The significant, long-term problems we are facing in the new century require major shifts in mind-set and consistent adaptation to new societal shifts. There are three key points that must first be acknowledged:

• In this new global century, nations and regions are engaged in a fight – albeit peaceful – that will impact many generations to come. It’s a war of ideas and innovation, of agility and tenacity. It will take new thinking to stay ahead.
• When off-shore resources are utilized for short-term benefits, we are also giving away our intellectual property, our knowledge. We must start thinking of longer-term advantages for ourselves.
• We must innovate, or lose. Whoever makes things better, cheaper, faster – wins! America must continue to be the leader, or slide backwards into mediocrity.

"Capacity" and "production" are outdated, industrial-age terms. In the new techno-driven age, it cost's almost nothing to make another copy of software. The high costs of pharmaceuticals are in research and approvals, not factory production. The incremental cost of another music download is zilch; sending another email costs virtually nothing. Once the equipment is in place, it costs telephone companies very little to accommodate more traffic. Innovative growth comes through new ways to generate incremental value and corresponding revenue – through things like email, text-messaging, music and video.

For new hardware and software products, when knowledge sources (research, design, engineering) are available somewhere else in the world, at cheaper prices, the center-of-gravity of the industrial world shifts. We must focus on keeping the leading edge here at home – based not on the cost of goods but the effectiveness of innovation. We have the talent and the agility to lead.

America has a significant level of domestic entrepreneurship and talent which should be encouraged and stimulated. Beyond just academic universities, national mini-enterprise zones must be developed like “national technology parks”. The objective must be to nurture talent, ideas and innovation as a jumping-off point for new, growth businesses.

New work-places, the equivalent of “factories”, must be bright and stimulating places where people enjoy working and the jobs are challenging and rewarding. Knowledge workers don’t need time-cards, defined working hours and staff-sergeant supervisors. They are most effective and are stimulated by a campus-like atmosphere with environment-friendly park-like facilities. Interestingly, it’s the Japanese car companies in America that are advertising “green” factories and minimal waste. That attitude and those kinds of workplaces must spread everywhere.

In society at large, high paying service jobs get promoted over work that contributes to longer term societal benefits; who wants to be a factory-worker today? Too, the short-term financial mind-set must change. Financial myopia manipulates corporate value by demanding short-term, quarterly financial performance. Business needs to realize that continual quarter-to-quarter increases in revenue and profits cannot be sustained through lower-cost work that is done offshore. Eventually, knowledge migrates upwards and generates strong competitors.

It’s significant that science and engineering professionals are dangerously absent from all levels of policy and decision-making in the U.S. By default, lawyers and politicians have been allowed to take over everything. As a result, the government is manipulated by lobbying interests and the business climate has become a political football. This has become a direct threat to innovation and job creation.

On balance today, America is still the world’s premier producer of high tech products and growth services. Extrapolating high value-added trends will be part of the solution. We must continue to compete with our best assets – technology, innovation and agile response.