“We ran out of regular scaffolding…”

In his book The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman states that global commerce now operates on a “flat” world where businesses can operate across the globe more easily and efficiently. He postulates that recent technological, political and cultural changes have enabled companies to communicate information and integrate far-flung geographical locations greater than ever before. Friedman sees this as a new revolution, that will change how business is done not only in developed countries, but also (and especially) in developed ones as well.

I do agree that the world is “flatter” in many respects. The ubiquitousness of technology (Friedman calls this flattener “The Steroids”) has given people the ability to collaborate and share information in ways never thought possible. This revolution has helped to create new value chains, new opportunities and new challenges.

However, like any great revolution there is a mixture of truth and hype. Revolutions never quite live up to expectations as unintended side effects occur to those who believe they will only be beneficiaries. India may find itself in this position.

My recent Global Immersion trip to Bangalore was eye-opening in many respects. It introduced me to the massive potential and opportunity of India, a developing country that has grabbed the reins of globalization and is riding it to the land of new opportunity. Growth is everywhere. When I asked a construction worker why they were using bamboo scaffolding his reply was a blunt “We ran out of regular scaffolding. Too many things built, too fast.”

Visiting 2Adpro and Nine Stars introduced me to the scale of outsourcing, one of the ten flatteners Friedman mentions. A model of efficiency, Nine Stars now face themselves with the challenging prospect of moving up the value chain as other low-cost providers threaten their competitive advantage. Having worked in the newspaper industry, I saw wave after wave of designers, copyeditors and ad pros see their jobs be outsourced. It’s ugly watching people who have spent 20+ years in a career suddenly find themselves out on their asses because someone in another country can do it cheaper and just as efficiently.

However as Friedman states, workers in developed countries need to be adaptive and agile to survive in today’s business ecosystem. The same rings true for the countries that have seen the benefits of technology and outsourcing. Unless India follows suit and learns to embrace the “Flat World” revolution from the “developed” side, it may become a victim of its own success and find itself flat footed and left behind as its former competitive advantages move to cheaper and more efficient shores.