The cost of entry

Hopefully as a people we recognize that the 21^st century – characterized by a globalized economy and by extension a highly competitive environment – has an inherent cost of entry? Simply put, we can’t expect to walk into the arena as though we write the rules of the game – we don’t and the sooner we internalize reality the better we could gear up and play? Nor can we keep invoking victimhood – a lesson Obama tells black people and minorities? A lesson we can learn from (‘small’) Singapore too?

It would be pathetic if we’d consider that the whole world is wrong and we’re right – that we could play by our own rules, culture, history, tradition? That would be too bad, so sad for a people well-informed and well-traveled? (Of course our rules work for businesses benefiting from OFW remittances; but that is classic ‘thinking small’? And we can be people of big minds, and ‘lift all boats’?) The global economy is not perfect. But we’re not about to write a dissertation to prove a point?

And it’s not a theoretical argument – the global economy, warts and all, has lifted millions from poverty and made once poor China and India, Brazil, Russia and more recently Indonesia, major economic forces. Or why ideology has become moot? In fact the aftermath of Western greed – that brought about the ‘debt and housing bubble’ and the collapse of the global financial system – highlighted the reality of a competitive world. How? Singapore and Germany demonstrated how competitive economies would regain their footing. And the inverse, unfortunately, is: uncompetitive economies would slide down the scale?

What should be our end view? In a globalized and highly competitive economy, we must see ourselves as truly competitive? We have local teams that are truly competitive – how do they do it? Their mindset is to excel, not to ‘make-do’? Will the coach of Ateneo or La Salle field players because of compassion or because of the imperatives of competition?

It is encouraging that the Aquino Administration has become more discriminating. It is eliminating subsidies to uncompetitive industries. It is cancelling export promotion drives for low value-added products. It must in fact draw up a roadmap – and provide the leadership – that will spell out every major element of competitiveness – e.g., from capital and investment to technology to talent to products to market? Not friends, not relations, not cronies, not hierarchy – which, unfortunately, are preeminent in our value system?

Our challenge is to understand, accept and buy into a value system that brings out our animal spirits – so that we are all behind, adrenaline pumped up, what could be our best chance to raise our standard of living? We have to move on and not be distracted, justifying our mistakes and/or dissecting the mistakes of others – despite the human need for company? We can ill afford distraction in a highly competitive global environment? And everyone else is irrelevant to our cause – something to learn from athletes?

And we can’t afford to outsmart ourselves: there are notions that may ring nicely but it doesn’t mean they’re absolutes; nor are they representative of reality? How could China and ex-communist countries become competitive when they had no inherent competitive advantage in manufacturing, in product development, in global competition? Because they recognize what it takes to be competitive? And as importantly, they believe in themselves – determined to call upon their strengths while vigorously overcoming their shortcomings? The past is there to learn from, not live in? Let’s not undersell ourselves?