|
by Robert Malone, Contributing Editor   | Abstract: | When bigger isn't better and more turns out to be less, it's time to change survival strategies. How about focusing on the small, vital differences? |
There is much speculation as to why the dinosaurs disappeared. Whatever did them in must have been a blockbuster — or their own kind of sub-prime fiasco. It wasn't an altogether silent spring that wiped them out; some creatures survived. But large volume didn't save the dinosaurs. Small volume didn't save them. Agility didn't save them.
Unlike the dinosaurs, there was a time when the United States won by sheer numbers. In World War II, we produced 30,000-plus lousy Sherman tanks. For the Germans, Sherman tanks were more target than threat, but we won by numbers. We did the same thing in the submarine war: We produced more Liberty ships than they could sink. And our Flying Fortress planes flunked tough British testing, but the Brits underestimated what tens of thousands of them could do. We were the numbers king of the world.
Ironically, our number may be up. The amount of goods flowing from Asia, particularly China, is legion, despite toxic toys and poor quality. But we have nothing much to put into the shipping containers or the holds of planes returning to Asia, other than waste paper and hay. We are losing by numbers if you look at the balance of trade.
[Click to continue] |