Speeches & Texts
Winning the Future: Global Prosperity in the 21st Century
Heidelberg, Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA),
April 8, 2011
Ambassador Philip D. Murphy
Professor Eitel, Professor Berg, herzlichen Glückwunsch zum 625-jährigen Bestehen dieser großartigen Universität!
Professor Junker, es ist mir eine Freude, Sie wiederzusehen.
Meine Damen und Herren,
Ich möchte insbesondere auch den Abschlussjahrgang 2011 beglückwünschen! Ich freue mich, wieder in Heidelberg zu sein. Heidelberg ist eine Stadt, die Amerikanern viel bedeutet. Sie, als die jüngsten Absolventen des Heidelberg Center for American Studies, können möglicherweise mehr Namen und historische sowie literarische Darstellungen von Amerikanern in Heidelberg aufzählen, als ich jemals hätte nennen können. Deshalb werde ich das auch gar nicht erst versuchen.
[A special word of congratulations to the Class of 2011! It’s a pleasure to return to Heidelberg. Heidelberg is a city that means a lot to Americans. You, as the most recent graduates of the Heidelberg Center for American Studies, probably can name more people and list more historical and literary accounts of Americans in Heidelberg than I ever knew. And so I am not even going to try. ]
That said, I will only mention one person who has a close affiliation to Heidelberg. She is not American but her brother happens to be President of the United States of America. His sister Auma Obama came to Heidelberg University to study German on a DAAD scholarship in 1980 and in 1987 she graduated with an M.A., like you the Class of 2011. I met Auma Obama last year in Berlin and her experiences in Germany, she told me, changed her life. I hope that 25 years from now you too will all have had life-changing experiences that will have marked your way forward in life. Certainly I hope that you will use the unique expertise you have gained here about my country and the political, economic and cultural ties between our two countries.
Auma Obama is now back in Kenya and she is very involved in development work. With your specialized backgrounds, some of you may be considering a career in the Foreign Services of your respective countries. In the 21st century, development will be one of the key tools of diplomacy. It will also be one of the keys to global prosperity. For that reason, the head of America’s Foreign Service, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is committed to a "smart power" approach to diplomacy. That means broadening and deepening cooperation between military partners and other agencies of government, and developing more effective partnerships with the private sector and NGOs.
Earlier this week, Bill Gates was in Berlin. He received the Transatlantic Partnership Award from the American Chamber of Commerce and he also met with Bundespräsident Christian Wulff and a group of students at Schloss Bellevue to discuss the importance of development and how each one of us – me and you, but especially you, the future leaders of our countries – can make a difference. Bill Gates visits American universities frequently to talk about these same issues. I am sure you would love to have him here too but I am very pleased to convey that same message and ask that same question. How can you make a difference? I would love it if you would get back to me, not with your answers, but with your ideas. Look for me on Facebook. I am Botschafter Murphy.
I believe a large part of the extended conversation I would like to have with you and other people in your position around this country will focus on innovation because that is the future. It is the source of economic leadership and the foundation for competitiveness in the global economy.
I arrived in Germany almost two years ago on the heels of the worst recession in decades. It seemed that the only thing people were interested in then was the economy. Today the economy is only one of many challenges we face. We meet here today in Heidelberg at a very challenging moment – at a time when the wheels of history are rapidly turning. The challenges – and the opportunities – are extraordinary; and it would seem that the only thing we can reliably expect is the unexpected. But it is also a feature of our times that the solutions to many of the issues we are facing have one common denominator – and that is innovation.
Take, for example, the economy. In the six months between October 2008 and April 2009, the stock market fell more sharply than in the six months after Black Tuesday in 1929. Global trade declined more rapidly than in the first year of the Great Depression. A variety of vicious cycles pulled the economy down even deeper. At the height of the crisis, the American economy was hemorrhaging 700,000 jobs a month. Well, we have faced down the financial crisis. In the United States, efforts to support the economy through the Recovery Act, to rescue the financial system, to ensure the health of key industries, and to maintain stability in the global system halted the vicious cycles in less time and at less cost than anyone thought possible. The U.S. economy is beginning to pick up steam again.
