This Eagle Will Soar Again

By Colin Makin

This book draws parallels between evolution in the natural world and the continuously changing and competitive nature of American business and society in general. History shows us that America has always stayed ahead of the pack because it has retained certain deeply held convictions but been sufficiently adaptable to accommodate changes to remain competitive. But government dysfunction has resulted in costly and poorly performing social infrastructure—education, healthcare, criminal justice, transportation, etc. The excessive cost of which must be added to everything that is produced, resulting in an ever increasing wealth gap. If we adopt a business mindset and use currently available technology we can transform our democracy and thereby improve the overall efficiency of our economy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Makin Books Publishing
• Release date: May 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781513068428

Book preview

This Eagle Will Soar Again

If We Can Learn From Nature, History and Business

Colin Makin

Copyright © 2014 Colin Makin

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 1495418650

ISBN-13: 978-1495418655

LCCN: 2014902504

You can always count on Americans to do the right thing—after they’ve tried everything else.

—Winston S. Churchill

The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.

—Alexis de Tocqueville

Contents

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Prologue

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This book has ended up being quite a bit different from what was originally intended. The plan was to draw parallels between evolution in the natural world and the continuously changing and competitive nature of American business and society in general. The concept was that America would always stay ahead of the pack because of its uncanny ability to hold on to certain deeply held convictions but be sufficiently adaptable to accommodate change and remain competitive. But as the book was being written, certain dark clouds started to appear, and it looked as though the political system would be unable to come up with satisfactory solutions. It seemed to me that the entire political establishment—including the partisan media, pundits, donors, party bases, and politicians—were quite comfortable with the situation and happy to just keep repeating what they were saying, only louder next time. You don’t want to be cynical—but could it be that they have all gotten too comfortable? After all, the situation provides them with jobs, and they spend their days talking to like-minded people. I do not believe that there is a conspiracy to ignore or purposely mislead, but it is apparent that the whole political industry is not doing a great job, and, quite justifiably, Americans are not happy.

It occurred to me that our government would not be allowed to behave the way it does if it operated in the competitive world of private industry. Could we take some well-established concepts and practices from successful companies and apply them to the government? One example is making the satisfaction of the customer the primary goal. To do this, private companies must always understand the needs of the customer and be driven by reality. In the modern world, this is sometimes referred to as being customer and data driven. Inventing the best search engine in the world was only the start of Google’s success. What enabled the company to really take off was its ability to demonstrate to potential customers that its proposition was cost effective, and Google did this by presenting accurate and detailed data. After the sale, customers were then able to confirm that their money was well spent, because they always had access to appropriate supporting data. Can we apply

modern technology to the operation of government and thereby hold our politicians to task on the basis of logic and performance—all supported by data? If we could, the results would be colossal. It would be the basis of a process to cut through the bickering and deadlock, raise performance in all areas, and steadily improve our democracy.

As well as making suggestions as to how to implement a new and more effective data-driven government, this book retains the original intent. It explains why the forces of evolution are still relevant today and what history tells us about how and why the unique American experience made it fundamentally different from other nations.

I was not born here, and as it is with many people who come to America, it was quite an experience for me—a wonderful mixture of excitement, confusion, wonder, opportunity, and fascination. But one feeling started the moment I arrived and has continued to this day. It has been the feeling of being welcomed and accepted. The ultimate demonstration of acceptance is to be granted citizenship, and I am happy to say that I am now proud to be an American. That is, however, just the official side of things. As well as being a bona fide, documented, passport-carrying citizen, I actually feel like part of this great society and that I am duty bound to play my part in it.

Generally speaking, I have been something of a model citizen—picking up litter, working for a living, paying taxes—and, apart from the odd speeding ticket a few years back, I believe I have played by the rules. It is my belief that my contribution has definitely been on the positive side of the ledger.

