The Techie

Sebastián Mendoza Garrido
Americas Quarterly
February 19, 2010

Mendoza at Puerto de Balboa in Panama City, December 2009. Photograph by Mariví Gonzalez

Our generation expects gratification. Previous generations did not have instant access to information nor the ability to communicate with the same level of immediacy that the Internet, mobile phones and BlackBerries give us today. We have become less forgiving of delays and inefficiencies.

But the flood of instant information has its risks. This is particularly true for issues that require a long-term approach and the patience to be addressed step by step. Preserving our environment for future generations is one such issue. The world has already paid a high price for the way we have wasted global resources. It took us many decades—even centuries—to reach this point, and we will not be able to correct our mistakes overnight. Likewise, young business leaders who want to do the right thing environmentally and build successful countries and businesses must learn how to set long-term achievable goals. Information used carefully and conscientiously can help get us there.

Countries and companies are made up of people. Many developed countries became successful by providing quality education to their populations and using technology to manage and disseminate information. Information is the key to development. Citizens in emerging countries often lack both access to quality education and access to technology. This is a serious impediment to progress.

With innovation, developing countries can find new ways to compete. But getting there requires improving citizens’ access to information as well as their ability to apply technology. Ensuring those basic functions is the most important thing a government can do, and over the long term, it will generate more revenue and value than trade tariffs and protected markets.

Our generation has broken many barriers and belief systems. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, have shown that big companies are not exclusively built by rich families. These role models are inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs to achieve higher levels of success.

Read the full text of the article at www.americasquarterly.org.

Sebastián Mendoza Garrido is the chief strategy officer for Container Consultants & Systems in Panama City, Panama.

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