To keep the momentum going, there are a number of things we have to do. Certainly one of those things is to get the government deficit in order. And if you have been following the news in the United States, you will know that the discussions regarding the federal budget over the last week have been passionate and intense – and that may even be an understatement. But at the same time, as countries – not only the United States – need to make sure their fiscal households are in order, they also need to make sure that key investments in innovation, infrastructure, and education are not neglected. These investments are long-term and they will determine the future.
There are other things that have to be done, as well. In the short term, to generate more momentum in the economy, we need to increase demand. One tried and true way to do that is to increase exports. The United States economy cannot be based on what we consume and borrow from other nations. It has to be based on what we make and what we sell around the world to the 95 percent of the world's consumers who live outside our borders – not the other way round. The more products and services we sell abroad, the more jobs we create and support in America. Germany knows this very well. But increased exports and investment alone are not sufficient to assure economic health. In the longer term, we must also put in place a framework that assures that growth keeps pace with a rapidly changing world. That’s where those key investments I just mentioned come into play. The fundamental strength of the United States economy – and likewise the German economy – has always been the ability to design and build things that help people around the world lead healthier, wealthier and more productive lives.
That same paradigm can be applied to the more recent and very urgent challenges. And indeed, the development of innovative solutions is the “silver lining” in the aftermath of crises. As John F. Kennedy said, “When written in Chinese the word "crisis" is composed of two characters – one represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” The earthquake and catastrophic tsunami in Japan and the ensuing nuclear emergency raises concerns not only about the enormous humanitarian issues involved but also about energy sources and costs. There are no quick fixes or easy solutions but there are some “critical, renewable resources” that can be found in our own backyards – both here in Germany and the United States. Those resources are ingenuity and know-how.
The situation in North Africa and in the Middle East also leads us to ask questions about energy sources and energy security but, here too, the challenges are even broader. In the past few months, we have seen regimes topple and democracy take root. The thirst for freedom and prosperity that we are witnessing in these nations is deeply moving. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton often points out, history has shown us that you cannot take the historical, cultural, political experience of one country and superimpose it on another. How many articles were written comparing the recent euphoria in Egypt to the atmosphere in Germany when the Wall fell?
There are, however, always differences. There are differences in the individual national events that are unfolding in Libya, in Bahrain, in Egypt, in Tunisia and in other countries. There are many ways that these transitions can go right; but there are also many ways they can go wrong. We cannot dictate the outcomes nor can we tell countries what to do. But together the United States and Europe can stand with those who are seeking democratic and economic reform, who want to protect minority rights and the rights of women, who want to build democratic institutions that will reflect real results for people. We can work with the forces within societies that are yearning for change to make sure that they have the support needed. As President Obama said last week, and I quote, “Sometimes, the course of history poses challenges that threaten our common humanity and our common security – responding to natural disasters, for example; or preventing genocide and keeping the peace; ensuring regional security, and maintaining the flow of commerce. These may not be America’s problems alone, but they are important to us. They’re problems worth solving.”
Our relationship with Europe is the cornerstone of that kind of engagement with the world. And why? Because one decade into this new century and two decades after the end of the Cold War, we know that global security is dependent on a host of political, social and economic factors.
One of the questions that Bill Gates often poses to the university audiences he addresses is this: what could the world look like 10 years from now if we move forward – fast forward – with innovation in health, education, energy and other fields? The United States and Germany have the world’s best research institutions and universities and the most innovative companies. Our two countries lead the world when it comes to innovation. I am often asked what I predict for the future of German-American relations and how our two countries can impact the world in terms of its development and stability. As the world's pre-eminent manufacturing and innovation centers, Germany and the United States can not only set an example by growing their own economies; they can also advance technological know-how and innovative developments that serve the greater global community.
Recent studies show that innovation comes from creating the kinds of environments where ideas can connect. Open innovation platforms can turn the marketplace into a hybrid of commercial self-interest and civic good. Improving on innovations creates new value.
