Yesterday our InsideWork team attended a luncheon sponsored by Claremont McKenna College featuring Thomas Friedman, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist and author of The World is Flat. Our thanks to Al Lunsford for the invitation and the great seats!

In describing the genesis of the title of his best selling book, Friedman recounts a conversation with an Indian executive who tells him, “The global economic field is being leveled and you Americans are not ready.” As he explains, ten forces which he calls “flatteners” have emerged and converged to create a level playing field or a flat world…a world which Americans are largely unaware of. The rules of the game have changed and Americans continue to play the old game.

Friedman explained three foundational flatteners of the world today:

As a result of these flatteners, individuals from anywhere and everywhere can connect and collaborate to create value at high speed and at lower cost. And that value can be delivered to any place in the world.
As Friedman emphasized,

There is one rule of business now. Will it be done by you or to you? Whatever can be done, will be done.

What does this mean to professionals and business people who seek to operate out a biblical worldview?

One, global has become the new local. Every job, opportunity, business anywhere is being affected by the talent, energy, ideas, and resourcefulness of people you can’t see halfway around the world.

Second, your own personal development must take this into account. You need to learn what is happening in your profession or industry from a global perspective. It is not something for the corporate leaders to think about. Remember, globalization is occurring at the level of the individual.

Third, you can’t approach this as a problem to be solved. It’s here to stay. So you must view it as an opportunity to be seized. But it may require significant retooling of your thinking, your career path, and your business.

Fourth, globalization at an individual level means that unlike past eras where missionaries were “sent” to far-off lands, you can now have your own personal global network of connections. You have personal, global reach and influence.

And lastly, what does it mean for the next generation, our children, our future leaders? Friedman concludes with a flat-world revision of classic parental advice:

When I was growing up, I was told to eat my dinner because there were kids in China and India that were starving for my food. Today I tell my kids that they’d better study because there are people in China and India that are starving for their jobs!

Are we preparing our children and the next generation of business leaders — professionally and spiritually — for this Flat World?

For more on the educational aspect of the Flat World, read our colleague Al Lunsford’s article, Upgrade or Die – Our Children Can’t Earn If They Don’t Learn.