A good question at this point might be OK, you’ve been a well-behaved person since you arrived, but you weren’t born here, so what qualifies you to write a book about the essence of America, talk about its problems, and then tell us how to fix them? My answer is that being born in one country and living and working in others has given me the basis on which to make comparisons and judgments. The living and working elements of experience are very important—my experiences have gone beyond those of tourists, which tend to be based on rather superficial things like food, accommodations, transportation, and weather. You have to experience the real things to understand what makes a society tick, everyday things like finding a job, how people work together, the kids’ experiences at school, getting a driver’s license, and garbage pickup. Then there are the deeper intangibles—do things seem to work properly, and is there a feeling of fairness? And perhaps even more importantly—if things aren’t right, does it feel as though there is a possibility that they will be put right?

My background has given me an excellent opportunity to live and learn in some wonderful countries. I was born in England, where I went to school, gained my degree in civil engineering, worked, met and married my mentor/counsellor/soul mate, and fathered three wonderful children. We now have four grandchildren. Most of my work experience immediately after graduation was in England, but I did have short stays in Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Scotland. England is a certainly good place to live and a good place to be raised. But there are a lot of people in such a small place, and you really wouldn’t live there for the weather. Talking of weather and room to breathe, we immigrated to Canada in 1981 and thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful people and the magnificent scenery and wildlife. During this time I was temporarily transferred to America to work and also spent a year in Poland. The postcommunist Polish experience was fascinating. It gave me some insight into what an overbearing government can do to people and, to some extent, what it can’t do to people. We moved to America in 2000 and have lived here ever since, apart from a stint working in Canada when employment got somewhat problematic after the 2008 financial debacle. Being back in America has given me the opportunity to reflect on what makes this country so uniquely successful—not just compared to underdeveloped and postcommunist countries but also when compared to highly successful first-world countries like the United Kingdom and Canada. Both these countries have similarities to America—in a lot of ways, they are both more like America than any other country. England has many of the same traditions and sophisticated financial capabilities, together with a similar attitude toward commerce in general. Canada retains many of its English roots, but, being America’s biggest trading partner and neighbor for so long, it has become heavily Americanized—in fact, most aspects of everyday life in Canada are indistinguishable from America. But as with the United Kingdom, there are profound differences in some attitudes and social structure.

Immigration has always been a fundamental American differentiator, but it is only one. This book is intended to present and explain some of the other differences that have gotten the country to where it is today. Analyzing the past is very important because it tells us what is fundamental and what is transitory. We know that America has led the world through all kinds of tribulations with strength and a commitment to freedom. But will the fundamental strengths of the past be sufficient for the future?

To put it mildly, the world is changing, and we have gone through some difficult times recently. Many people are questioning the fundamentals of the American way and asking themselves if this really is the start of a big decline. I say, quite categorically, no. But we must study why America rose to preeminence in the world so that we can properly understand and thereby apply the lessons learned as we move forward. There are very real dangers that lie ahead, and if we don’t get it right, we could slide into a new normal of steadily worsening standards and performance.

The reason this book continuously refers to evolution is that it is the process by which winners stay ahead in competitive environments. The same rules at play in the rainforests of Brazil and on the Serengeti plains apply in business and for countries in this increasingly competitive global economy. We need to understand how evolution works if we are to remain successful.

This book explains that politically generated problems have led to government and societal dysfunction at a number of levels. But there are solutions. There is nothing that we can’t fix, and when we do, This Eagle Will Soar Again.

Colin Makin

Introduction

The first decade of the twenty-first century was a bad one for America—it started with 9/11 and ended with the worst recession since the Great Depression. To make it worse, things do not seem to be getting better fast enough, and some question whether America will ever regain its position in the world.

The list of problems seems to keep stacking up:

•  Entitlements

•  Slow growth

•  Loss of international prestige

•  Never-ending foreign wars

•  Deficits

•  Wage stagnation

•  Climate change

•  Unemployment

•  National decline

•  Government dysfunction

•  Political stalemate

Understandably, there are feelings of helplessness and a lack of optimism. There simply do not seem to be any ideas around that will solve our problems and get us back on track.

This book explains that reasons for optimism abound. A careful study of what got us to where we are today reveals that we have the capacity to make America even more successful in the twenty-first century. But it will only happen if we remain open to fundamental change and apply the lessons available to us.

