Only a few years ago, the rallying cry for increasing US competitiveness was the Japanese juggernaut or the Southeast Asian super economies. They could do no wrong. They were business samurai waiting to take over the world. There were discussions about a titanic business struggle. The Japanese allegedly were unstoppable because of their high quality products; just-in-time operations; and excellent customer service. The Southeast Asian economies, the Tigers, would also devour the world’s markets.
Well, that was then and this is now! We all know the Japanese didn’t conquer the economic world and instead are economic laggards because of the overvalued yen and inability to change.
But China and Vietnam are the new Asian tiger economies. US companies are now aggressively innovating, pleasing customers, adding value, developing products, and enhancing shareholder value.
Bottom Line: Competitiveness pressures forced all companies to work smarter. The other option is to stagnate and die.