Articles

Where is all the brain-power going?

Jana M. Kemp

Another good-read, this one brings to light the brain-power challenges and opportunities around the world. David Heenan’s Flight Capital (Davies-Black, October 2005) suggests that we have plenty of work to do in business, academia and government to ensure that the ongoing success of our American way of learning, working and living continues. His book subtitle is “The Alarming Exodus of America’s Best and Brightest.”
In eight of the ten chapters, Heenan provides a tour of these economies: Ireland, Iceland, India, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Israel, and Mexico. Idaho businesses are involved in many of these places and the State of Idaho has trading offices in Mexico, Taiwan, Korea and China. (For more information: www.idahotrade.com )
Heenan’s observations and suggestions center on the premise that “no nation can afford to lose its brightest minds.” To that end, he offers concrete examples from the world economies mentioned above. In the tenth chapter, Confronting the Future, he outlines twelve areas for taking action in our individual businesses and in our state and national policy-work. For instance, number one is “know thy competition” which is straight from business planning 101. The key is to be looking around broadly enough to truly understand what our competition is. Heenan’s third action suggestion is “Spur Immigration Reform,” a current hot-topic in Idaho too.

Action items seven, eight and nine have to do with the very conversations being invoked around the state of Idaho about improving high school graduation accomplishments so students are prepared for college. Heenan suggests that public education needs real reform, that higher education needs more support and attention, and that science and technology fields are our future and as such need nurturing in today’s student pool.

The good news is that each of us has the capacity and resources to tap to ensure that we and our children keep gaining the skills and knowledge needed to be strong workers as well as effective American citizens. The key is to stay active and to daily take action.

Action Items: Read Flight Capital and The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005) to gain a global view of where we are with our business opportunities and challenges. Or, as Heenan suggests in his closing chapter, “Every American in a position of leadership should buy a plane ticket to China, India or any number of nations to see first-hand that an economic supernova is rising in locales once removed from global affairs.”

The World is Flat BUY BOOK button – link to amazon.com
Flight Capital BUY BOOK button

Reprint Permission: The author is willing to grant reprint permissions. Please contact Jana Kemp: jana@janakemp.com or call 208-367-1701.