Failure to address international money flows renders it meaningless.
* Business decisions are four dimensional in today's borderless world. The include communications, capital, corporations and consumers.
* Competitiveness is enhanced by building on common platforms.

Ohmae opens his book admitting ideas rarely emerge perfectly formed. They evolve; they develop. For a first pass, The Next Worldwide Stage is a thoughtful, insightful, well-written and easily understood rendering of the post-globalized world.

The Next Global Order recites a famous African proverb about a gazelle that wakes up in the morning and says "Unless I can run faster than the fastest lion, I could be killed today. And a lion wakes up in the morning and says "Unless I run faster than the slowest gazelle, I could starve today".

This book is written for Americans (gazelles) and suggests that we start running. Fast. Really FAST!

It is thought-provoking, and should be read with care. It is not a panacea to the world's woes; rather, it is a diagnosis and guide.

I've read 130 pgs of this book and I'm going to put it away. I'm not hooked by it. I'm an American living in Taiwan and read the Economist regularly. So perhaps I'm not the audience the author is addressing. Basically from reading the Economist and keeping up on China in the media I feel most of his information is dated. Ohmae's style has a lot of filler and not much substance. I get the impression that his audience is older Japanese business people who are perhaps not aware of what is going on with the rise of China. I bought this book because I recently read J. Siegel's Future For Investors and thought highly of Wharton Publishing.
On the positive side, the author's emphasis on the rise of the region state is important to consider. The coverage of the rise of Ireland provides useful insights. Perhaps for American business people who aren't in touch with Asia this book could be important. I recommend Inc's 3/05 article "How China will Change Your Business" by Fishman.

This book is part reflection and part promotion. Author Kenichi Ohmae not only reflects on the course of globalization, but also takes the time to promote his distance-learning business and spotlight some of his friends. Ohmae, recently named advisor to Liaoning Province, particularly praises the province's former governor. Some of Ohmae's reflections are valuable bedrock information about globalization, but some seem curiously dated. He describes how surprised he was when he learned that people with whom he was dining had "Googled" him and could speak knowledgably about his life and work. He explains how capital moves unimpeded around the world, notes that ATMs and credit cards are important new mechanisms, and introduces a new business class whose members attended similar schools and all speak English. He teaches that regions should not cut themselves off from the flow of international capital and ideas, but instead should tap into it. Japan should be less protectionist and less centralized. And, yes, China is growing rapidly but treats workers horribly. We recommend this book to those who are new to globalization and need a prompt understanding of these fundamentals, plus ample background information and a bonus of more sophisticated interpretive insights (just not enough of them).

I have not in my lifetime seen a table of contents more exquisitely detailed and provocative. My very first note on this book reads: "TOC: Holy Cow!" This book earned five stars with the table of contents and got better from there.

I recommend that this book be read AFTER reading C.K. Prahalad's The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks) (a book that I earnestly hope wins the author the Nobel Peace Prize), and Stuart Hart's Capitalism at the Crossroads: Aligning Business, Earth, and Humanity (2nd Edition) (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks) Whereas those two books are essential background and strategically transformative, showing the four trillion in potential revenue from four billion people whose individual disposable income averages $10 a year, this book is more operational, a handbook for global profit.

The section on reinventing economics is a very useful preamble to the remainder of the book, where the author dissects both governments and business practices before going on to discuss platforms for progress inclusive of technologies and languages.

The last third of the book provides the "script" for future global prosperity. The most valuable and actionable pages are from 255-268, where the author concisely identifies the following areas as potential break-out zones for enormous profit: Hainan Island, Petropavlosk-Kamchatsily in Russia, Vancouver and British Columbia, the Baltic Corner, Ho Chi Minh City, Khabarovsk, Maritime (Primorye) Province and Sakhalin Island in Russia, Sau Paulo, and Kyushu in Japan. If I were a major multinational interested in doubling my gross and profit in the next ten years, I would immediately commission a single General Manager for each of these areas, and send them to build an indigenous networked business from scratch in each of these areas.

The author, who I am reminded wrote "The Mind of the Strategist" as a young man in the 1970's, has an extraordinay intellect that has been very ably applied to a most important topic: creating stabilizing wealth.

Wharton School Publishing has impressed me greatly with these three books. I have toyed with earning a third graduate degree in either environmental economics or Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) business management, and while I will probably not do so, what these three books make clear to me is that Wharton is a happening place and clearly making a difference. Good stuff!