Why is China's innovation engine 8x more efficient than the USA?

Summer 2014

China's accumulated High Tech Exports equal those of the USA but their innovation engine is over 8x more efficient than their noisy neighbours across the Pacific.

The question is why?

Why is China's Innovation engine 8x more efficient than the USA?

The answer is actually very simple. So simple you may well be surprised. Arguably it is something America has forgotten in its search for the next uber-innovator. The next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.

The answer is it is their customers that make the Chinese so much more innovative than America.

While America spends $100's of Billions each year trying to invent the future, the Chinese simply let their customers tell them what they want the future to be.

While America is in the business of telling the world just how good it is at discovering new problems to solve. China is in the business of listening to their customers and finding answers to their problems.

While Americans are busy amping up the volume on their innovation prowess the Chinese are busy solving customer problems.

One gets heard. The other gets paid. One gets the applause. The other makes the profits.

It really isn't rocket science. Just good old fashion business sense.

Somewhere in their focus on being the best, the innovative market leader, the Americans forgot the most important person in any business... the paying customer.

The Chinese know intuitively, when each of their customers comes knocking with a new request, they are, potentially at least, the smartest person in the room. Each of their customers' requests is a potential game changer, a potential new market maker.

No need to go looking for new business ideas when your customers are coming to you seeking solutions to their problems. Their problems are potentially other people's problems. Solve their problem and you solve lots of problems at the same time. Without having to second guess what the market really wants.

You see the quality of your innovation is proportional, not to your investment in R&D, but to your ability to meet your customers demands. Smart customers stretch your capabilities. Ask more of you. Feed you with new opportunities. New challenges. New business.

Smarter customers = Smarter Innovation.

You can be as clever and creative as you like but real, game changing innovation becomes a challenge, a game you play with yourself, when you don't have smart, savvy customers making innovative demands on your business.

And this is why the Silicon Valley, and by extension the American, innovation model is broken.

Free Traffic != Smart, Savvy, Paying, Game Changing Customers