《哈佛商业评论》：政府峰会特刊

Sponsored by The future has chosen a partner.We’re proud to announce our partnership with TheGovernment Summit. In many ways, this is what we’vebeen working for in the last eight years; the automaticchoice for high-level, future-facing discussions abouttransformation and the happiness of UAE citizens. When Governments Grow Old,Nations Lose Their Edge.Innovation Keeps Us Young.Companies,like people,grow old.They start life small and eager to sur-vive, fuelled by youthful energy andfresh ideas. They expand, mature andcompete—but eventually, all but a few fadeinto obscurity. Consider this: Only 11% of theFortune 500 companies from 1955 still existtoday. Meanwhile, the average time companiesstay in the top 500 has fallen from 75 years to15 years. In this age of exponential change,those that lag behind become irrelevant—ina heartbeat.Is the same true of nations? I believe that gov-ernments also have a life cycle, and can grow old.They can leave behind the hunger and ambitionof youth and allow themselves to relax intocomplacency. And nations whose governmentsgrow old face the same fate as those outdatedcompanies that disappear into history. Theirchoice is this: Innovate, or become irrelevant.The race between nations for competitivenessis every bit as fierce as the competitionbetweencompanies in the marketplace.Nations compete for investment, for talent, forgrowth and opportunity in a globalised world.Governments cannot allow themselves to growold and lose their game. A nation that is pushedout of the spotlight surrenders the greatestprize of all: human development, prosperity andhappiness for its people.In order to avoid this fate, governments mustfocus on what really matters: how to be like the11% of companies that remained in the top500, through the decades and generations. Tokeepahead in the global race, governmentsneed to think like entrepreneurial corporationsdo. To stay relevant to society, govern-ments must react fast to seize opportunitieslike ambitious businesses. To earn a permanentplace in the history books, governments mustinnovate just like the dynamic companies thatare defining today’s world and shaping its future.The life cycle of business should teach govern-ments that the secret of eternal youth is con-stant innovation.I don’t doubt for one moment the capabilities ofhuman ingenuity. We were placed in this worldnot just to survive, but to build and develop. Wewere created well equipped for this greatmission with the intelligence, learning skills andinstinctsthat we need to innovate andconstantly advance to meet new challenges.No civilisation could have risen if man had notharnessed the power of fire. No nation couldhave grown if man had not mastered thesecrets of agriculture. Only through inventions,from the wheel to electricity to the internalcombustionengine,was humanity able toprogress. Our modern world too is defined byits inventions: the internet, the mobile phone,biotechnology.The secret to the renewal of life for corpora-tions, to the evolution of civilisations, and tothe development of humanity is simple:innovation. I am always amazed when gov-ernments think they are an exception to the rule;that they are above the need for innovation.Innovation in government is not an intellectualluxury, a topic for fine words, or a simple matterof administrative improvements. It is the recipefor survival, the secret of human development,the fuel for constant progress, and the blueprintfor a nation’s rise.Thefirst key to business-like innovation ingovernment is a focus on skills. Companies in thetop tier of innovation invest constantly in their employees to provide them with the right skillsfor the marketplace. Governments must do thesame by constantly updating skills and nurturinginnovation among their own employees, acrosskey sectors of the economy and right downto the foundations of the education system.Governments that fail to equip new generationsas leaders for their time are condemning them tobe led by other nations.A recent U.S. study found that 65% of childrencurrently in kindergarten will grow up to workin jobs that do not exist today, but which will beinvented to meet future needs. Another study atOxford University found that 47% of job catego-ries are at high risk of ceasing to exist becausethey can be automated through technology.The question then is: how do we prepare our chil-dren and future generations for such times? Howdo we equip our countries to compete, not onlytoday, but in decades to come? The answer liesin innovation: to teach our children thinking skillssuch as creativity, analysis, and communication.The second key to transforming governmentsintoengines of innovation is to rebalanceinvestment towards intangibles, just like in theprivate sector.If a government would like to be consideredinnovative, then it needs to think like aninnovative company. Where is the value ininnovative companies, in the modern world?Studies show that 40 years ago, more than 80%of the value of the S&P 50