Nature

Every species on earth today has earned the right to live and reproduce. It has—and continues to be—a hard fought battle with many more losers than winners. Evolution is the process by which only those plants and animals with superior traits survive—and humans have always been subject to the same unforgiving rules. Evolution initially drove human progress by winnowing out those genetic messages that were inconsistent with survival. This firm guiding hand has given human beings all they need to survive in a hostile and competitive world. Humans as a species are now fully capable of surviving in a physical sense, and modern medicine and access to food and shelter have largely broken the link between genes and survival. Biological evolution has more or less ended, so it is now our societies that must evolve if we are to prosper rather than go by the wayside. Even compared to other established Western countries, America has come out on top. But the world is changing. Will our society continue to evolve and meet the new challenges of the twenty-first century?

1.  History

History shows that America has always responded to challenges and opportunities by taking forthright action. It started out as a collection of colonies and eventually became today’s world superpower, continuously evolving to meet all its challenges and opportunities as they arose. It is clearly one of the great success stories in the history of the world. What shaped the American character and its seemingly innate responses to challenges? Are these and all other aspects of the American character really that unique, and are they what will be needed in the future?

1.  Business

There are many good businesses we can learn from. They have all been tested in the fire of competition and proven their worth by succeeding. The new IT companies have demonstrated how to make transformative innovations in the digital age. But this is not just a group of people sitting around coming up with cool new ideas. New ideas are essential, but the companies would fail very quickly if it did not employ some old tried-and-true business techniques. Of prime importance are an unwavering focus on the end user/customer, the establishment of logical plans, and the discipline to get things done efficiently and on time. Can we get our government to be more like a successful modern business that thrives in this digital world?

Dark Clouds

From the very early days, America has been at the cutting edge of innovation in many areas, including democracy, business, and social infrastructure. America’s businesses have continued to move ahead, particularly in the area of modern, high-tech, life-changing industries. But dysfunctional politics have led to a decline in the quality of our social infrastructure. It has recently been slipping badly in terms of efficiency and performance compared to other industrialized countries and even some developing countries. Our health care, criminal justice, education, and transportation systems were all once the envy of the world, but they are now expensive and performing poorly—they hinder our global competitiveness, keep wages low, and cause unnecessary hardship for our citizens. We can’t even get immigration policy sorted out. It is said that the Canadians fear that America will copy their system which gives preferential treatment to educated people and wealthy investors. Canada now has a sizable number of immigrants working in the IT sector simply because they cannot get American work visas. This kind of politics might have been good enough in the past, but it certainly does not work well enough now.

Why is America seemingly incapable of meeting these fundamental challenges? The root cause of the problem is political. At the federal level, one party reflexively wants to increase spending to solve all of society’s problems. But we all know that spending more money does not always solve problems or even bring about improvements. The other party seems only to be capable of calling for cuts in resources going to any government-funded activity, without regard to need or benefit. And that doesn’t work either—a government department starved of adequate funds often makes illogical short term cuts that impact service without any real cost savings in terms of value provided. It has gotten to be a tiresome round of pandering to the bases of both parties, with little or no progress. It is not surprising that polls show that Congress has the lowest approval ratings in history—it is all embarrassingly dysfunctional.

The good news is that America has already developed many of the necessary attributes to take on the twenty-first century and remain the leader of the free world. This book examines the development of some key aspects of the American character and makes comparisons with Canada and certain European countries to highlight some of the differences. This is done so that the relative depth of our strengths and weaknesses can be properly understood. Included in the list of American attributes are an openness to change and the willingness to implement big ideas—this rapidly changing world will require both to be exercised more rapidly than ever before.

How do we go about making the changes? The chapter entitled Twenty-First Century and Beyond describes what needs to be done: we need to allow the forces of evolution the freedom to bring about continuous improvement, and the government needs to use many of the business management techniques that are already being used by our biggest and best companies.

The question now becomes, does America have the political will to reinvent the government so that the country can meet the challenges of the twenty-first century?

Chapter 1

Survival: What Nature Teaches Us

Evolution

ev·o·lu·tion

•  The process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.

•  The gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form.

The well-documented disappearance of dinosaurs and the ascendancy of mammals is but one demonstration of how the process of evolution works. Evolution is the unbiased arbiter of winners and losers in any competitive environment in which successful competitors can pass on their traits to those that follow. Basically, over time, what works succeeds and what does not fails. Evolution is at play in nature,