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Quốc gia khởi nghiệp: Câu chuyện v� nền kinh t� thần k� của Israel
“Quốc gia khởi nghiệp� là câu chuyện viết v� s� phát triển thần k� của nền kinh t� Israel t� lúc lập quốc cho đến khi tr� thành quốc gia có nền công ngh� hàng đầu th� giới. Quyển sách này có th� tr� lời cho những thắc mắc làm th� nào một đất nước nh� bé lại có th� tồn tại giữa s� thù địch của các quốc gia lân cận, đối phó với những cuộc chiến gi� vững b� cõi mà vẫn tạo ra s� sáng tạo vượt bậc trong các lĩnh vực công ngh�, quân s� và dân s�.
Với ngòi bút sắc sảo, phong phú và tập trung những lời nhận xét thực t� t� những doanh nhân thành công hàng đầu, � Quốc gia khởi nghiệp� đã đem đến những cái nhìn mới m� v� con người và đất nước Israel, làm sáng t� phần nào những thành công tưởng chừng như không tưởng của đất nước nh� bé này. Cá tính quyết liệt, dám thách thức và sáng tạo không ngừng của những con người Do Thái lưu vong, chạy trốn và sống sót sau những cuộc thảm sát trong Chiến tranh th� giới th� II, không cam chịu cuộc sống nghèo khó, h� đã cùng với những người theo Ch� nghĩa Phục quốc Do Thái gầy dựng và bảo v� đất nước Israel bằng chính sức lực của mình và khiến c� th� giới phải kinh ngạc.
Ngày nay, Israel là một trong những quốc gia có nền kinh t� phát triển nhất th� giới và có lĩnh vực công ngh� phát triển không h� thua kém Thung lũng Silicon của Hoa K�. � Quốc gia khởi nghiệp� được xuất bản với hy vọng s� đem đến cho độc gi� những bài học v� khởi nghiệp của một quốc gia luôn có nền kinh t� phát triển sôi động, con người thì luôn hướng đến s� cách tân và hướng đến một tương lai tươi sáng hơn.
Với ngòi bút sắc sảo, phong phú và tập trung những lời nhận xét thực t� t� những doanh nhân thành công hàng đầu, � Quốc gia khởi nghiệp� đã đem đến những cái nhìn mới m� v� con người và đất nước Israel, làm sáng t� phần nào những thành công tưởng chừng như không tưởng của đất nước nh� bé này. Cá tính quyết liệt, dám thách thức và sáng tạo không ngừng của những con người Do Thái lưu vong, chạy trốn và sống sót sau những cuộc thảm sát trong Chiến tranh th� giới th� II, không cam chịu cuộc sống nghèo khó, h� đã cùng với những người theo Ch� nghĩa Phục quốc Do Thái gầy dựng và bảo v� đất nước Israel bằng chính sức lực của mình và khiến c� th� giới phải kinh ngạc.
Ngày nay, Israel là một trong những quốc gia có nền kinh t� phát triển nhất th� giới và có lĩnh vực công ngh� phát triển không h� thua kém Thung lũng Silicon của Hoa K�. � Quốc gia khởi nghiệp� được xuất bản với hy vọng s� đem đến cho độc gi� những bài học v� khởi nghiệp của một quốc gia luôn có nền kinh t� phát triển sôi động, con người thì luôn hướng đến s� cách tân và hướng đến một tương lai tươi sáng hơn.
403 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 2009
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About the author
Dan Senor
6books99followersDaniel Samuel "Dan" Senor (born November 6, 1971) is an American columnist, writer and political adviser. He was chief spokesperson for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and senior foreign policy adviser to U.S. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney during the 2012 election campaign. A frequent commentator on Fox News and contributor to The Wall Street Journal, he is co-author of the book Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle (2009). He is married to television news personality Campbell Brown (from wikipedia)
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October 26, 2022
الكتاب من السخافة بحيث لا أتوقع اتمامه الا لأكثر الناس صبرا على الأكاذيب أو أكثرهم حبا للقراءة لذاتها حتى و ان كانت النتيجة معروفه مقدما.
انهم لصوص الحضارة دوما و كما اعتدنا يسرقون كل شىء و كل انجاز و يعيدوا تدويره لينسبوه الى أنفسهم.
الخلاصة من هذا الكتاب هى ان إسرائيل هي الجيش و الجيش فقط و لا غرابة فى ذلك فإسرائيل هى جيش كبير و كل من فيها مجندين و لا مكان للمدنيين.
كمية من الأكاذيب المنسوجة بمهارة و المطعمة بالحقائق و مطرزة بالإنجازات البراقة لتخفى النسيج الأصلى الردىء و النسيج الجيد المسروق ثم المعاد صبغه بصبغة مسروقة أيضا.
أهمل الكاتبان الإحتلال و القمع و التنكيل و سلب الأراضى و المزارع و الأنهار و البترول و المياه الإقليمية و استعباد البشر و مئات المليارات من المنح المقدمة من الشركاء الدوليين و الممولين اليهود عبر العالم.
أهملوا أيضا شبكة العلاقات و المصالح اليهودية من الطابور الخامس العالمى اليهودى فى شتى أصقاع الأرض التى تسرق لهم الأفكار و تعيد تصدير عصارة ثقافة و ابتكارات الشعوب.
لا أنكر الذكاء اليهودى فى التعامل مع الأحداث و البراجماتية الشديدة و الإنحلال من القيود الأخلاقية و العلمانية السياسية و الديموقراطية غير النمطية التى سمحت لدولتهم بالنهوض.
أهمل الكاتبان أيضا أن النهضة الحقيقية بدأت منذ بداية التسعينات بعد اطلاق مفاوضات اوسلوا و زيادة ثقة المستثمرين بالمناخ الجديد المتوقع و قلة المخاطر مع اطلاق حزمة كبيرة من المنح الغربية التى تراجعت فى بداية الألفية بفعل الإنتفاضة الثانية ثم بفعل الحرب اللبنانية الثانية أيضا.
أعجبتنى نغمة الثقة الزائدة و ترسخ نظرية المؤامرة و العداء حتى من أقرب الحلفاء الغربيين و الشوفينية الشديدة فى التعاطى مع ما حققوه من تقدم على أرض الواقع فذلك مؤشر يبشرنا بالتراجع العلمي و الثقافي و لو بعد حين.
