America has lost ground to booming China and India, in part because of its dwindling emphasis on the sciences, according to a panel discussion Wed nesday attended by more than 150 people in downtown Denver.
“We need to reward our math and science students the way we reward our athletes,” said Victor Chayet, vice president of corporate communications for Greenwood Village-based First Data Corp. “We need to find the glory in geeks.”
Colorado companies should view the growing economies of China and India as opportunities to adapt to the increasingly global marketplace, panelists said.
Keynote speaker Justin Fox, editor at large of Fortune magazine, cited China’s annual economic growth rate of 10 percent, compared with 3 percent to 4 percent in the U.S.
“We don’t have the right to expect our lives to be exactly the same (in the future) as they are now,” Fox said, noting the rising number of outsourced production and service jobs.
Adaptability and continuing education also emerged as prominent themes in the panelists’ comments.
“Given the connectivity that we have now, geography has no sense of meaning,” said Chayet, noting that small businesses could consider almost anywhere part of their market. “Venture- capital firms are looking at funding companies that have outsourcing as part of their strategy.”
Donald Stevens, former dean of the business school at the University of Colorado at Denver, said that to remain competitive, individuals should focus on their strengths, such as innovation.
Americans excel at innovation, he said, because of our individualistic, “John McEnroe” culture, as opposed to Chinese and Indian cultures, which stress team-oriented work and eschew superstars.
However, as Chayet noted, innovation will soon be globalized as other countries overtake us in key fields.
The panel discussion was held at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce in downtown Denver as part of the Leadership Denver Alumni Association’s annual fall forum.
Staff writer John Wenzel can be reached at 303-820-1378 or jwenzel@denverpost.com.
