02.01.06
John Chambers is Right on Track
John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, outlines some things we can do immediately to restore our competitive position in the world in the area of information technologies. His ideas are good ones. As some of the analysts said last night, we aren’t in danger of losing our position, we have lost it already. The problem is not retaining our leadership, it is restoring our leadership position. This means not only an across the board (i.e. all levels of education) revamping of technical/math/science education, but an economy wherein graduating students can find jobs in these important creative areas, something that has been severely lacking over the past 5 years as many IT jobs have gone overseas.
What bears close watching is what the politicians, on both sides of the aisle, decide to do with the opportunity. It could easily be lost if the discussion deteriorates to petty squabbling, as it often does. Those who don’t get around much may think that we are still the world leader in technology. Guess again. I’m not even sure we are in the top 5 when it comes to things like cell phone use, application of wireless technologies, building of IT infrastructure, and the proper integration of technology into education. Let’s pay attention to what Chambers and other industry leaders are saying and get behind any bipartisan efforts to move us forward.
