The New York Times published an article (“War on Terror Dominates Talks Given at Graduation“) by Sam Dillon which gave excerpts from several commencement addresses given to the 2005 college graduates. The personages ranged from Tom Hanks, actor, Vassar College (New York), to Mario Batali, chef, Rutgers College (New Jersey), to President Bush, Naval Academy. A few attracted both my interest and may have some bearing on the topic of this BLOG.

Mario Batali
Chef
Rutgers College (New Jersey)

Pay attention to the truth. It’s not an intellectual thing. It’s a gut thing. … It’s an idea. It’s a dish. It’s an icon. It’s an experience. It’s not rules. And as you cook up your life, I hope you never let anyone else’s recipe for success intimidate you or get in your way. Rules are overrated.

Samuel W. Bodman

Energy Secretary

Georgia Institute of Technology

After so many years of American dominance in science and technology, the rest of the world is clearly starting to catch up. Countries like China and India, which have been sending their best and brightest students to study in America, are now working to keep more of their young scholars at home. They are building their own networks of fine research universities, and forging their own partnerships with government and private industry, and establishing their own high-tech communities.

Bill Moyers

Journalist

Graduate Center, City University of New York

The web of cooperation is under siege. A profound transformation is occurring in America as the balance between wealth and the commonwealth is threatened by that “winner-take-all” ideology. … You are going to be needed if we are to recover America as a shared project.

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“Rules are overrated” … or “thinking outside the box” or “if it is not broken, break it!!”.

The location shift of science and engineering talent pools to Low Cost Regions …

“Winner-take-all” ideology …

What did I gleam from these few paraphrases??

The truth changes, are you sure that the underlying “rules” on which your business is built are still valid?

Does the science and engineering talent always have to be in-house?? Is it possible to take advantage of lower cost, 24/5 task management offered by LCR talent centers??

Business interaction has to be mutually beneficial … the trick for Develop Nation companies is to stay closer to the customer, leveraging that advantage to stay ahead of LCR competitors.

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