The Lexus and the Olive Tree

Friedman, a longtime New York Times foreign affairs columnist, was one of the first to show me what I should love and hate about globalization, circa 1999, at the peak of Western support for neoliberal globalization.

Although his gee-whiz, gung-ho enthusiasm for the world of the Lexus (high-tech globalization with global supply chains and integrated financial markets) sometimes wears thin, he also covers the problems caused by globalization. He even appeals to the need for the “olive trees” of community, family, and religion to make globalization ethical.

Even when the breezy tone annoys me, this book is still my go-to… show more.

The way power plays out in an age of globalization has important lessons for outsourcing relationships. This is because, as Friedman says, globalization is not a trend, but an “international system.” This system is complex and has “its own rules and logic that today directly or indirectly influence the politics, environment, geopolitics, and economics of virtually every country in the world.” Companies looking to outsource should study the evolving, globalized world order as described in this book and then seek to explore the rules they need to outsource in today’s new economy.