The Coming Jobs War by Jim Cliffton

Jon Carl and I read Jim Clifton‘s The Coming Jobs War for our CODE book study.  This was a recommendation by Kevin Honeycutt who spoke at the 2012 eRevolution Learning conference at North High School.

In his book, Clifton examines America’s standing in the world economy; by looking at GDP and Gallup‘s worldwide longitudinal survey Titled “The State of the Global Workplace“.  He makes the case that if America wants to continue its place as the leader in the world economy, America needs to focus on innovation and invention.  The only way to cement its place of dominance is for the United States to foster an environment where entrepreneurship creates the desire to experiment with new products, better methods and unknown technologies.

The main goal of this business change is to create jobs, not just more jobs, but more jobs that allow workers to prosper.  These jobs provide more than better pay; workers develop a more positive attitude about their world because they feel they are making a difference.  They understand the importance of their place in the economy because they are more than just a cog in the machine; they are appreciated by their supervisors and their input is sought out, valued and implemented.

Clifton dedicates a chapter, titled K12 Schools – Where Entrepreneurs Are Created, to what he sees is the role of schools in this coming jobs war.  He believes that schools should foster a similar attitude where they promote and encourage free thinking, entrepreneurship and creativity.  If schools can produce more of these creativity types, then they will go out into the workforce and be the next generation of great American inventors and leaders.  They will shape the direction of business, technology, the economy and social trends, all the time advocating the American way.

It is only through innovation and invention that America can hope to retain its position in the world economy and not watch emerging countries like India and China  pass us by.

This was our first experience reading a book on a digital reader.  I downloaded my copy off of Evansville Public Library‘s website using their Overdrive App; Jon bought his copy off of Amazon.  Personally, I liked the convenience of the eReader, but found that for a book like this where I was taking notes and studying the message, it was not as easy to leave myself notes.  Overdrive does have a way to leave notes, but it was cumbersome to go back and reread them.  Jon felt that it was easy to read and liked to add bookmarks to reference things later.  While he likes the nostalgia of a real book, he sees where the ease and convenience of eReaders could make a difference in the classroom.


This article was original written as part of book study I did with Jon Carl in the first year of the CODE group and it was originally posted here on the CODE website.

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