The real genius of the American capitalistic system has been its entrepreneurial generativity. From our earliest days, we have been driven by the generativity engines of Franklin, Hamilton, and Washington. Entrepreneurial leaders such as Edison, Ford, and Rockefeller defined the core infrastructure of the 20th century—electricity, combustion engines, motor cars, highways, and energy. Tom Watson, Sr., generated the model for “The Golden Age of American Business” in the second half of this 20th century with systems and sales of business machines and computers.

Watson was influenced by John and Frank Patterson, entrepreneurs and founders of the National Cash Register Company or NCR, one of the first modern American companies. He worked his way up to General Sales Manager of the first Sales Training School and introduced the motto “THINK!” which later became the widely-known symbol of International Business Machine or IBM. In so doing, Watson established the “Generative-Innovative Model” for American business.

For thinking people, this means that Generative-driven Innovation is the most powerful positioning in the marketplace. The secrets of the success of this model were the relationships between and among the Watson Center, the Advanced Systems Design, and the Marketing arm; e.g., the relationships between the Generators, Innovators, and Commercializers that we labeled “The GIC System.”

The relationships between the Generators at the Watson Center and the Innovators at Advanced Systems Design were antagonistic. The Generators viewed themselves as the ruling “thinkers” who had no real responsibility for creating the market. The Innovators, in turn, viewed their roles as making the transfers of generative breakthrough ideas into the real world technological needs that create the market. In the vision of the Generator, the Innovators were “Hijackers” of the ideas of others. In the vision of the Innovators, the Generators were “Lords of the Ideal and Peasants of the Real.”

As antagonistic as were the relations between the Generators and Innovators, the relations between Innovators and Commercializers were still more adversarial—nearly violent. Once the Innovators had ownership of technological transfers, they shepherded them like their children. The Marketers, in turn, were interested only in consumer responsiveness: Did the customers embrace the product? Did the customers use the product effectively? The Marketers were tuned-in to the customers, while the Innovators were thrilled with the technology transfers.

It was a simple step from developing the “GIC System—Generators, Innovators and Commercializers” to positioning in the marketplace (Figure 1). IBM positioned itself as “Generative Innovator.” This means that it applied and commercialized the breakthroughs that it generated. Basically, it “owned” the customer base that was increasingly oriented toward immediate innovation with the prospect of long-term generativity.

The real genius of Tom Watson, Sr., was to relate these otherwise mutually exclusive entities into one system—“The GIC System.” Watson defined the “cellular bonding tissue” for the essential secrets of success. Through continuous collaborative and sometimes interdependent processing, the solution to technological crises became the opportunities for generating new technologies.

During the decades of IBM’s “Golden Age”, Watson applied his international trade perspective of ongoing “GIC Relations” to his business: “Internal productivity through operational relatedness!”

Sadly, this principle of relatedness is, itself, no longer in operation!

Figure 1. Generative Innovator Positioning in the Global Market

The issues of globalization, jobs, and education for the 21st century Global Economy converge upon the phases of The GICCA Curve: Generators, Innovators, Commercializers, Commoditizers, Attenuators. Succinctly, America resolved all of these issues in continuous and interdependent processing for a bountiful and expanding future with “GIC Systems.”

• Generative or “breakthrough” research by the likes of IBM’s Watson Center, AT&T Bell Labs, and Xerox Learning Center;
• Innovative contextual “transfers” of these breakthroughs by laboratory-based industries such as Microsoft and Intel;
• Commercial applications of these innovations by consumer-responsive businesses such as General Electric and Westinghouse.

These “GIC Systems” sustained and grew the American economy throughout the second half of the 20th century. In this context, the U.S. was the hope—not only for its economy—but for the economies of the world: if things work here, they can work anywhere!

It is axiomatic that the “breakthroughs” of one generation often become the “depressor variables” of the next generation. In other words, the generative thinking that got us “outside the box” then serves to put us “inside the box” now.

This is the case with our thinking based on the “Binary Function” of the adherents of Information Technology or IT. What was an asset for America’s leadership in generating the “Tsunami of Socioeconomic Growth” over the last half of the 20th century has become the deficit of America’s generative leadership in the marketplace.

What makes the “Binary Function” problematic is not its contributions to the marketplace. The “branching systems” it has discriminated have produced an incredible array of products and services, culminating in a multi-trillion dollar global IT business phenomenon.

What makes the “Binary Function” a “depressor variable” is its impact on American leadership in the global marketplace. Our retreat to lower-order, “pedestrian processing” has made discriminative learning available to everyone and transformed America’s generative leadership into “also-ran, back-in-the-pack” positioning in the 21st century marketplace.

For thinking people, this means retreat to Innovative Commercializer positioning. Unfortunately, the historical “GIC Relationships,” Generator, Innovator, Commercializer relationships, no longer exist. This is due in large part to the American business reaction to the Japanese “blind-siding” of the 1980s and the Chinese “blind imitation” in the 2000s. In order to defeat imitating, American businesses retreated from generating to innovating. There are no longer any R & D centers of any consequence: there is little scientific search, let alone any research, to explicate the unknown; only developmental trials and focus groups to prepare “pilots” for commercialization.