الكتاب غير علمى بالمرة و أظنه عمل دعائى موجه فى المقام الأول للداخل الإسرائيلى ثم للشعوب الغربية التى أحدث فيها ضجة واسعة جعلت لدينا من يظن ان الكتاب يمكن أن يضيف شيئا ايجابيا للقارىء العرب بعكس ما أظن.
و أخيرا فإن العنوان نفسه به جملة من الأكاذيب فلا هى بالأمة و لا يصح أن تكون الشركات الناشئة التى يبلغ عمرها عقدين على الأكثر أن تكون صفة غالبة و أيضا لا وجود لمعجزة الإقتصاد الإسرائلى بدون الدعم الغربى و اليهودى و اصطناع الحروب و الصراعات التى تبرر المزيد من الإبتزاز للعالم الغربى لدعم دولة نشأت بالإرهاب و يغذيها وجوده جنبا إلى جنب مع أمة الديكتاتوريات الناشئة المعروفة سياسيا بإسم العالم العربى.
June 25, 2011
Start-up Nation is a fun overview of a side of Israel you don't hear much about: the incredible success of its start-up companies, traced back to:
1. the multidisciplinary army training everyone gets at age 18,
2. a culture of embracing and learning from failure,
3. all those Jewish immigrants from places like Russia that show up with science and engineering degrees looking for something to do, and of course
4. Jewish chutzpah!
The book also helped me understand better why high-tech, high-growth entrepreneurship is as rare as it is; the required confluence of culture, higher education, experienced mentors, and venture finance is terribly hard to replicate (e.g., Dubai).
A good business book for people who don't read business books, a good history for people bored by history, and a good Israel book for people who don't like Israel.
1. the multidisciplinary army training everyone gets at age 18,
2. a culture of embracing and learning from failure,
3. all those Jewish immigrants from places like Russia that show up with science and engineering degrees looking for something to do, and of course
4. Jewish chutzpah!
The book also helped me understand better why high-tech, high-growth entrepreneurship is as rare as it is; the required confluence of culture, higher education, experienced mentors, and venture finance is terribly hard to replicate (e.g., Dubai).
A good business book for people who don't read business books, a good history for people bored by history, and a good Israel book for people who don't like Israel.
April 6, 2012
Being as generous as possible, this book should have been entitled "The Story of Israel's Start-Up Culture" rather than of its "Economic Miracle." Being honest, the title was misleading and this book was doomed to inadequacy from the start. The authors equivocate between an exploration of entrepreneurship and start-up culture, pro-Israel activism, Israeli military marketing and Israeli history and lore. All well and good, but as one unfamiliar with Israel's "economic miracle" I'm still not educated about or convinced of Israel's (holistic) economic gains and viability.
This book read more like a "Why Israel Is So Great" manual than anything else. The authors seem to have selected a thesis, then found anecdotes to support it rather than observing a phenomenon and proffering a thesis in explanation. Not that there is anything wrong with a thesis-forward model, but that just wasn't the way I initially saw the book going.
Furthermore, much of the "innovation" and "unique culture" they cite are truly not that special--Israelis innovate and improvise, but so do citizens of every state. Israel grew according to multiple growth/development indices, particularly for such a new state, but they didn't quite start from scratch--unlike former colonies or long-established states, Israel started with (generally) well-educated immigrants, "top notch universities were founded well before there even was a state" and a world that was well into the age of support and progress through technological innovation.
What was also troubling was that the authors seem to have slipped in a few swipes at other nations, disguising them as comparative assessments. Ethiopian Jews are mentioned as an immigrant group 'rescued by white, Israeli benefactors', then described as "an enormous economic burden" and dismissed after being contrasted with immigrants from the former Soviet Union "who have been a boon to the Israeli economy." Arabs are taken to task for falling behind in so many areas of growth and development yet the authors acknowledge a weakness in Israel's non-tech sectors; Arab schools are described as being challenged by rote memorization and standardization, yet this is arguably also the American model (and the authors freely acknowledge America's primacy in numerous areas). And though "some...countries have grown faster for longer than Israel has and enjoy higher standards of living...none of them have produced anywhere near the number of start-ups or have attracted similarly high levels of venture capital investments"--hardly an economic miracle to me.
Unfortunately, I couldn't shake the feeling that this book was a pro-Israel pitch, and the "miracle" described just seemed contrived.
This book read more like a "Why Israel Is So Great" manual than anything else. The authors seem to have selected a thesis, then found anecdotes to support it rather than observing a phenomenon and proffering a thesis in explanation. Not that there is anything wrong with a thesis-forward model, but that just wasn't the way I initially saw the book going.
Furthermore, much of the "innovation" and "unique culture" they cite are truly not that special--Israelis innovate and improvise, but so do citizens of every state. Israel grew according to multiple growth/development indices, particularly for such a new state, but they didn't quite start from scratch--unlike former colonies or long-established states, Israel started with (generally) well-educated immigrants, "top notch universities were founded well before there even was a state" and a world that was well into the age of support and progress through technological innovation.
What was also troubling was that the authors seem to have slipped in a few swipes at other nations, disguising them as comparative assessments. Ethiopian Jews are mentioned as an immigrant group 'rescued by white, Israeli benefactors', then described as "an enormous economic burden" and dismissed after being contrasted with immigrants from the former Soviet Union "who have been a boon to the Israeli economy." Arabs are taken to task for falling behind in so many areas of growth and development yet the authors acknowledge a weakness in Israel's non-tech sectors; Arab schools are described as being challenged by rote memorization and standardization, yet this is arguably also the American model (and the authors freely acknowledge America's primacy in numerous areas). And though "some...countries have grown faster for longer than Israel has and enjoy higher standards of living...none of them have produced anywhere near the number of start-ups or have attracted similarly high levels of venture capital investments"--hardly an economic miracle to me.
Unfortunately, I couldn't shake the feeling that this book was a pro-Israel pitch, and the "miracle" described just seemed contrived.
