Just about everything I have ever learned on just about every topic (from baseball, to sushi, to China, to Philosophy, to chemistry, to poitics, to fashion, to plastics manufacturing, to photography, to….) has helped me in some way in my job.

You cannot name any significant enough business, industry, or job in the world without involvement with globalization, or more specifically, China. (Make that a homework, Carr.) So, students, how many years you would like to work before reaching that level of “significance.” If the answer is “forever,” then please move on and leave this trip only in your scrapbook. Since in a few years, you won’t matter anyway.

I think that China and India are laboratories where there is a great experiment going on. We will get to see in China and India, whether humanity can overcome the challenges we face in the next century or whether growth will stop it its tracks. China and India have grown at a phenomenal rate. Yet this growth is causing an economic disparity, political unrest, and an environmental disaster. I think these are themes echoed worldwide. China and India are the grand experiment to see if we can overcome the new challenges we face.

China and India are also the grand experiment for business. If something can succeed in China and India then it can truly succeed anywhere. China alone is one fifth of the world’s potential consumers. These are consumers that could want a product or service your company provides. If they can’t get it from you, they will probably decide to make it themselves.

Even if you choose to ignore the experiment you will become part of it. The Chinese and Indians will compete with you for resources of all types including but not limited to those that are natural, intellectual, and entrepreneurial.

The only way we can compete both personally and in our jobs is by understanding the experiment. We don’t have to embrace China or India but we cannot afford the comparative disadvantage that is the price we will pay for ignorance.