Insights from Kellogg Event with Jim McNerney, CEO and President of The Boeing Company
The Kellogg Impact Series event is a World Forum focusing on Business, Innovation, Leadership and Society. Last Friday, the event featured the CEO of Boeing Company, Jim McNerney, who shared insights on the United States’ current ability to compete in the changing global economy, and what corporations and the government can do to create a more favorable economic climate.
McNerney has some serious concerns about America’s economic position. He described a declining level of education in the United States, especially in science and math, which is contributing to a lower relative GNP compared with the rest of the global economy. This is especially troubling for a company like Boeing, which relies on skilled engineers and is having trouble replacing the retiring generation of employees with trained, talented newcomers. McNerney also addressed the major economic problems that have hit the global economy over the past year and a half, saying that free and open trade, not protectionism, is the answer to these current issues.
Boeing’s success, like that of many companies, depends on two critical components: innovation and productivity. Customers, he said, should inspire innovation. Business intelligence and market research are important ways to gain insights about what customers want, therefore driving innovation. Productivity is threatened because the United States is producing fewer engineers than growing economies like China, India, and the Middle East. This intelligence deficit puts the United States at a disadvantage. Global companies like Boeing, however, have been relying heavily on international talent to drive success globally. Boeing currently generates $42 billion in sales from 70 overseas operations.
McNerney and other top business executives who attended the Job Summit at the White House in December agree on many of the above points and share a common vision for improving the US economy. The group identified three points of action for the federal government. First, investing in education is a vital step toward alleviating the intelligence deficit that many companies are facing. Second, the US must establish a tax policy that is mindful of the global playing field without penalizing innovation. Finally, the group encourages the administration to develop a trade policy that breaks down trade barriers and enforces trade agreements. This means addressing the US import tax, which is currently at a high 12%. It also includes improving commercial diplomacy to win over new customers, enhancing negotiation strategies for fair trade opportunities, and employing an aggressive competitive strategy.