May 18, 2015
كنت أعتقد كغيري، أننا لكي ننهض علينا أن نقرأ قصص نهضة ألمانيا واليابان وسنغافورة وماليزيا وتركيا لكي نعرف ماذا فعلو ونحذوا حذوهم. لكنني بعد قراءتي لكتاب
Start-up Nation
أقتنعت تماما أن المكان الأنسب للبداية هو بقراءة تاريخ إسرائيل الاقتصادي. هذه الدولة المغتصبة التي تمكنت خلال فترة وجيزة من أن تتحول إلى امبراطورية المشاريع الناشئة في العالم، وتمكنت من التفوق في مقاييس التعليم والبنية التحتية.
إسرائيل كانت وراء الكثير من المنتجات التي نستخدمها، منها معالجات إنتيل التي كانت إسرائيل وراء أهم تحديثاتها.
الكتاب بمجمله هو نفخ عضلات لإسرائيل، لذلك فهو مؤلم جدا في القراءة، لكنه يعطيك أسباب نهضتها (مع اغفال وقوف امريكا ودول العالم وراءها). حيث تمكنت من عمل إيكوسستم يحفز على الإبداع وريادة الأعمال.
اليهود معروفون بكثرة جدالهم حتى مع أنبيائهم، هذه الثقافة كانت اساسا في سخط الله عليهم (فالأنبياء يجب لهم السمع والطاعة)، ولكنها كانت ايضا أساسا في نهضتها. فهناك لا رئيس ولا تابع. الجميع يعملون سويا. حتى رئيس وزرائها لهو اسم دلع يستخدمه معه من هم أدنى منه. وإدارة الإسرائيليين تعد الأصعب، لأنهم كموظفين سيجادلون في كل شيء، ابتداء من "لماذا انت مديري؟". والكثير من قادة الجيش تم عزلهم بسبب شكاوي من هم ادنى منهم. قارن ذلك بثقافة نفذ ثم اعترض التي نشأنا عليها في الوطن العربي، ابتداء من الأب، ثم كهنة الدين، وانتهاء بالعمل والجيش.
في إسرائيل، ستحصل على الجنسية الإسرائيلية (إن كنت يهوديا او من أب يهودي أو من زوجة يهودية) فور وصولك لإسرائيل، وستحصل به على جواز سفر يأخذك لأي دولة تيريدها بدون فيزا. قارن ذلك بالدول العربية التي لن تعطيك الجنسية حتى لو افنيت عمرك في خدمتها، مما يحول علاقة الشخص بالدولة التي يعمل بها علاقة مصلحة (الحصول على المال) بدلا من علاقة تضيحة لتنهض تلك الدولة.
في إسرائيل يقوم رئيس الوزراء بالتسويق للشركات والرياديين في إسرائيل، ويفاوض بنفسه كبار الشركات ليدعموا اسرائيل بعلاقة منفعة متبادلة. لا داعي لتذكيرك بالمقارنة، فشركاتنا ورياديينا يحاربهم الجميع، ابتداء من الأهل.
يقتلك الكتاب من الألم لشرحه لما تقوم به إسرائيل، لأنه يدفعك في عقلك أن تقارن مع الوضع المزري في الدول العربية. ثم يجهز عليك عندما يخصص الفصل الثالث عشر لمقارنة وضع اسرائيل بالدول العربية. احصائيات مبكية توضح لنا أن اسرائيل لا تستحق إلا أن تبقى منتصرة على الدول المتخلفة التي تحيط بها. فإجمالي براءات الاختراع في الدول العربية بين عام ١٩٨٠ و ٢٠٠٠ لا يتجاوز ٤٠٠ براءة اختراع، بينما هو ٧٦٥٢ في إسرائيل!! كما أن نسبة الأمية في الدول العربية هي الأعلى في العالم
أما صادرات الدول العربية مجتمعة (بعدد سكان يتجاوز ٢٥٠ مليون نسمة) من المنتجات غير النفطية فهي أقل من صادرات دولة فنلدا لوحدها والتي يبلغ سكانها ٥ مليون نسمة.
أمة كغثاء السيل فعلا
ولتبدأ المشوار الطويل، عليها أن تبدأ بإعادة بناء طريقة التفكير و تحطيم الثقافة السلبية الموروثة في مجتمعنا.
عندما نزل القرآن على العرب، كان لديهم مخزون سيء من الثقافة وطريقة التفكير. حيث كان العرب يكرهون العمل لذلك يسمى العمل بالمهنة المأخوذة من المهانة. وكانوا يعتمدون في كسبهم على التجارة والربى.
أما أمية العرب في الجاهلية فكانت هي المسيطرة، مع ندرة في من يقرأ ويكتب. ولم يكن للعرب أي نتاج حقيقي في التأليف والعلم، بل كانو يؤمنون بالسحر والشعوذة والدجل، ويقدسون القبلية ويشنون لأجلها المعارك.
ولذلك منذ بداية نزول القرآن بدأ تحطيم ذلك الموروث السيء. حتى الألفاظ القرآنية كانت تهاجم ذلك الموروث بطرق مختلفة. فلفظ فلاح في آيات مثل "قد أفلح المؤمنون" مأخوذة من الفلاحة التي كانت تكرهها قريش وتحتقرها.
القرآن جاء ليعيد قولبة الناس ويدعوهم للعمل والعلم.
ما أشبه العرب اليوم بعرب الجاهلية قبل ١٤٠٠ سنة
ولكي ننهض، علينا أن نعود لتعاليم القرآن لنفهمه حق فهمه. فقد عالج نفس أمراض المجتمع قبل ١٤٠٠ سنة، لكن بتشويهنا لفهمه وتطبيقه، عادة فينا نفس أمراض الجهل.
وكبداية، فأنا أنصح وبشدة قراءة كتاب البوصلة القرآنية و سيرة خليفة قادم للمؤلف أحمد خيري العمري� (هم المرجع لما ذكرته عن عرب الجاهلية).
بداية كهذه ستكفل تحطيم الإرث الديني الخاطئ الموجود في عقولنا (أو فرمتة) ليتم البناء على اسس صحيحة.
أعود وأنصحكم بشدة بقراءة كتاب
startup nation
لأنه سيزعجكم ويكركب تفكيركم. ويخرجكم من وضع الراحة الواهمة التي نعيش بها.
