Party in the Middle East

Anyone who has been to a club with me in the last year knows that I have an unapologetic love of Miley Cyrus’ Party the USA. My friends think it’s a joke or perhaps a disorder but the fact is whether I’m in a club in Vegas, San Francisco, or New York, the DJ is going to play my song.

So it should come as no surprise that Saturday night after a few cocktails while in a club in Karachi, Pakistan, I decided it was high time to impose my Hannah Montana will on the unsuspecting Pakistani’s. My hosts, powerful people in Karachi were nice enough to use that power to threaten the DJ with termination (professional not personal) unless they played my song.

The DJ complained that playing this song would certainly clear the dance floor. While I’ve heard this same claim many a time in the US this was clearly a different circumstance. See what has become clear to me in my tour of the MENA region (I’ve been to Dubai, Oman, Pakistan and Bahrain so far) is that the unfortunate side effect of 9/11 and the Bush administration is very mixed emotions towards our beloved country.

And I do believe it is mixed emotions. Close to 75 percent of the YPO’ers that I’ve spoken to on this tour were educated in the states and to a man they look at that time
in the states as some of the best in their lives. They understand the measures the US has had to take in reaction to 9/11 but it still doesn’t change the fact that many of them no longer want to visit the US. It’s nothing personal – in many ways they still love the US – it’s simply too hard to get in and out of our country.

Another side effect is that they are becoming less likely to send their children to the US to study. Again, it’s simply a matter of convenience.

It’s been sad for me to meet these amazing people and realize how important their presence in the US is and how fleeting that presence may be. Although, I was born in the US I only ended up there because my parents came over from Taiwan for graduate school so I realize the importance of foreign students.

I’m not completely sure what the resolution is but I have to believe that analytics and data may be able to lead a helping hand. See the main issue is not the increased level of security in the US, it’s the unnecessary harassment that they receive each time they come into the country. Four hours in a back room where irrelevant and useless questions like, “Have you ever had explosives training?” or “do you know many months old your mom is?” is simply unnecessary for people who have already received a visa from the US or are in some cases US Citizens.

I have no idea what algorithm our government uses to flag potentials terrorists at the border but as far as I can tell it may be as simplistic as “WHERE religion = ‘Muslim’”.

In my new book, I talk about the way credit card companies use data to detect fraud, looking at patterns in the data to target questionable behavior. Shouldn’t a similar process be used as a first pass to determine potential terrorist activity? Wouldn’t that be more effective and less obtrusive than detaining every Muslim who lives outside of the US.

One of the real values of analytics is the ability it gives you to avoid asking personal questions. With a more sophisticated algorithm and improved use of analytics, we could avoid detaining visitors who pose no risk to our security and by doing so would make our country approachable again to an important segment of the world.

As I watched the Pakistani crowd dance to Miley’s jam, I couldn’t help but see a parallel with their reaction to this song and their reaction to our country. When the song started their were some growns and grimaces but at the end of the song everyone was dancing and smiling. Hopefully better use of analytics by Homeland security can get them Partying in the USA again.

In Sri Lanka – 7, 4, 5, 3, 4

Well, a week without blogging and in large part it’s because I haven’t been behind a computer long enough to get some thoughts down. As great as the iPad is, it is still a bit difficult to blog on. I arrived in Sri Lanka last evening and arrived at my hotel, The Galle Face Hotel, with the pleasant suprise that from my room I can hear crashing waves from the ocean. Obviously Sri Lanka is an island but I han no idea that my hotel would be on the ocean.

The last week has been both enjoyable and educational. In seven days, I have been in four countries, five cities, played golf three times (terribly once and mariginally better the other two times) and spoken to four different groups YPO/EO groups.

Last Friday, I played golf in the Phillipines with local members from the EO chapter. A few observations from the Phillipines. 1) everyone speaks English, 2) Pizza Hut is alive and well, 3) driving around the city presents more moving obstacles then the latest edition of Grand Theft Auto, 4) there is no middle class.

The fourth point has become a major theme as I have trekked through Asia. I have always taken for granted the financial structure we have in the US. When my parent’s arrived in the states for graduate school they were coming from the lower class of Taiwan but after graduating with advanced degrees in the states they quickly became part of the US middle class. Their work, support and resources gave me the opportunity to be where I am today.

The existence of such a large middle class in the United States is in large part what defines our country and makes it the amazing place that it is. But I worry if the fallout from the financial crisis may be a disappearance of that middle class.

When we talk about where jobs will come from in the next 10 years, we often list health care, energy, technology as the sources but most of those positions will need to be highly skilled and highly educated. What will come of the over two million that lost jobs in this recession and worked in construction? Are they going to be able to redefine and reeducate themselves in these other burgeoning fields?

The other point I have noticed is the number of Americans, either ex-pats or those educated in the States, that are now flourishing in Asia. The opportunities here are plentiful and in some cases simply too good to pass up.

As I sit in the business center of my hotel, I reflect on this country. After 25 years of civil unrest, Sri Lanka has become safe and a great land of opportunity. The stock market here has seen massive increases in the last two years and many are still bullish. China is investing in infrastructure that will connect many of the beautiful once remote locations with the main airport. Also, the Chinese are providing aid to build stadiums, civic buildings and housing.

The Chinese obviously have ulterior motives for friending Sri Lanka with its proximity to India but regardless of the motivation this type of help will fast forward Sri Lanka’s economy and clearly make Sri Lanka another country to keep an eye on.