Turns out, I was on my way to Sydney Australia just ahead of President Barack Obama this week (could I have hitched a ride?)...and so I find myself surrounded by insights/observations/analysis of the United States and our role in the world -- all of which coincide with my own continued reflections on what is happening to our economy, our business performance, and the opportunities we are (or are not) creating for our children and grandchildren coming up behind us.

First, to just enthusiastically affirm the obvious:  the world is REALLY, REALLY getting smaller, flatter and faster.  Viewed through the significantly less cynical lens of Australian general media, Obama communicated here with an extraordinary level of friendly candor -- none of the 'cool' demeanor he gets tagged with at home.  If anything, media here observe that he and the Australian PM come off as 'buddies' beyond normal diplomatic niceties.  And in that friendly, guard-down communications environment, Obama delivered potent messages about just how much America understands its need for REAL friends, REAL allies with shared values - because we can't successfully be the world's enforcer of democracy alone. 

What I'm not confident Americans undertand as well:  there are consequences to asking that we get some help on the enforcement work. 

--If we want help carrying the load (and/or paying for the load), we must expect to be asked to share the decision-making and even the power moving ahead.

--If we want opportunity to explore our global economic potential via new alliances or new relationships, we must expect that others will seek to do the same - to explore THEIR global ecomic potential in this flat, fast world. 

And like all other kinds of competition (even between friends), winners tend to be the ones who are in good shape, who have a game plan that makes sense (and that all the players on the team understand and accept). 

The United States is NOT in game-ready condition:  we don't even have basic agreement about the make-up of our team. Partisan politics have replaced governance in Washington, meaning there's no willingness to agree on a game plan - no longer respect for the authority of the guy in the top job to determine that game plan.  AND THIS IS HAPPENNG right out in the transparent, global marketplace where all the other competitors can watch our dysfunction.  Makes me think about watching football on television, and how coaches hold up a clipboard over their mouths to ensure their instructions aren't getting picked up and used against them. 

No such clipboard for the leader of the free world.  But if the 'fans in his stands' at home were at least as supportive of his success as the fans watching on television (from places like Sydney), we can still make a game of it, I'm hoping.  We owe it to ourselves and our children to get game-ready again.