اتمنى منكم ان تعوا هذا المقال جيدا، وان تشاركوه لمن سيستفيد من قراءته
Start-up Nation
أقتنعت تماما أن المكان الأنسب للبداية هو بقراءة تاريخ إسرائيل الاقتصادي. هذه الدولة المغتصبة التي تمكنت خلال فترة وجيزة من أن تتحول إلى امبراطورية المشاريع الناشئة في العالم، وتمكنت من التفوق في مقاييس التعليم والبنية التحتية.
إسرائيل كانت وراء الكثير من المنتجات التي نستخدمها، منها معالجات إنتيل التي كانت إسرائيل وراء أهم تحديثاتها.
الكتاب بمجمله هو نفخ عضلات لإسرائيل، لذلك فهو مؤلم جدا في القراءة، لكنه يعطيك أسباب نهضتها (مع اغفال وقوف امريكا ودول العالم وراءها). حيث تمكنت من عمل إيكوسستم يحفز على الإبداع وريادة الأعمال.
اليهود معروفون بكثرة جدالهم حتى مع أنبيائهم، هذه الثقافة كانت اساسا في سخط الله عليهم (فالأنبياء يجب لهم السمع والطاعة)، ولكنها كانت ايضا أساسا في نهضتها. فهناك لا رئيس ولا تابع. الجميع يعملون سويا. حتى رئيس وزرائها لهو اسم دلع يستخدمه معه من هم أدنى منه. وإدارة الإسرائيليين تعد الأصعب، لأنهم كموظفين سيجادلون في كل شيء، ابتداء من "لماذا انت مديري؟". والكثير من قادة الجيش تم عزلهم بسبب شكاوي من هم ادنى منهم. قارن ذلك بثقافة نفذ ثم اعترض التي نشأنا عليها في الوطن العربي، ابتداء من الأب، ثم كهنة الدين، وانتهاء بالعمل والجيش.
في إسرائيل، ستحصل على الجنسية الإسرائيلية (إن كنت يهوديا او من أب يهودي أو من زوجة يهودية) فور وصولك لإسرائيل، وستحصل به على جواز سفر يأخذك لأي دولة تيريدها بدون فيزا. قارن ذلك بالدول العربية التي لن تعطيك الجنسية حتى لو افنيت عمرك في خدمتها، مما يحول علاقة الشخص بالدولة التي يعمل بها علاقة مصلحة (الحصول على المال) بدلا من علاقة تضيحة لتنهض تلك الدولة.
في إسرائيل يقوم رئيس الوزراء بالتسويق للشركات والرياديين في إسرائيل، ويفاوض بنفسه كبار الشركات ليدعموا اسرائيل بعلاقة منفعة متبادلة. لا داعي لتذكيرك بالمقارنة، فشركاتنا ورياديينا يحاربهم الجميع، ابتداء من الأهل.
يقتلك الكتاب من الألم لشرحه لما تقوم به إسرائيل، لأنه يدفعك في عقلك أن تقارن مع الوضع المزري في الدول العربية. ثم يجهز عليك عندما يخصص الفصل الثالث عشر لمقارنة وضع اسرائيل بالدول العربية. احصائيات مبكية توضح لنا أن اسرائيل لا تستحق إلا أن تبقى منتصرة على الدول المتخلفة التي تحيط بها. فإجمالي براءات الاختراع في الدول العربية بين عام ١٩٨٠ و ٢٠٠٠ لا يتجاوز ٤٠٠ براءة اختراع، بينما هو ٧٦٥٢ في إسرائيل!! كما أن نسبة الأمية في الدول العربية هي الأعلى في العالم
أما صادرات الدول العربية مجتمعة (بعدد سكان يتجاوز ٢٥٠ مليون نسمة) من المنتجات غير النفطية فهي أقل من صادرات دولة فنلدا لوحدها والتي يبلغ سكانها ٥ مليون نسمة.
أمة كغثاء السيل فعلا
ولتبدأ المشوار الطويل، عليها أن تبدأ بإعادة بناء طريقة التفكير و تحطيم الثقافة السلبية الموروثة في مجتمعنا.
عندما نزل القرآن على العرب، كان لديهم مخزون سيء من الثقافة وطريقة التفكير. حيث كان العرب يكرهون العمل لذلك يسمى العمل بالمهنة المأخوذة من المهانة. وكانوا يعتمدون في كسبهم على التجارة والربى.
أما أمية العرب في الجاهلية فكانت هي المسيطرة، مع ندرة في من يقرأ ويكتب. ولم يكن للعرب أي نتاج حقيقي في التأليف والعلم، بل كانو يؤمنون بالسحر والشعوذة والدجل، ويقدسون القبلية ويشنون لأجلها المعارك.
ولذلك منذ بداية نزول القرآن بدأ تحطيم ذلك الموروث السيء. حتى الألفاظ القرآنية كانت تهاجم ذلك الموروث بطرق مختلفة. فلفظ فلاح في آيات مثل "قد أفلح المؤمنون" مأخوذة من الفلاحة التي كانت تكرهها قريش وتحتقرها.
القرآن جاء ليعيد قولبة الناس ويدعوهم للعمل والعلم.
ما أشبه العرب اليوم بعرب الجاهلية قبل ١٤٠٠ سنة
ولكي ننهض، علينا أن نعود لتعاليم القرآن لنفهمه حق فهمه. فقد عالج نفس أمراض المجتمع قبل ١٤٠٠ سنة، لكن بتشويهنا لفهمه وتطبيقه، عادة فينا نفس أمراض الجهل.
وكبداية، فأنا أنصح وبشدة قراءة كتاب البوصلة القرآنية و سيرة خليفة قادم للمؤلف أحمد خيري العمري� (هم المرجع لما ذكرته عن عرب الجاهلية).
بداية كهذه ستكفل تحطيم الإرث الديني الخاطئ الموجود في عقولنا (أو فرمتة) ليتم البناء على اسس صحيحة.
أعود وأنصحكم بشدة بقراءة كتاب
startup nation
لأنه سيزعجكم ويكركب تفكيركم. ويخرجكم من وضع الراحة الواهمة التي نعيش بها.
