I am reading this China story in BusinessWeek and half shaking my head - the most sophisticated American executives treating a billion plus market as monolithic? I thought even in small town America we knew the difference between Mongolian barbecue, Szechaun chicken and Peking Duck (Factoid: There are over 36,ooo Chinese restaurants in the US - more than all McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's franchises put together).
The other half of me wishes I was single and in my 20s again so I could sign up for the exciting opportunities and challenges in China. You see in my 20s, I spent years for PwC in Saudi Arabia, London and Holland. And while there I had my passports stamped with visas from another 35 countries. I am still sore from all the jet lag but what an experience.
We live in exciting times. Check in to any European hotel these days and you hear a cackle of different accents and languages. So much has changed there in the last decade. You go to software vendors in India and most of their young staff will tell you about their experiences in Dublin, Sydney or Atlanta. We have to similarly get young Americans out in the world and not just as Marines. They are part of the new Global economy - the Generation G.
A few months ago, a local school invited me to do a "business talk" to a bunch of 8th graders. I presented a Powerpoint on the "Joys of Global Business". If I cannot get young again, I want to create some excitement in young Americans to travel overseas for business. I used cute logos of flags, currencies and logos of various airlines I have flown. Join me in doing more of this.
We need the next generation of James Micheners to write about Poland and South Africa. We need the next generation of Walter Wristons who first turned Citicorp into a global bank. We need more Indiana Joneses.
Kennedy had his Peace Corps. Bush needs to create a Commerce Corps. We need young Americans to be part of and to lead the booming Generation G around the world.