Moreover, by abdicating systematic “GIC” leadership, the U.S.A. has slowed world Generativity down to a random trickle. Not only has the U.S. suffered from short-term stasis, but the nations of the world will now suffer from long-term paralysis as the wheels of Generativity grind to a halt. Concurrently, both leader and followers are surrendering to Multinational Corporations that sponsor no Generativity and have no alignment with American Civilization other than capitalistic profitability.

Indeed, the Multinational Corporations have dropped the “R” in “R&D.” For them, Generativity is a huge expense that places burdens upon dividends to stockholders. They assume no social responsibility and are dedicated only to development which translates directly into capitalistic profitability.

In this context, the Multinational Corporations are “dead-set enemies” of the Entrepreneurial-Driven Capitalism of the Watson era. To be sure, they have adopted the philosophy of Microsoft, Inc. and its leaders: “The only thing that we are afraid of is two guys in a garage.” (Think, Wright Brothers!) Accordingly, they have huge staffs of scientists and engineers scouring the garages of the world to discover the Generators who might create new markets and the Innovators who might create new “playing fields” for the applications and transfers of technologies.

All Asian countries aspire to the Innovative Commercializer Positioning in the marketplace (see Figure 2). In this positioning, Innovative Initiatives are “nested” in the Commercializer Phase. This is the positioning which Multinational Corporations find most profitable and, therefore, most attractive: it emphasizes legacy contributions modified or customized by innovative technological initiatives.

Figure 2. The Innovative Commercializer Positioning in the Global Market

This is “The Microsoft Model:” to appear “slightly innovative” while becoming maximally profitable. The long-term problem is that this apparently “risk-free” course is very vulnerable to both Generators and Innovators as when the U.S. retaliated against Japan, Inc. for “dumping” in the 1990s by pitting “True Innovation versus False Imitation.”

Most important, America has abandoned the source of its dominance throughout the 20th century: “Free Enterprise through Generative Innovation!” Historically, we have dominated by generating R & D “breakthroughs” and discovering new markets and servicing them.

It is uncomfortable for a nation of builders to work for Multinationals that chant “Second to the market and proud of it.”

We are a people who are committed to the front of the market curve: “First to the market and free!”

In transition, American Free Enterprise has dropped from its pre-potent leadership of Generative Innovation to a “Slightly Innovative Commercializer Positioning” which places her “back-in-the-pack” with all of the other “Wannabe Commercializers.” The U.S. has done this in large part due to her deference to the Multinational Corporations which satisfy stockholder demands on profitability and fail on creative leadership values.

The thesis of our work has been simple:

1. Research the effective ingredients of Freedom.
2. Rate the presidential candidates on their positions on Freedom.
3. Design the model to save the country that is in danger of losing her Freedoms.

Regarding the effective ingredients of freedom, we have found them to be robustly related to “The Pillars of Civilization:”

• Cultural Relating → Peace
• Participative Governance → Participation
• Entrepreneurial Enterprise → Prosperity

Regarding the freedom ratings of the candidates related to Peace, Participation, and Prosperity, there are none:

• “Zeroes!”

No further commentary is needed!

We do not have a Thinking President!

We do not have Thinking Candidates!

Regarding the design of our “Freedom Model,” we offer the following substantive dimensions of “The Free Enterprise Model” (see Figure 3):

• Entrepreneurial Enterprise,
• Enlightened Citizenry,
• Interdependent Relating.

Deductively-modeled, the Policy-Making Cell that is dedicated to positioning in the Global Marketplace is “The 5-5-5- Cell.” This is where enlightened Policy Markers generate the conditions that ensure “The Pillars of Prosperity.” Of course, there are requirements for Generative Processing Systems as well as Continuous Organizational Realignment Systems dedicated to accomplishing the Entrepreneurial Enterprise, Participative Governance, and Cultural Relating goals.

Figure 3. The Free Enterprise Model

Summary and Transition

In summary, the Free Enterprise Model ensures achieving, once again, global leadership in “The Pillars of Civilization:” Peace, Participation, Prosperity.

In this instance, we dedicated our functions to The Free Enterprise Mission:

Prosperity functions are achieved by participation components enabled by peaceful relating processes.

In turn, this “The Freedom Mission” may be rotated for the different civilized functions of Peace and Participation.

For thinking people, this means our historic successes are exceeded only by our current failures in freedom-building. Building upon the fundamental assumption that governments derive “their Just Powers from the Consent of the Governed,” our Declaration of Independence dedicated our governance to the achievement of growth “ideals” for its people.

With this foundation, We the People created a Constitution to pursue Life, Liberty, Safety, and Happiness. Over the course of a little over 200 years, We the People have built the greatest nation in the history of the world, The United States of America:

• Its 50 states, some of them larger than most countries, have lived together peacefully and productively over nearly 150 years, thus reflecting the freest political system ever known.
• Among its 50 states, the GDPs of several number among the top 30 countries in the world, thus reflecting the freest and most wealth-generating system in the history of the world.
• Perhaps most important, the citizens of its 50 states have been designated by the Constitution as the policymakers of the freest representative democratic governance in the history of the world.