اتمنى منكم ان تعوا هذا المقال جيدا، وان تشاركوه لمن سيستفيد من قراءته
February 9, 2017
Start Up Nation
Quick, answer 3 questions for me. What country has the highest ratio of university degrees in its population? What country has the highest concentration of startups in the world? What country has more companies listed on NASDAQ than the entire European continent combined? If you answered "Israel" to any of these three questions…Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding! You were right, on all three counts.
In the new book, Start Up Nation, Dan Senor and Paul Singer explain how Israel, a tiny country the size of New Jersey with no natural resources, surrounded by hostile Anti-Semitic enemies, in a constant state of war is still able to produce more start-ups than any other country besides the U.S.
The emergence of Israel’s high-tech sector put the small country’s economy on track. Specializing in computer hardware and software, medical technologies and pharmaceuticals, Israel’s technology sector became world renowned for it’s innovation: Flash drives, cardiac stents, camera-pills, instant messaging and shopping.com are only a few of Israeli-bred innovations that have emerged in the last few decades. So, how does this little powerhouse, admired and envied by so many around the world, do it against all of the odds?
Persistence and Resilience:
A very strong trait in Israeli culture behind the “startup nation’s� success is Israeli chutzpah. Chutzpah does not have an equivalent word in English, but it basically translates to “in your face, cheeky, boldness that borders on being rude�. Chutzpah is a Yiddish word that derives from the Hebrew word ḥutspa. Israeli chutzpah is a necessity because Israel exists in a hotbed of Anti-Semitic Islamic and Arab theocracies that constantly threaten Israel’s annihilation. That chutzpah helps Israelis keep their strong resilience, and assures them that they are good people, they are smart people, they are honest people and they do the right thing even when everyone around them are not. That chutzpah will not let Israel’s enemies get her down. That chutzpah accounts for much of the Israel’s success against all odds.
Compulsory Service in a Unique Military
Another contributing factor is that Israel has a compulsory military service for all citizens over the age of 18, three years for men and two years for women. Innovation comes from having a unique perspective. Perspective comes from knowledge. Knowledge comes from a wide variety of experiences during a long life. In Israel, young people get experience, knowledge, perspective, and maturity at a much younger age, because the Israeli society jams so many transformative experiences into it’s people when they're barely out of high school. By the time they get to college, their heads are in a different place than their American counterparts.
Much of this experience Israelis get comes from its compulsory military service, which not only provides early training in some very sophisticated technologies, it often entails very serious life-and-death situations that teach Israelis to think quickly on their feet and make tough decisions under extremely stressful conditions.
The IDF also has a very unique, anti-hierarchical structure, which results in very few levels of middle and upper management. The result of this is, very young soldiers barely out of their teens serve on the front lines of battle with minimal guidance from superiors. The IDF places a very strong emphasis on soldiers taking personal responsibility. This leads to soldiers having to solve problems on their own on the front lines of battle, under incredible pressure, in very intense real world, life-and-death situations. As a result, IDF soldiers get a more mature perspective on life at a younger age than Americans do at the same age. One Israeli soldier explains it like this:
"A company commander is in charge of a specific territory. If a terrorist infiltrates that area, there's a company commander whose name is on it. Tell me how many twenty-three-year-olds elsewhere in the world live with that kind of pressure... How many of their peers in their junior colleges have been tested in such a way? How do you train and mature a twenty-year-old to shoulder such responsibility?�
IDF soldiers are also discouraged from being overly compliant and instead are taught to speak up and question authority if they have serious doubts about decisions made by senior officers. Yes, it’s that chutzpah, again, that contributes to a very unconventional system to challenge senior officers who are not working up to the IDF’s high standards.
Quote from page 52:
"I was in Israeli army units where we threw out the officers," Oren told us, "where people just got together and voted them out. I witnessed this twice personally. I actually liked the guy, but I was outvoted. They voted out a colonel." When we asked Oren in disbelief how this worked, he explained, "You go and say, 'We don't want you. You're not good.' I mean, everyone's on a first-name basis... You go to the person above him and say, 'That guy's got to go.'... It's much more performance-oriented than it is about rank. "The phrase 'It was not my fault' does not exist in the military culture�.
There is also a cultural tolerance in Israel for what some call "constructive failure" or "intelligent failures." Most Israelis believe that without tolerating a large number of failures, it is impossible to achieve true innovation. In the IDF, there is a tendency to treat all performance, both successful and unsuccessful, both in training simulations and in live battle, as value-neutral. So long as the risk was taken intelligently, and not recklessly, even if the performance failed, there is something to be learned.
Yosma
Israel's economic miracle is due as much to immigration as to anything. Foreign-born citizens of Israel currently account for over one-third of Israel’s population. That is three times the ratio of immigrants to natives in the U.S.A. Israel is now home to more than 70 diverse nationalities and cultures.
The success of the Venture Capital industry in Israel grew even stronger with the creation of a program they named Yozma (Hebrew for "initiative"). A group of young bureaucrats at Israel’s Ministry of Finance came up with the idea for a program where the Israeli government would invest money to create ten new venture capital funds Each fund had to be represented by three parties: Israeli venture capitalists in training, a foreign venture capital firm, and an Israeli investment company or bank. As a result of these efforts, Israel’s annual venture-capital rose nearly 60-fold, from $58 million to $3.3 billion, between 1991 and 2000. Venture capital was the match that ignited the fire.
MashUps and Alacrity
Mashups: There’s also a multitask mash-up mentality in Israel that produces an environment in which job titles and the compartmentalization mentality that goes along with them do not apply as much in Israel. Israelis will think nothing of working in fields that combine mathematics, biology, computer science, chemistry and other specialties. Everyone becomes a jack-of-all trades, thinking nothing of combining radically different technologies and disciplines.
Alacrity: When an Israeli man wants to date a woman, he cheerfully asks her out that same night. He does not wait, mulling over his chances of rejection. When an Israeli entrepreneur has a business idea, he will start it that week. He does not wait mulling over his chances of failure. The notion that one should accumulate all of his credentials before launching a venture simply does not exist in Israeli culture. Too much time procrastinating can only teach you what can go wrong, not what could be transformative.