When people hear the word “inventor,” they often think of a solitary genius in a garage. Recent studies, however, on the history of innovation show that discoveries more often come from minds working together than minds working alone. In his recent book, technology guru Steven Johnson looked at seven centuries of innovation – from Gutenberg to GPS. He examined the environments that nurture ingenuity – the kind of creative environments you find at research institutions like MIT or a Max Planck Institute or in one of the research centers here at Heidelberg University, like the Cancer Research Center that I just visited. It can also take place in large diverse, composite urban environments like New York or Berlin or Frankfurt or Stuttgart. The World Wide Web itself is a creative environment. Johnson compared these environments to coral reefs – "teeming, diverse colonies of creators who interact with and influence one another." This would be one of the things I would be interested in learning from you. What cities, countries, institutions are your coral reefs? Because the point is: innovation comes from creating the kinds of environments where ideas can connect. Innovation comes from social scenes, from passionate and connected groups of people. Innovation is about more than just having an idea; you also have to bring everyone else to where your idea is. Ideas travel in clusters.
President Obama says that this is a "Sputnik” moment in America’s and perhaps the world’s history because the time and the mood are right for a new ecology or network of ideas to take root. Sometimes when ideas are too ahead of their time, they go nowhere. Change happens when you take the space of possibility surrounding a given configuration and arrange it in a new way.
There is a wonderful moment in the film about the Apollo 13 mission that illustrates how groups innovate together. Apollo 13 was to be the third mission to land on the Moon but a near catastrophe changed the plans. An explosion in one of the oxygen tanks crippled the spacecraft during flight. “Houston, we have a problem,” the crew relayed back to ground control. But in order to get them safely back to Earth, the mission control engineers had to work with the astronauts up in space to create an improvised carbon dioxide filter. The astronauts have plenty of carbon "scrubbers" onboard, but they don't fit the ventilation system of the lunar module that will be their lifeboat home. In the movie, the head of operations tosses an assortment of stowage bags, hoses, canisters, duct tape and other gadgets on a conference table. He holds up the carbon scrubbers. "We gotta find a way to make this fit into a hole for this," he says, “using nothing but that.” He points to the spare parts on the table. Well, they built a device – and it worked. The canisters and nozzles were the building blocks that created — and limited —the space of possibility for a specific problem. The trick to having good ideas is not to sit around in isolation and think big thoughts. The trick is to get lots of parts on the table. For after all, if the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.
Next week, a joint German-American Science and Technology Committee is scheduled to meet for the first time in Berlin to discuss better cooperation in medicine, renewable energy, materials science research, and environmental and hazards research. Lessons learned from the recent earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in Japan will be on the agenda. And all the tools we have will be on the table and shared.
Companies are also starting to embrace open innovation platforms, sharing cutting-edge research with universities, partners, suppliers and customers. This makes it possible for outside firms to improve on innovations, creating new value that can potentially be put to use in the original products. Where competition is concerned, the lesson for nations is the same as the lesson for business: it is far better to compete by innovating, leading, collaborating and competing on strength, than by standing still. The steam engine, electricity, the automobile – these were technologies that did not just permit existing products to be produced better or more cheaply, but opened whole new economic vistas. We are in the middle of another one of those revolutions. As in times before, we face great challenges but the opportunities were also perhaps never so close at hand. Is this a Sputnik moment? I hope so. But it won’t be easy. And we – or better said again, you – dare not give up. As Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Or here is another word of advice from Albert Einstein: "You can't solve a problem on the same level that it was created. You have to rise above it to the next level."
In conclusion, at American commencement exercises, the speakers get to give their own good advice and I do not plan to give up that prerogative. And to do that, first, I am going to look back in history to the first US Ambassador to Germany, John Quincy Adams, who went on to become the 6th President of the United States. His mother, Abigail Adams, important in her own right, wrote to her son, John Quincy Adams, during the Revolutionary War, and I quote, “these are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life or [in] the repose of a pacific station that great characters are formed. …great necessities call out great virtues.”
And my final words of wisdom come from my heart. This is the advice I give to myself when the going gets tough:
• Create a “personal” grid: likes/dislikes and what you are good at and not good at.
• Balance! (Short vs. long term; Professional vs. personal time; when to fly at one inch vs. 10,000 feet)
• Exploit the common ground when it comes to passions and responsibilities.
• Understand the difference between “reliable” and “predictable.”
• Finally, have fun – it shows.
What do you think? Get back to me on Facebook.
Viel Gluck und vielen Dank für Ihre Aufmerksamkeit.