Stay Focused on the Big Picture, Especially in Tough Times

Things are about to turn from terrible to horrible in the United States. We're embarking on what could rank among the most dangerous periods in our history. 

There's an understandable human tendency to be consumed by the downward spiral of events at times like this. Despite this impulse toward insularity, it remains essential for our states, cities, corporations, universities, and each of us as citizens to stay sharply focused on the world at large.

So how about that Boao Forum ending today on Hainan Island in China? It's "the Asian Davos" comprising a Who's Who of global leadership under Beijing's auspices. Decisions and deals affecting us all are being crafted right now at Boao and throughout its networks in essential markets such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data, biomedicine, blockchain, e-commerce, private education and, well, you name it. Where are we in this mix? How much have you learned about Boao from U.S. media?

One hopes history will show that the U.S. recovered from this pungent sewer ride we're now on. History will also inevitably show, however, that our self-absorption of the moment - our inability and unwillingness to keep our eyes on the big picture - ceded some advantages in trade and lucrative emerging industries to China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and other economic competitors. Leaving the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Paris Accords certainly didn't help, either.

So, get ready for life on a very treacherous slippery slope. That said, let's not lose sight of some of the bigger pictures that are being painted by others right now. It's a lesson for us all, whether we're navigating an organizational crisis or a national meltdown.
Image courtesy of CCTV.