Clusters of People with Strong Bonds
Clusters in businesses are based on "geographic concentrations" of interconnected institutions (businesses, government agencies, and universities) in a specific field. Clusters are just communities of people who live and work and even raise families closely together so everyone is connected to each other in some way or another. This includes the same people who also serve together in the same military units fighting to defend their home turf against enemies who want to annihilate them for being Jewish, then go on to learn together at the same great universities, and go on to work at the same start-up companies, live in the same communities where they raise families where their children go to the same schools together, etc, etc... That same "social glue" that binds a cluster together also provides critical access to information and talented people in their fields. The cluster's sense of shared commitment and destiny on both a personal and professional level, like that of Israel and Silicon Valley, are not easy to create, but when it is created, it results in robust economic growth.
Strongly Recommended It has been said that Israel is a country with no natural resources. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Israel's greatest resource accounts for much of it’s success, that resource is the ingenuity and resilience of the Israeli people.
Quick, answer 3 questions for me. What country has the highest ratio of university degrees in its population? What country has the highest concentration of startups in the world? What country has more companies listed on NASDAQ than the entire European continent combined? If you answered "Israel" to any of these three questions…Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding! You were right, on all three counts.
In the new book, Start Up Nation, Dan Senor and Paul Singer explain how Israel, a tiny country the size of New Jersey with no natural resources, surrounded by hostile Anti-Semitic enemies, in a constant state of war is still able to produce more start-ups than any other country besides the U.S.
The emergence of Israel’s high-tech sector put the small country’s economy on track. Specializing in computer hardware and software, medical technologies and pharmaceuticals, Israel’s technology sector became world renowned for it’s innovation: Flash drives, cardiac stents, camera-pills, instant messaging and shopping.com are only a few of Israeli-bred innovations that have emerged in the last few decades. So, how does this little powerhouse, admired and envied by so many around the world, do it against all of the odds?
Persistence and Resilience:
A very strong trait in Israeli culture behind the “startup nation’s� success is Israeli chutzpah. Chutzpah does not have an equivalent word in English, but it basically translates to “in your face, cheeky, boldness that borders on being rude�. Chutzpah is a Yiddish word that derives from the Hebrew word ḥutspa. Israeli chutzpah is a necessity because Israel exists in a hotbed of Anti-Semitic Islamic and Arab theocracies that constantly threaten Israel’s annihilation. That chutzpah helps Israelis keep their strong resilience, and assures them that they are good people, they are smart people, they are honest people and they do the right thing even when everyone around them are not. That chutzpah will not let Israel’s enemies get her down. That chutzpah accounts for much of the Israel’s success against all odds.
Compulsory Service in a Unique Military
Another contributing factor is that Israel has a compulsory military service for all citizens over the age of 18, three years for men and two years for women. Innovation comes from having a unique perspective. Perspective comes from knowledge. Knowledge comes from a wide variety of experiences during a long life. In Israel, young people get experience, knowledge, perspective, and maturity at a much younger age, because the Israeli society jams so many transformative experiences into it’s people when they're barely out of high school. By the time they get to college, their heads are in a different place than their American counterparts.
Much of this experience Israelis get comes from its compulsory military service, which not only provides early training in some very sophisticated technologies, it often entails very serious life-and-death situations that teach Israelis to think quickly on their feet and make tough decisions under extremely stressful conditions.
The IDF also has a very unique, anti-hierarchical structure, which results in very few levels of middle and upper management. The result of this is, very young soldiers barely out of their teens serve on the front lines of battle with minimal guidance from superiors. The IDF places a very strong emphasis on soldiers taking personal responsibility. This leads to soldiers having to solve problems on their own on the front lines of battle, under incredible pressure, in very intense real world, life-and-death situations. As a result, IDF soldiers get a more mature perspective on life at a younger age than Americans do at the same age. One Israeli soldier explains it like this:
"A company commander is in charge of a specific territory. If a terrorist infiltrates that area, there's a company commander whose name is on it. Tell me how many twenty-three-year-olds elsewhere in the world live with that kind of pressure... How many of their peers in their junior colleges have been tested in such a way? How do you train and mature a twenty-year-old to shoulder such responsibility?�
IDF soldiers are also discouraged from being overly compliant and instead are taught to speak up and question authority if they have serious doubts about decisions made by senior officers. Yes, it’s that chutzpah, again, that contributes to a very unconventional system to challenge senior officers who are not working up to the IDF’s high standards.
Quote from page 52:
"I was in Israeli army units where we threw out the officers," Oren told us, "where people just got together and voted them out. I witnessed this twice personally. I actually liked the guy, but I was outvoted. They voted out a colonel." When we asked Oren in disbelief how this worked, he explained, "You go and say, 'We don't want you. You're not good.' I mean, everyone's on a first-name basis... You go to the person above him and say, 'That guy's got to go.'... It's much more performance-oriented than it is about rank. "The phrase 'It was not my fault' does not exist in the military culture�.
There is also a cultural tolerance in Israel for what some call "constructive failure" or "intelligent failures." Most Israelis believe that without tolerating a large number of failures, it is impossible to achieve true innovation. In the IDF, there is a tendency to treat all performance, both successful and unsuccessful, both in training simulations and in live battle, as value-neutral. So long as the risk was taken intelligently, and not recklessly, even if the performance failed, there is something to be learned.
Yosma
Israel's economic miracle is due as much to immigration as to anything. Foreign-born citizens of Israel currently account for over one-third of Israel’s population. That is three times the ratio of immigrants to natives in the U.S.A. Israel is now home to more than 70 diverse nationalities and cultures.
The success of the Venture Capital industry in Israel grew even stronger with the creation of a program they named Yozma (Hebrew for "initiative"). A group of young bureaucrats at Israel’s Ministry of Finance came up with the idea for a program where the Israeli government would invest money to create ten new venture capital funds Each fund had to be represented by three parties: Israeli venture capitalists in training, a foreign venture capital firm, and an Israeli investment company or bank. As a result of these efforts, Israel’s annual venture-capital rose nearly 60-fold, from $58 million to $3.3 billion, between 1991 and 2000. Venture capital was the match that ignited the fire.
MashUps and Alacrity
Mashups: There’s also a multitask mash-up mentality in Israel that produces an environment in which job titles and the compartmentalization mentality that goes along with them do not apply as much in Israel. Israelis will think nothing of working in fields that combine mathematics, biology, computer science, chemistry and other specialties. Everyone becomes a jack-of-all trades, thinking nothing of combining radically different technologies and disciplines.
