Remember Kodak…. A company started in Rochester New York in 1888 with the true American spirt which made it Great. It held a dominant market position through out most of the 20th century.
It started struggling in the 1990’s due to it’s reluctance to embrace change and failed to adapt it’s business to the increased demand for digital photography. Kodak actually developed the first ever digital camera way back in 1975, but decided to abandon the project on fear that it would threaten Kodak’s core photographic film business…
In less than 2 decades, Kodak went from sales of just below 16 Billion USD in 1996 to bankruptcy in 2012, resulting in 150 000 employees losing their jobs.
I look at this fall from grace and see similarities with what is currently happening in the USA. The USA has also been the dominant power for most of the 20th century.
However just like Kodak, the United States has experienced a decrease in it’s growth rate over the past 2 decades. In the 50’s and 60’s the average growth rate was above 4 percent, in the 70’s and 80’s it dropped to around 3 percent and in the last ten years the average growth rate has been below 2 percent.
The Great Kodak company fell. Is the United States on the same path.
History is full of stories of the great falling. Never have the small and agile been in a more advantageous position to deliver a knockout blow to the biggest and greatest than right now.
Just as digital photography changed the fortunes of Kodak, so will innovation, climate change, globalization, inclusiveness and technology pose a threat to the United States as a leading power.
Most experts agree that the points above are real and pose threats, however, they also offer opportunities for economies and businesses which embrace and use them to their advantage. Ignoring these waves of change will inevitably leads us down the same failing path as Kodak and many others.
Kodak tried to row against the current, determined to go back to the good old days and it failed. The United states has now elected a new President / CEO (Donald Trump) who wants to row against the current and “Make America Great Again” (the good old days). He wants to go against globalization (which made the USA and other countries more prosperous), against immigration (which contributed to the highest growth rates the US ever experienced), discredit climate change, (which could have offered the US it’s biggest competitive advantage over China) and reject inclusiveness (which is the how the US was founded and flourished). Will this CEO lead the USA forwards or will he more likely lead it backwards, seeing that his thoughts and actions are backward too.
The world cannot afford to have the USA enter a chapter 11, even though we already believe that this hasn’t happen, due to the US being able to print it’s own dollar currency.
With Trump as CEO, the USA now has a leader that has filed for bankruptcies at least 6 times and has no financial transparency in his current business dealings.
Based on his personal business track record, Trump is ideally qualified to lead the USA into deep financial ruin. One prediction is that the US debt will have increased hugely when he is done.
I do hold out hope that this dark and dangerous period will pass, mainly due to the following:
– Trump lost the popular vote, actually it was the largest loss margin ever. So he is actually the biggest loser ever.
– The US posses some of the brightest, creative and caring people in the world. Real pity they didn’t run for president.
– Trump’s flaws will ultimately be exposed and in the end, the US is a land of law and order. I see this in 90% of the US movies, so I am counting on it.
– I also believe the US will stop being scarred of its own shadow. Start acting in control and stop acting out and reacting to senseless twitters, hackers and all the other crap.
USA, I urge you, don’t be the next Kodak, embrace the changed of today and shape the future for us all…
this article was posted at link to leaders, 10/02/2017.