Mostly In America
Watching snippets of the Facebook trial, Senator Dan Sullivan caught my attention with the often repeated statement: Only In America.
Sullivan: “From the dorm room, to the global behemoth you now are, only in America, would you agree with that?”
Zuckerberg: “Senator, mostly in America.”
Sullivan continues, in a joking tone: “You couldn’t do this in China.”
Zuckerberg: “Senator, there are some very strong Chinese Internet companies.”
Sullivan: “Right, but… you’re supposed to answer ‘Yes’ to that question. You’re in front of a bunch of Senators. The answer is ‘Yes’ so thank you.”
This seemingly frivolous softball question, and the following conversation, may reveal one of the largest problems facing American politics today.
Some Politicians Think Their Job Is Done
Politicians write the rules that govern society. Their job, in short, is to create an environment where their citizens can thrive. They may not create products or services, but ‘governance’ is not a passive activity. Like running a company, this takes forward thinking, hard work, and innovative thinking.
More important than their Left or Right leanings, I wonder “Is this politician actively trying to improve this country, or are they assuming, in the main, mission accomplished?”
The Problems Revealed:
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Some American Politicians assume that they have built the best country for their citizens to live, work, and do business in.
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This assumption, driven largely by a successful track record and a lack of vision beyond the USA, veils the fact that governments compete, much in the same way businesses do.
Competition? In government? Yes. Between governments. (And not just when there’s a war on)
American senators are like high-level managers in a large corporation (The United States) and recently it seems like some of them…
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Aren’t checking their corporate financial statements
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Aren’t looking at the competition outside their corporation
Fail to do either of these things when running a company and you’re quickly out of business.
For the first time in a long time, America, the country and it’s companies and it’s people, has real competition and isn’t the clear winner.
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American knowledge workers need to compete with outsourcers in India.
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American merchants (like me) need to compete with International vendors, not just buy from their factories.
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American tech companies like Facebook, Uber, Google, and Amazon need to compete against Chinese companies Tencent, DD, Baidu, and Alibaba.
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And… American politicians need to compete with international politicians… but some either don’t know there’s a competition or they think they’ve already won.
If American politicians assume you are doing an exceptional job, so much so that ‘success is only possible here’, and they aren’t even aware of the success individuals and businesses are enjoying abroad… how seriously are they taking their responsibilities?
Are there really no success stories outside of Silicone Valley? Of course there are.
Some CEOs of these foreign companies, propped up by billions of RMB in support from the Communist State and heavily protected from international competitors, may be uttering “Only in China.”
Mark Zuckerberg said it while on trial: Only In America is now “Mostly In America.”
That’s a downward trend and it’s not stopping. American politicians should heed the words of Winston Churchill: “Success is never final.”
American politicians can’t do anything, whether is be a Left-leaning solution or a Right-leaning solution, until they acknowledge that they are no longer leaders of the Guaranteed-Best-At-Everything-Ever Country.
American politicians, like the rest of us, need to continually innovate in the face of fresh competition. That’s difficult if you don’t believe the competition exists or if you believe you’ve already won.