Alacrity: When an Israeli man wants to date a woman, he cheerfully asks her out that same night. He does not wait, mulling over his chances of rejection. When an Israeli entrepreneur has a business idea, he will start it that week. He does not wait mulling over his chances of failure. The notion that one should accumulate all of his credentials before launching a venture simply does not exist in Israeli culture. Too much time procrastinating can only teach you what can go wrong, not what could be transformative.
Clusters of People with Strong Bonds
Clusters in businesses are based on "geographic concentrations" of interconnected institutions (businesses, government agencies, and universities) in a specific field. Clusters are just communities of people who live and work and even raise families closely together so everyone is connected to each other in some way or another. This includes the same people who also serve together in the same military units fighting to defend their home turf against enemies who want to annihilate them for being Jewish, then go on to learn together at the same great universities, and go on to work at the same start-up companies, live in the same communities where they raise families where their children go to the same schools together, etc, etc... That same "social glue" that binds a cluster together also provides critical access to information and talented people in their fields. The cluster's sense of shared commitment and destiny on both a personal and professional level, like that of Israel and Silicon Valley, are not easy to create, but when it is created, it results in robust economic growth.
Strongly Recommended It has been said that Israel is a country with no natural resources. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Israel's greatest resource accounts for much of it’s success, that resource is the ingenuity and resilience of the Israeli people.
February 17, 2015
أول كتاب أشارك بترجمته، وقد تم ذلك ضمن فريق أعرني كتاباً
يتحدث هذا الكتاب عن إسرائيل "أمة الشركات الناشئة" تلك الشركات التي كانت معجزة الاقتصاد الإسرائيلي وأهم أسباب نمو هذا الاقتصاد
طبعاً هذا الكتاب يعبر عن وجهة نظر الإسرائيليين باقتصادهم، حيث يقومون بتحليل الوضع الاقتصادي والتعليمي في الوطن العربي، كما أنهم يتحدثون عن خصائص يهود إسرائيل، تلك الخصائص التي كان لها أبلغ الأثر في تكوين العديد من رواد الأعمال الذين يستثمرون في الشركات الناشئة معتمدين على رأس المال المغامر، ومن تلك الخصائص "الوقاحة" والجدل وعدم الالتزام بالمكانة الاجتماعية أو الرتبة العسكرية أثناء النقاش في العمل، كما أنهم يعتبرون أن الخدمة الإلزامية في الجيش الإسرائيلي والمختلفة في نظامها عن باقي الدول، يعتبرونها عامل هام في نشوء أولئك الرياديين أصحاب أكبر الشركات في إسرائيل
كتاب يستحق القراءة، لأننا نستطيع عن طريقه أن نطّلع على آرائهم في تكوين الاقتصاد الإسرائيلي بزمن قياسي وذلك من مبدأ "اعرف عدوّك"، كما أننا نستطيع أن نطّلع عن طريقه على النظرة أو الرؤية التي يروننا بها نحن العرب
كتاب أنصح به لكل مثقف عربي
يمكنك تحميل النسخة العربية من هنا:
startupnationarabic.wordpress.com
يتحدث هذا الكتاب عن إسرائيل "أمة الشركات الناشئة" تلك الشركات التي كانت معجزة الاقتصاد الإسرائيلي وأهم أسباب نمو هذا الاقتصاد
طبعاً هذا الكتاب يعبر عن وجهة نظر الإسرائيليين باقتصادهم، حيث يقومون بتحليل الوضع الاقتصادي والتعليمي في الوطن العربي، كما أنهم يتحدثون عن خصائص يهود إسرائيل، تلك الخصائص التي كان لها أبلغ الأثر في تكوين العديد من رواد الأعمال الذين يستثمرون في الشركات الناشئة معتمدين على رأس المال المغامر، ومن تلك الخصائص "الوقاحة" والجدل وعدم الالتزام بالمكانة الاجتماعية أو الرتبة العسكرية أثناء النقاش في العمل، كما أنهم يعتبرون أن الخدمة الإلزامية في الجيش الإسرائيلي والمختلفة في نظامها عن باقي الدول، يعتبرونها عامل هام في نشوء أولئك الرياديين أصحاب أكبر الشركات في إسرائيل
كتاب يستحق القراءة، لأننا نستطيع عن طريقه أن نطّلع على آرائهم في تكوين الاقتصاد الإسرائيلي بزمن قياسي وذلك من مبدأ "اعرف عدوّك"، كما أننا نستطيع أن نطّلع عن طريقه على النظرة أو الرؤية التي يروننا بها نحن العرب
كتاب أنصح به لكل مثقف عربي
يمكنك تحميل النسخة العربية من هنا:
startupnationarabic.wordpress.com
January 22, 2018
I absolutely love this book, it's just that, it's not as captivating as my first read; which is on Elon Musk, hence I give it a 4/5 rating. The book started out as merely a discussion between the two author that leads to twenty-eight Harvard Business School classmates going to Israel to explore its economy, politics and history. At the end of the week, everyone asked the same question, 'Where did all this innovation and entrepreneurship come from?' Despite being a target of suicide bombers and scud missiles, Israel's filled with dotcoms, biotechs and mobile companies, attracting venture capital, the lifeblood of start-up companies. Its economy was barely touched by the global financial crisis. Among interesting explanation for Israel's success might be called the chutzpah thesis, the belief that Israelis rejects conventional, hierarchical values, overcome setbacks and failures, and embrace adversity. We can learn a lot of things from Israel, I wish everyone would read this book and together we can change our country!
