Why Choose "Made in USA" Made Technology?

Today, I set out to convince you the reader why your business should hire American first, not in the political slogan way but for more profound reasons.

For decades, we have all seen the products at the store with the tiny American flag symbol and "Made in USA" printed on them, sometimes with fine print "some conditions apply*" or "with globally sourced parts" etc. Come to find out there is very little American about the product at all. Take for example some electronic product we might find at Best Buy or Walmart. The chip was designed by an electronic engineer in the U.S., then manufactured in Taiwan or China, as well as the printed circuit board (PCB), its integrated components and don't ask where the plastic molded casing was made. The list goes on.

Made in the USA, but is it really?

Lets be completely honest with ourselves. Its so easy and cheap to off-shore nearly everything. There was, however, a time when the knowledge and expertise were somewhat concentrated right here in the USA. You just couldn't get a PCB drawn up and expect to have a good turnaround much less it function properly without hiring a highly experienced American engineer. Similarly with software, many still prefer to deal with project managers, software architects and the like right here in the USA. There are exceptions to this of course, especially in the global economy that we live in today for better or for worse.

So, "why would should I waste my hard earned money on expensive American technology companies?" one might ask. For starters, an American technology company is not American simply by virtue of its headquarters or office existing in the boundaries of the USA. Some things that to me define a company as being "American" are the following:

1. Owned by American person(s)

2. Its beneficiaries are majority American citizens

3. The majority of its employees are American citizens

4. Majority of offices/operations exist in the USA

5. The company attempts to source resources/materials domestically as much as reasonably possible

While these are all important points, there's another dimension to this that I believe matters even more. That is, moral values such as integrity, honesty, work ethic etc. Dig down even further and one could argue (I would) that these stem from something deeper within one's being. The moral values or character of the individual are simply the outer manifestation of what is inside of us that society as a whole applies labels to. The characteristics of the American, as I learned from my parents and grandparents, if it could be summed up into a single phrase is "don't lie". Obviously, it's much more nuanced than this but ultimately going back to this simple line we start to discover that it is profound.

There is so much more to this idea than economics, it is more than an idea or a catch phrase. It is a way of life and of being as a person or organization of people. The guiding principles are found throughout ancient religious texts and the teachings of Jesus Christ. "Love thy neighbor as thyself", or the golden rule "treat others the same as you'd like to be treated". These principles transcend time and numbers on a spreadsheet or recent bank statements dollar amounts.

Value in today's world is incorrectly measured when one attempts to measure it via numerical representation of some currency. For example if it costs me $1000 to build one widget in the USA but I can build it for the price of $333.33... somewhere else. That means, I can have 3 widgets for the same price! This is great! Now I can have 3 widgets faster for less, more is better right?

What if I told you, that the one widget was actually more important and beneficial to your company than the 3 widgets for $333.33 each? What if the 1 widget could do the work of the 3 widgets and was extensible? The reality is, technological solution development is not as simple as the project management triangle demonstrates as many would acknowledge. What is lacking in this concept is a measurement of skill and creativity of the team or people involved in building the widget. This is something that is hard to measure, where one can get more bang for their buck if they it spend wisely. The skill and creativity of the team is key for which there is no reliable scientific measurement. So if it can't be measured, what is it and why does it matter?

To try and illustrate this seemingly immeasurable metric I want to use art and music as an analogy. I think this more accurately helps us understand why it is important when considering who we relate with and do business with.

When we go to the store there are very affordable printed copies of paintings widely available. You might even find that the paintings are well done, beautiful in their own respect and some people may even admire them. On the other end of the spectrum there are original one-of-a-kind paintings, hand crafted works of art that are priceless. Sometimes they have historical significance at the time of their creation, evoke strong powerful feelings and even inspire the beholder in a profound immeasurable way.

painting by Guido Borelli

All the while we start forgetting about the cheaply made, mass produced printed copies that will likely end up in a landfill at some point.

Similarly with music, we have all heard that beautifully orchestrated solo or piece of music that we love and touches our soul. It might evoke a sense of calm, peace, inspiration or sometimes, chaos and calamity. Why does this matter though?

The reason why this matters, even in tech is because deep down, humans respond to how something makes them feel. If we treat our craft in such a way it has the power to not only benefit other human beings but change their perspective on life and inspire them!

All too often technology is seen as dry, uninspiring and robotic in nature. Creating technological solutions or tools, however, is an art form. It can improve people's life in a number of ways. Who builds the technology matters, much like the author of a piece of music or the artist of a painting. Not all artists or musicians are the same. The heart and soul of the person(s) behind creating technological solutions and tools matters as much as their ability and skill. Every key stroke, inclination and intent behind the creation of any technological solution can and will be felt by its users.