Just imagine a company that has no long-term strategy and experiences management reshuffles every few years, including board members, department directors and often unit heads. Every department within this company has its own budget, sets its own priorities and pursues its own often obscure goals (so as to maximize the available budget), which are frequently inconsistent with the overall purpose of the company. Can such a company compete in the global economy against companies with clear and consistent vision and strategy, companies where all departments’ activities are subject to this vision? This is a rhetorical question, as after using up all simple reserves of growth, such company would be doomed to bankruptcy unless it changed. The same applies to entire countries. While others continue to paint and fulfil daring visions, for example 11 iN2015 (Intelligent Nation 2015) in Singapore, we are still unable to join our efforts and are stuck in a business model where each department silos keeps pursuing its own goals. The ability to capitalize on knowledge will be crucial to Poland’s success in the 21st century. The country’s economic strength will be built with the power of mind, not muscle or machinery. For the time being, we have lost a million of minds that have increased the growth potential of other  9  A Venables, Shifts in economic geography and their causes, paper presented at an annual symposium of Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in Jackson Hole on 25 August 2006.
In many countries, including some European and in particular Asian states, we can observe an effective pursuit of a vision leading to success in the global economy and determination of the public administration to develop a country’s ability to drive innovation, that is to develop a factor determining the country’s success in the global economy of the 21st century. Examples may be found in a recent edition of The Economist, where the article entitled The Search for Talent names a number of activities pursued by public administration in many countries in order to attract well-educated foreigners. Ladies and Gentlemen, the 21st century has witnessed not only ‘the death of distance’ but also ‘the death of time’. Innovation is driven, efficiency is improving and value is created by companies for clients and by public administration for citizens at a significantly faster pace. In order to win in an increasingly competitive economy, it is not only necessary to move ahead, but to move ahead increasingly faster. And in the two areas I discussed, that is lack of vision and leadership and backwardness in e-government, we have to run, as the race has already begun, and we are still pondering whether we should start moving the left or right leg first. Poles are hardworking, talented and have entrepreneurial spirit. We are sufficiently predisposed to achieve success in the global economy.