NO STRATEGIC THINKING IS TAKING PLACE

Over the past several years, it has become apparent that the leaders of MAJOR comportations and government are either BRAIN DEAD or lack the ability to think beyond the next quarter. We continue to witness the focus on GO BIG/ GO GLOBAL, MAKE MONEY NOW AND NOT WORRY about THE FUTURE.

In June 2008, I published an article in CHIEF EXECUTIVE MAGAZINE, entitled: "Who is going the wrong way?" The article described how Korean, Japanese and Tawainese companies have moved their manufacturing to the United States while there American counterparts were still investing in China.
I described why CHINA fowas a poor long term investment. The reasons includled:

RISING COSTS (accelerating inflationary rates, Taxes, stricter enforcement of environmental standards and product standards,Unique expensive benefits, SCARCITY OF TALENT, Infrastructure costs.)
LACK OF SECURITY ("NO protection of copyrights, patents, industrial espoionage, China FORCES foeign companies to train Chinese who then become competitors, major cost of protecting senior executives who go to China)
DECLINING FLEXIBILITY (New labor laws, UNIONS)
CONTINUING COMPLEXITY ( Different languages and dialects, cultures and accounting systems)

I concluded that US companies would be better off to invest in US and not in CHINA and only participate in CHINA if they had a suatainable competitive advantage that was protectable.

NOW REALITY.. in many recent articles and books the reality is coming home. Companies, like GE, Siemens, NCR and others have complained that the CHINESE COMMUNISTIC GOVERNMENT is favoring CHINESE COMPANIES and not helping the FOREIGN companies to win.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPISE...it is amazing that these MBA trained leaders are now recognizing that the CHINESE GOVERNMENT has only one mission to make CHINA the winner. They have NO INTEREST in making the foreign companies winners and only want to steal their technologies, know how and give them the the CHINESE COMPANIES.

I have spend over 40 years as a STRATEGIST and am amazed that the leaders today, though they have attended the BEST BUSINESS SCHOOLS, and EXECUTIVE PROGRAMS have no common sense and a willingness to learn from history. CHINA should be viewed as an OPPORTUNISTIC OPPORTUNITY and not as a LONG TERM MARKET. Companies PROTECT and DEFEND their home markets and recognize that these are the UNDERPINNING OF THEIR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.

PLEASE WAKE UP and FOLLOW THE PRINCIPLES OF SOUND STRATEGIC THINKING AND DECISION MAKING.

Bill Rothschild..WWW.STRATGEGYLEADER.COM