So what’s the problem? The U.S. has truly demonstrated itself to be The Great Experiment—nay, The Greatest Experiment in the history of humankind.

We reached from the “real” to the “ideal.” We climbed the highest mountains in the history of civilization. We viewed the “peaks” ahead of us. Then we retreated!

The problem is that we are now abusing the very truths we have established.

1. We the People have erected the most culturally related society ever, both within our national boundaries and between ourselves and other nations, even enemies—witness the collaborative Hoover Plan after World War I and the Marshall and MacArthur Plans after World War II.

   The First Problem, then, is This: We the People no longer collaborate culturally. We the People compete independently!

2. We the People have erected the most productive and profitable economic system ever, both within our borders and between and among those of the rest of the world—witness the continuing initiatives to generate Free Enterprise Trade Relationships throughout the world.

   The Second Problem, then, is This: We the People no longer sponsor entrepreneurially-driven Free Enterprise! We the People, now support the totalitarian command-and-control market systems of Global Multinational Corporations, corporations which have no loyalty to the American freedoms that bore them.

3. We the People have erected the most representative democratic governance system ever—witness the historic flow of democratic changes within and between generations of our representatives and administrations.

   The Third Problem, then, is This: We the People are no longer the policy-makers our Constitution empowered. We the People have been reduced to the dependent minions of the authoritarian edicts of our now-evolving “Chain-of-Command Society.”

On these dimensions alone, We the People—We the Policy-Makers—have failed to elect leaders who serve the “ideals” that ensure our Life, Liberty, Safety, and Happiness. Indeed, we have elected representatives who have intentionally undermined these ideals in our time.

We simply cannot raise generations of people with First World Freedoms, and treat them with Third World Tyranny.

On this topic, The Declaration of Independence has its own recommendations:

But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Objective, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security.

In 1776, The Declaration of Independence told us this: “If you don’t like it, fix it!” This admonition still stands today.

We the People have yet to speak!

Perhaps the most powerful illustration of “Reasoning with Images” occurred in the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman in the late 1930s and early 1940s. In this case, it was not so much their direct thinking as what these appointed executives set into motion.

“The Manhattan Project” was a great undertaking which, if successful, could set the world free of tyranny and totalitarianism. Stimulated by initiatives of Baruch and Einstein, the project was dedicated to beating the Axis Powers, initially Germany and ultimately Japan, in a race “to explode the atomic bomb.” All manner of explosives scientists and technologists were engaged. Indeed, all manner of experts were engaged—unsuccessfully, we must add!

It was not successful until Robert Oppenheimer, director of the project, was approached by a marginal junior scientist who suggested the following: “We must learn to implode the atomic bomb!” Because Oppenheimer was a Talmudic scholar, he was able to reconsider the methodology of the mission.

“The Manhattan Project” took a “U-Turn” in the road. The world was made safe for cultural relating, participative governance, and entrepreneurial enterprise. We are once again at such crossroads!

For thinking people, this means that the current model of American Enterprise must once again implement Generative Innovator positioning.

The march of civilization is the march of freedom. Free enterprise has brought us entrepreneurial capitalism and free markets. Participative governance has given us democratic governments and individual rights. Cultural relating has yielded human rights, meritocracy and social security. The human benefits are awesome to calculate.

And yet the march of civilization is not without costs to its promulgators. The treatment of the U.S. in the global marketplace is consistent with the adage, “No good deed goes unpunished!” Until the 21st century, America has been the source of more than 90% of the generative breakthroughs in science and the innovative variations in technologies. Still, its citizens are not the beneficiaries of their intellectual processing.

Take the case of Intel’s $2.5 billion semiconductor chip fabrication plant being built in China. “Innovated in America—Commercialized Elsewhere!” is the new trade paradigm. There are as many possible manipulations to ensure the benefits of creativity as there are criminal machinations to steal intellectual property. But there is only one enduring leadership paradigm: Generativity! This is the fuel for “The Roadmap to Freedom.”

American Enterprise leads in the GICCA Marketplace. In other terms, Generativity drives Free Enterprise Economics, requires Free Participative Governance, and is enabled by Interdependent Cultural Relating.

Figure 4. The American Enterprise Model in the Global Marketplace

If we generate entrepreneurially, we can drive markets commercially. This means that we are continuously changing the marketing paradigm and the playing field on which it is enacted. Remember, Generators are aligned with change! We can “Reverse any ‘U-Turn’.”

In order to continue to exercise Generative Leadership, we must follow the “Roadmap to the Freedom Functions—Peace, Participation, Prosperity.

• Interdependently-driven Cultural Relating to generate Peace;
• Electronically-driven Participative Governance to generate Participation;
• Entrepreneurial-driven Free Enterprise to generate Prosperity.

The cost of “The Roadmap to Freedom” is high: Continuous Generative Processing for Continuous Peace, Participation, and Prosperity requires “Skilled, Generative, Thinking People.”

Our “Voyage of Discovery” has yielded our roadmap.

Our “Human Brainpower” will implement it.

We can create our own “Changeable Destinies.”

Freedom is thinking—Generative Thinking!