the.world.is.flat-第58节

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people　out　there　also　trying　to　get　smarter。　It　was　never　good　to　be　mediocre　in　your　
job；　but　in　a　world　of　walls；　mediocrity　could　still　earn　you　a　decent　wage。　In　a　
flatter　world；　you　really　do　not　want　to　be　mediocre。　You　don't　want　to　find　yourself　
in　the　shoes　of　Willy　Loman　in　Death　of　a　Salesman；　when　his　son　Biff　dispels　his　
idea　that　the　Loman　family　is　special　by　declaring；　〃Pop！　I'm　a　dime　a　dozen；　and　
so　are　you！〃　An　angry　Willy　retorts；　〃I　am　not　a　dime　a　dozen！　I　am　Willy　Loman；　and　
you　are　Biff　Loman！〃　
I　don't　care　to　have　that　conversation　with　my　girls；　so　my　advice　to　them　in　this　
flat　world　is　very　brief　and　very　blunt：　〃Girls；　when　I　was　growing　up；　my　parents　
used　to　say　to　me；　'Tom；　finish　your　dinner…people　in　China　and　India　are　starving。'　
My　advice　to　you　is：　Girls；　finishyour　homework…people　in　China　and　India　are　starving　
for　your　jobs。〃　
The　way　I　like　to　think　about　this　for　our　society　as　a　whole　is　that　every　person　
should　figure　out　how　to　make　himself　or　herself　into　an　untouchable。　That's　right。　
When　the　world　goes　flat；　the　caste　system　
2？8　
gets　turned　upside　down。　In　India　untouchables　may　be　the　lowest　social　class；　but　
in　a　flat　world　everyone　should　wantto　be　an　untouchable。　Untouchables；　in　my　lexicon；　


are　people　whose　jobs　cannot　be　outsourced。　
So　who　are　the　untouchables；　and　how　do　you　or　your　kids　get　to　be　one？　Untouchables　
come　in　four　broad　categories：　workers　who　are　〃special；〃　workers　who　are　
〃specialized；〃　workers　who　are　〃anchored；〃　and　workers　who　are　〃really　adaptable。〃　
Workers　who　are　special　are　people　like　Michael　Jordan；　Bill　Gates；　and　Barbra　
Streisand。　They　have　a　global　market　for　their　goods　and　services　and　can　command　
global…sized　pay　packages。　Their　jobs　can　never　be　outsourced。　
If　you　can't　be　special…and　only　a　few　people　can　be…you　want　to　be　specialized；　so　
that　your　work　cannot　be　outsourced。　This　applies　to　all　sorts　of　knowledge　
workers…from　specialized　lawyers；　accountants；　and　brain　surgeons；　to　cutting…edge　
computer　architects　and　software　engineers；　to　advanced　machine　tool　and　robot　
operators。　These　are　skills　that　are　always　in　high　demand　and　are　not　fungible。　
（〃Fungible〃　is　an　important　word　to　remember。　As　Infosys　CEO　Nandan　Nilekani　likes　
to　say；　in　a　flat　world　there　is　〃fungible　and　nonfungible　work。〃　Work　that　can　be　
easily　digitized　and　transferred　to　lower…wage　locations　is　fungible。　Work　that　
cannot　be　digitized　or　easily　substituted　is　nonfungible。　Michael　Jordan's　jump　shot　
is　nonfungible。　A　bypass　surgeon's　technique　is　nonfungible。　A　television　
assembly…line　worker's　job　is　now　fungible。　Basic　accounting　and　tax　preparation　are　
now　fungible。）　
If　you　cannot　be　special　or　specialized；　you　want　to　be　anchored。　That　status　applies　
to　most　Americans；　everyone　from　my　barber；　to　the　waitress　at　lunch；　to　the　chefs　
in　the　kitchen；　to　the　plumber；　to　nurses；　to　many　doctors；　many　lawyers；　entertainers；　
electricians；　and　cleaning　ladies。　Their　jobs　are　simply　anchored　and　always　will　
be；　because　they　must　be　done　in　a　specific　location；　involving　face…to…face　contact　
with　a　customer；　client；　patient；　or　audience。　These　jobs　generally　cannot　be　
digitized　and　are　not　fungible；　and　the　market　wage　is　set　according　to　the　local　
market　conditions。　But　be　advised：　There　are　fungible　parts　of　even　anchored　jobs；　
and　they　can　and　will　be　outsourced…either　to　

India　or　to　the　past…for　greater　efficiency。　（Yes；　as　David　Rothkopf　notes；　more　jobs　
are　actually　〃outsourced　to　the　past；〃　thanks　to　new　innovations；　than　are　outsourced　
to　India。）　For　instance；　you　are　not　going　to　go　to　Bangalore　to　find　an　internist　
or　a　divorce　lawyer；　but　your　divorce　lawyer　may　one　day　use　a　legal　aide　in　Bangalore　
for　basic　research　or　to　write　up　vanilla　legal　documents；　and　your　internist　may　
use　a　nighthawk　radiologist　in　Bangalore　to　read　your　CAT　scan。　
This　is　why　if　you　cannot　be　special　or　specialized；　you　don't　want　to　count　on　being　
anchored　so　you　won't　be　outsourced。　You　actually　want　to　become　really　adaptable。　
You　want　constantly　to　acquire　new　skills；　knowledge；　and　expertise　that　enable　you　
constantly　to　be　able　to　create　value…something　more　than　vanilla　ice　cream。　You　want　
to　learn　how　to　make　the　latest　chocolate　sauce；　the　whipped　cream；　or　the　cherries　
on　top；　or　to　deliver　it　as　a　belly　dancer…in　whatever　your　field　of　endeavor。　As　
parts　of　your　work　become　commoditized　and　fungible；　orturned　into　vanilla；　adaptable　
people　will　always　learn　how　to　make　some　other　part　of　the　sundae。　Being　adaptable　
in　a　flat　world；　knowing　how　to　〃learn　how　to　learn；〃　will　be　one　of　the　most　important　


assets　any　worker　can　have；　because　job　churn　will　come　faster；　because　innovation　
will　happen　faster。　
Atul　Vashistha；　CEO　of　NeoIT；　a　California　consultingfirm　that　specializes　inhelping　

