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but today； with a shortage of aeronautical engineers in America； it is a necessity。
Boeing's ability to blend these lower…cost Russian engineers with higher…cost； more
advanced American design teams is enabling Boeing to compete head…to…head with its
archrival；
Airbus Industries； which is subsidized by a consortium of European governments and
is using Russian talent as well。 A U。S。 aeronautical engineer costs 120 per design
hour； a Russian costs about one…third of that。
But the outsourcees are also outsourcers。 The Russian engineers have outsourced
elements of their work for Boeing to Hindustan Aeronautics in Bangalore； which
specializes in digitizing airplane designs so as to make them easier to manufacture。
But this isn't the half of it。 In the old days； explained Pickering； Boeing would
say to its Japanese subcontractors； 〃We will send you the plans for the wings of the
777。 We will let you make some of them and then we will count on you buying the whole
airplanes from us。 It's a win…win。〃
Today Boeing says to the giant Japanese industrial company Mitsubishi； 〃Here are the
general parameters for the wings of the new 7E7。 You design the finished product and
build it。〃 But Japanese engineers are very expensive。 So what happens？ Mitsubishi
outsources elements of the outsourced 7E7 wing to the same Russian engineers Boeing
is using for other parts of the plane。 Meanwhile； some of these Russian engineers
and scientists are leaving the big Russian airplane companies； setting up their own
firms； and Boeing is considering buying shares in some of these start…ups to have
reserve engineering capacity。
All of this global sourcing is for the purpose of designing and building planes faster
and cheaper； so that Boeing can use its cash to keep innovating for the next generation
and survive the withering competition from Airbus。 Thanks to the triple convergence；
it now takes Boeing eleven days to build a 737； down from twenty…eight days just a
few years ago。 Boeing will build its next generation of planes in three days； because
all the parts are being computer…designed for assembly； and Boeing's global supply
chain will enable it to move parts from one facility to another just in time。
To make sure that it is getting the best deals on its parts and other supplies； Boeing
now runs regular 〃reverse auctions；〃 in which companies bid down against each other
rather than bid up against each other。 Theybid for contracts on everything from toilet
paper for the Boeing factories to nuts and bolts…the off…the…shelf commodity
parts…for Boeing's supply chain。 Boeing will announce an auction for a stated time
on a specially designed Internet site。 It will begin the auction for each supply
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item at what it considers a fair price。 Then it will just sit back and watch how far
each supplier wants to undercut the others to win Boeing's business。 Bidders are
prequalified by Boeing； and everyone can see everyone else's bids as they are
submitted。
〃You can really see the pressures ofthe marketplace and how they work；〃 said Pickering。
〃It's like watching a horse race。〃
The Other Triple Convergence
I once heard Bill Bradley tell a story about a high…society woman from Boston who
goes to San Francisco for the first time。 When she comes home and is asked by a friend
how she liked it； she says； 〃Not very much…it's too far from the ocean。〃
The perspective and predispositions that you carry around in your head are very
important in shaping what you see and what you don't see。 That helps to explain why
a lot of people missed the triple convergence。 Their heads were completely somewhere
else…even though it was happening right before their eyes。 Three other things…another
convergence… came together to create this smoke screen。
The first was the dot…com bust； which began in March 2001。 As I said earlier； many
people wrongly equated the dot…com boom with globalization。 So when the dot…com boom
went bust； and so many dot…coms （and the firms that supported them） imploded； these
same people assumed that globalization was imploding as well。 The sudden flameout
of dogfood。com and ten other Web sites offering to deliver ten pounds of puppy chow
to your door in thirty minutes was supposed to be proof that globalization and the
IT revolution were all sizzle and no beef。
This was pure foolishness。 Those who thought that globalization was the same thing
as the dot…com boom and that the dot…com bust marked the end of globalization could
not have been more wrong。 To say it again； the dot…com bust actually drove
globalization into hypermode by forcing companies to outsource and offshore more and
more functions in order to save on scarce capital。 This was a key factor in laying
the groundwork for
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Globalization 3。0。 Between the dot…com bust and today； Google went from processing
roughly 150 million searches per day to roughly one billion searches per day； with
only a third coming from inside the United States。 As its auction model caught on
worldwide； eBay went from twelve hundred employees in early 2000 to sixty…three
hundred by 2004； all in the period when globalization was supposed to be 〃over。〃
Between 2000 and 2004； total global Internet usage grew 125 percent； including 186
percent in Africa； 209 percent in Latin America； 124 percent in Europe； and 105 percent
in North America； according to Nielsen/ NetRatings。 Yes； globalization sure ended；
all right。
It was not just the dot…com bust and all the hot air surrounding it that obscured
all this from view。 There were two other big clouds that moved in。 The biggest； of
course； was 9/11； which was a profound shock to the American body politic。 Given 9/11；
and the Afghanistan and Iraq invasions that followed； it's not surprising that the
triple convergence was lost in the fog of war and the chatter of cable television。
Finally； there was the Enron corporate governance scandal； quickly followed by
blowups at Tyco and WorldCom…which all sent CEOs and the Bush administration running
for cover。 CEOs； with some justification； became guilty until proven innocent of
boardroom shenanigans； and even the slavishly probusiness； pro…CEO Bush
administration was wary of appearing…in public…to be overly solicitous of the
concerns of big business。 In the spring of 2004；1 met with the head of one of America's
biggest technology companies； who had come to Washington to lobby for more federal
funding for the National Science Foundation to help nurture a stronger industrial
base for American industry。 I asked him why the administration wasn't convening a
summit of CEOs to highlight this issue； and he just shook his head and said one word：
〃Enron。〃
The result： At the precise moment when the world was being flattened； and the triple
convergence was reshaping the whole global business environment…requiring some very
important adjustments in our own society and that of many other Western developed
nations…American politicians not only were not educating the American public； they
were actively working to make it stupid。 During the 2004 election campaign
we sa