Has the US lost its creative mojo?

In my Digital Conflict blog on Aug. 11, 2011, I discussed the need for continuous innovation and creativity, which should be coupled with out-of-box thinking, as fundamental requirements for intelligence collection and analysis. This is necessary of the defense community is to stay ahead of the changing cyber threat environment.

I also pointed out that the private sector is on the spot to provide the next generation of products and services needed to address the demands of the cyber environment. On June 27, the results of a survey conducted by management consulting firm KPMG of 668 business executives in the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa was released. The survey participants said that China and the United States show the most promise for disruptive breakthroughs that would have global implications.  By far the most interesting yet troubling portion of that study found that only 39 percent of U.S. respondents selected the United States as most promising.

Has the United States lost its creative and innovative mojo? After having multiple discussions about this since that blog posting, two schools of thought have emerged. First and foremost, creativity and innovation involves risks, and the economic slow down that began back in 2008, and has hung on ever since, has made many companies take a risk-averse position. The second thought was that the continual hacking of U.S. companies, and the resulting theft of intellectual property, significantly contributed to the low rating. We all know that most of those activities have been attributed to China.

Regardless of the cause corrective actions must be taken immediately. Our country’s economic future and our national security may damn well depend on it.