| In January 2003 The Cleveland Plain Dealer | | | | of creating ideas moved him into a whole new |
| ran this headline - "Ohio lost 200,000 | | | | business. No longer just another friggin |
| manufacturing jobs". They blamed competition | | | | artist, his clients now buy his ideas.Bill |
| from India and China.In a recent article, | | | | Greer is an untouchable. He is adaptable. He |
| Business Week discussed how Call Centers are | | | | continues to retool his skills. He creates |
| being sent off shore, sending 10s of | | | | new forms of value for his clients.What are |
| thousands of jobs overseas. Dell, Citigroup, | | | | you doing to be an untouchable?We have been |
| Microsoft, General Electric and others major | | | | though this before. It happened when we moved |
| corporations now have oversea call | | | | from the agricultural age to the industrial |
| centers.Microsoft and GE have one of the | | | | age to the electronic age. On the farm you |
| world's most productive research and | | | | could get by with a third grade education and |
| development centers in IndiaCompanies such | | | | no one cared. During the industrial age you |
| are Ford, GM and Mercedes have built or | | | | needed a high school diploma. Hundreds of |
| off-shored entire plants to China.Tata India | | | | thousands of people migrated from farms to |
| has one of the world's largest and highly | | | | cities during the industrial revolution and |
| trained programming staffs.Accountants are | | | | retooled their skills to find work.In the |
| next to feel the heat from off shore | | | | 1950's, in Akron Ohio, rubber companies |
| competition. A clerk in the accountant's | | | | would rent buses and send them into the |
| office can scan a company's financial data to | | | | mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia |
| an Internet server. An accountant in India | | | | to bring worker to Akron to work in the |
| will access this information over a secure | | | | Rubber factories. That's how I came to live |
| link and process the financials overnight. | | | | in Akron. My father left the coal mines of |
| The results are waiting at the accountant | | | | Pennsylvania to find a better life here. |
| desk when he comes in the next morning.How do | | | | Little did he know that working in the rubber |
| you fight this?Outsourcing and off-shoring | | | | factory was no different that working in a |
| are here to stay.Outsourcing is defined as | | | | coal mine.People who left the farms adapted, |
| taking a specific task and having another | | | | learned new skills and became untouchable in |
| company perform this service and then | | | | their generation. Men who left the mountains |
| reintegrating the results back into the | | | | and came to Akron to find employment learned |
| original company.Off-shoring is taking an | | | | new skills as well.In both of these cases |
| entire plant and moving it to another | | | | education played a key role in this |
| country.In the following example Boeing is | | | | transformation.In the technology age America |
| building a new plane. Boeing has Russian | | | | is being pushed by two very motivated |
| designers designing the wings. Boeing also | | | | competitors: India and China. After years of |
| outsourced the electronics of this plane to a | | | | repression they now see that they can have |
| Japanese company. This Japanese company out | | | | what Americans have enjoyed for so many |
| sourced certain electronic components to the | | | | years.Our grandparents came from the old |
| same company in Russia that Boeing is | | | | country to create a better life.Our parents |
| outsourcing the wing design to.Boeing can | | | | learned new skills and found ways to compete |
| employ five engineers in Russia for the price | | | | in their generation.Technology allows India |
| of one engineer in the United States.Are you | | | | and China to do the same thing; all without |
| untouchable?Let me define untouchable. Being | | | | leaving home.What is America doing to |
| untouchable is the ongoing learning process | | | | compete? More importantly - what are you |
| that a person must go through to move to the | | | | doing to do to compete - to become an |
| next level of professional and personal | | | | untouchable? As I see it there are three |
| development.For example, in his book the | | | | things we must do:1. Stop being complacent |
| World is Flat by Thomas Friedman, he | | | | and waiting for the government to do |
| discusses the outsourcing impact on his | | | | something. Government is about boundaries: |
| friend Bill Greer.Bill is 48 years old and he | | | | political, commercial and geographical. They |
| has 26 years experience as a free lance | | | | don't understand that with technology the |
| artist and graphics designer. His clients | | | | world is flat and traditional boundaries |
| include such notable names as New York Times | | | | cease to exist. Politicians are lawyers not |
| and McDonalds.In the past a client requests a | | | | engineers. They don't understand technology. |
| finished piece of art. Greer would sketch it, | | | | |
| color it, mount it on illustration board, | | | | 2. Take responsibility for your job |
| cover it with tissue, package it, and have it | | | | situation. Treat your job as your business. |
| delivered. The process I just describes is | | | | You can't change something unless you assume |
| known as the creation of camera ready artIn | | | | responsibility for the results. Our parent |
| the new process Greer's client would requests | | | | and grandparents took responsibility when |
| a design, Greer would create the product | | | | they left the farm or migrated to a new |
| using digital software and email the product | | | | country. |
| back to the client.Programs like Quark | | | | |
| Express turned graphic design into a | | | | 3. Finally, never stop learning. When you |
| commodity. Software gives everyone the same | | | | stop learning is when you die. Your death my |
| tools and allowed almost anyone the ability | | | | not physical but it is an emotional and |
| to create acceptable art work. I use a | | | | intellectual death all the same.As Satchel |
| program call GIMP and it is free.Greer pushed | | | | Page once said - don't look back they might |
| himself up the knowledge ladder and retooled | | | | be gaining on you.The untouchables never look |
| his skill sets. He became the idea man. He | | | | back - they are always looking for the next |
| would create the idea, draw it out and email | | | | way to provide greater value. If you are |
| it to his clients and they would finish it. | | | | always providing value there is no need to |
| For Greer, the old process was eight steps. | | | | look back. |
| The new process is three steps.This concept | | | | |