U。S。　firms　do　outsourcing；　has　a　good　feel　for　this：　〃What　you　can　do　and　how　you　
can　adapt　and　how　you　can　leverage　all　the　experience　and　knowledge　you　have　when　
the　world　goes　flat…that　is　the　basic　component　＇for　survival＇。　When　you　are　changing　
jobs　a　lot；　and　when　your　job　environment　is　changing　a　lot；　being　adaptable　is　the　
number　one　thing。　The　people　who　are　losing　out　are　those　with　solid　technical　skills　
who　have　not　grown　those　skills。　You　have　to　be　skillfully　adaptable　and　socially　
adaptable。〃　
The　more　we　push　out　the　boundaries　of　knowledge　and　technology；　the　more　complex　
tasks　that　machines　can　do；　the　more　those　with　specialized　education；　or　the　ability　
to　learn　how　to　learn；　will　be　in　demand；　and　for　better　pay。　And　the　more　those　without　
that　ability　will　be　less　generously　compensated。　What　you　don't　want　to　be　is　a　not　
very　special；　not　very　specialized；　not　very　anchored；　or　not　very　adaptable　
person　in　a　fungible　job。　If　you　are　in　the　low…margin；　fungible　end　of　the　work　food　
chain；　where　businesses　have　an　incentive　to　outsource　to　lower…cost；　equally　
efficient　producers；　there　is　a　much　greater　chance　that　your　job　will　be　outsourced　
or　your　wages　depressed。　
〃If　you　are　a　Web　programmer　and　are　still　using　only　HTML　and　have　not　expanded　your　
skill　set　to　include　newer　and　creative　technologies；　such　as　XML　and　multimedia；　
your　value　to　the　organization　gets　diminished　every　year；〃　added　Vashistha。　New　
technologies　get　introduced　that　increase　complexity　but　improve　results；　and　as　long　
as　a　programmer　embraces　these　and　keeps　abreast　of　what　clients　are　looking　for；　
his　or　her　job　gets　hard　to　outsource。　〃While　technology　advances　make　last　year's　
work　a　commodity；〃　said　Vashistha；　〃reskilling；　continual　professional　education　and　
client　intimacy　to　develop　new　relationships　keeps　him　or　her　ahead　of　the　commodity　
curve　and　away　from　a　potential　offshore。'〃　
My　childhood　friend　Bill　Greer　is　a　good　example　of　a　person　who　faced　this　challenge　
and　came　up　with　a　personal　strategy　to　meet　it。　Greer　is　forty…eight　years　old　and　
has　made　his　living　as　a　freelance　artist　and　graphic　designer　for　twenty…six　years。　
From　the　late　1970s　until　right　around　2000；　the　way　Bill　did　his　job　and　served　his　
clients　was　pretty　much　the　same。　
〃Clients；　like　The　New　York　Times；　would　want　a　finished　piece　of　artwork；〃　Bill　
explained　to　me。　So　if　he　was　doing　an　illustration　for　a　newspaper　or　a　magazine；　
or　proposing　a　new　logo　for　a　product；　he　would　actually　create　a　piece　of　art…sketch　
it；　color　it；　mount　it　on　an　illustration　board；　cover　it　with　tissue；　put　it　in　a　
package　that　was　opened　with　two　flaps；　and　have　it　delivered　by　messenger　or　FedEx。　
He　called　it　〃flap　art。〃　In　the　industry　it　was　known　as　〃camera…ready　art；〃　because　
it　neededto　be　shot；　printed　on　four　different　layers　of　color　film；　or　〃separations；〃　
and　prepared　for　publication。　〃It　was　a　finished　product；　and　it　had　a　certain　
preciousness　to　it；〃　said　Bill。　〃It　was　a　real　piece　of　art；　and　sometimes　people　
would　hang　them　on　their　walls。　In　fact；　The　New　York　Times　would　have　shows　of　works　


that　were　created　by　illustrators　for　its　publications。〃　
241　
But　in　the　last　few　years　〃that　started　to　change；〃　Bill　told　me；　as　publications　
and　ad　agencies　moved　to　digital　preparation；　relying　on　the　new　software…namely；　
Quark；　Photoshop；　and　Illustrator；　which　graphic　artists　refer　to　as　〃the　
trinity〃…which　made　digital　computer　design　so　much　easier。　Everyone　who　went　through　
art　school　got　trained　on　these　programs。　Indeed；　Bill　explained；　graphic　design　got　
so　much　easier　that　it　became　a　commodity。　It　got　turned　into　vanilla　ice　cream。　〃In　
terms　of　design；〃　he　said；　〃the　technology　gave　everyone　the　same　tools；　so　everyone　
could　do　straight　lines　and　everyone　could　do　work　that　was　halfway　decent。　You　used　
to　need　an　eye　to　see　if　something　was　in　balance　and　had　the　right　typeface；　but　
all　of　a　sudden　anyone　could　hammer　out　something　that　was　acceptable。〃　
So　Greer　pushed　himself　up　the　knowledge　ladder。　As　publications　demanded　that　all　
final　products　be　presented　as　digital　files　that　could　be　uploaded；　and　there　was　
no　longer　any　more　demand　for　that　precious　flap　art