January 26, 2012
انتهيت سابقا من قراءة نسخة عربية ملخصة من الكتاب ، مترجمة بشكل تطوعي من أحد رواد الأعمال العرب
تجد هنا نسخة من الملخص المترجم:
الكتاب يتحدث عن دور الشركات الناشئة في تكوين الاقتصاد الإسرائيلي ، ستكتشف أن إسرائيل متقدمة جدا في مجالات التكنولوجيا وخصوصا المتعلقة بالتسليح
الكتاب يصف الروشتة التي تتبعتها حكومات إسرائيل لدعم ريادة الاعمال
(entrepreneurship)
فيها ، عن طريق صناديق الدعم الحكومية ، وإغراء الشركات الكبري للحصول على مقرات داخل إسرائيل (أعني داخل أراضي فلسطين المحتلة )
وكذلك جذب شركات رأس المال المخاطر venture capitals
في بعض الفصول يذكر نماذج لشركات ناجحة استطاعت إجبار شركات عالمية على فتح مقرات تطوير لها داخل إسرائيل ، اذا ارادت الاستفادة من ابتكارات هذه الشركات الصغيرة
(مثال على ذلك ، قصة "تشاي أجاسي" ، وكارلوس جوسن مدير شركة رينو ونيسان
حيث يساهم رئيس الوزراء شيمون بيريز بنفسه في تسويق فكرة أجاسي
تجد المزيد هنا :
)
أحد العوامل التي ساهمت في تطور إسرائيل التكنولوجي هو عدم رغبة الدول المحيطة بها في تبادل السلع المادية معها ، لذلك كان طبيعيا ان تتجه للإستثمار في التكنولوجياالتي يسهل تصديرهالأوروبا وأمريكا بسهولة .
بالطبع لا يذكر الكاتبان ان دعم اليهود في الغرب لإسرائيل ومساعدتها بانشاء المراكز العلمية والبحثية هو العامل الأكبر في تطورها التكنولوجي.
الكتاب لا يخلو من مبالغات كبيرة ، مثلا يبالغ في تأثير التجنيد الإجباري المبكر (بعد الثانوية) ، ويؤكد ان هذا التجنيد يضع الجنود في مواقف تشعرهم بالمسؤولية وتجبرهم على اتخاذ قرارات مصيرية ، هذا الكلام قد يكون صحيحا لكن فيه مبالغات
كذلك يبالغ في وصف مدى تماسك الاقتصاد الإسرائيلي في اوقات الحروب ، وهو أضعف أجزاء الكتاب بصراحة ، لأنه من المعروف أن سكان إسرائيل كلهم مجندون في الجيش تقريبا ، حالة الحرب تعني توقف معظم الدولة عن العمل بشكل فعلي
الكتاب مفيد وممتع فعلا ، يستحق القراءة للأفراد العاديين ، لأن فيه نماذج لابتكارات وشركات ناجحة ، ويجب أن يقرأه صناع القرار في بلادنا ، لأن تشجيع ثقافة ريادة الأعمال يريح الدولة من عبء كل شيء ، فيترك للشباب مهمة اقتناص الفرص وتحقيق الاستغلال الأمثل للموارد .
تجد هنا نسخة من الملخص المترجم:
الكتاب يتحدث عن دور الشركات الناشئة في تكوين الاقتصاد الإسرائيلي ، ستكتشف أن إسرائيل متقدمة جدا في مجالات التكنولوجيا وخصوصا المتعلقة بالتسليح
الكتاب يصف الروشتة التي تتبعتها حكومات إسرائيل لدعم ريادة الاعمال
(entrepreneurship)
فيها ، عن طريق صناديق الدعم الحكومية ، وإغراء الشركات الكبري للحصول على مقرات داخل إسرائيل (أعني داخل أراضي فلسطين المحتلة )
وكذلك جذب شركات رأس المال المخاطر venture capitals
في بعض الفصول يذكر نماذج لشركات ناجحة استطاعت إجبار شركات عالمية على فتح مقرات تطوير لها داخل إسرائيل ، اذا ارادت الاستفادة من ابتكارات هذه الشركات الصغيرة
(مثال على ذلك ، قصة "تشاي أجاسي" ، وكارلوس جوسن مدير شركة رينو ونيسان
حيث يساهم رئيس الوزراء شيمون بيريز بنفسه في تسويق فكرة أجاسي
تجد المزيد هنا :
)
أحد العوامل التي ساهمت في تطور إسرائيل التكنولوجي هو عدم رغبة الدول المحيطة بها في تبادل السلع المادية معها ، لذلك كان طبيعيا ان تتجه للإستثمار في التكنولوجياالتي يسهل تصديرهالأوروبا وأمريكا بسهولة .
بالطبع لا يذكر الكاتبان ان دعم اليهود في الغرب لإسرائيل ومساعدتها بانشاء المراكز العلمية والبحثية هو العامل الأكبر في تطورها التكنولوجي.
الكتاب لا يخلو من مبالغات كبيرة ، مثلا يبالغ في تأثير التجنيد الإجباري المبكر (بعد الثانوية) ، ويؤكد ان هذا التجنيد يضع الجنود في مواقف تشعرهم بالمسؤولية وتجبرهم على اتخاذ قرارات مصيرية ، هذا الكلام قد يكون صحيحا لكن فيه مبالغات
كذلك يبالغ في وصف مدى تماسك الاقتصاد الإسرائيلي في اوقات الحروب ، وهو أضعف أجزاء الكتاب بصراحة ، لأنه من المعروف أن سكان إسرائيل كلهم مجندون في الجيش تقريبا ، حالة الحرب تعني توقف معظم الدولة عن العمل بشكل فعلي
الكتاب مفيد وممتع فعلا ، يستحق القراءة للأفراد العاديين ، لأن فيه نماذج لابتكارات وشركات ناجحة ، ويجب أن يقرأه صناع القرار في بلادنا ، لأن تشجيع ثقافة ريادة الأعمال يريح الدولة من عبء كل شيء ، فيترك للشباب مهمة اقتناص الفرص وتحقيق الاستغلال الأمثل للموارد .
August 10, 2023
has an unfortunate hyperbolic subtitle which initially had me worried that the contents were going to be shallow and cliched. They weren't. This book is actually quite fascinating. It describes how Israel’s unique history and culture has led to this small country becoming one of the world’s leaders in entrepreneurship and innovation. I was riveted by the success stories and the insights about how aspects of Israel's culture combine to create those successes.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the audiobook. I listened to the end but just about every Hebrew name was badly mispronounced. It's surprising that the publisher used a non-Hebrew speaking narrator for a book whose content consists largely of Israeli people/names, cities and companies.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the audiobook. I listened to the end but just about every Hebrew name was badly mispronounced. It's surprising that the publisher used a non-Hebrew speaking narrator for a book whose content consists largely of Israeli people/names, cities and companies.
April 2, 2025
Израел е създаден преди едва шейсетина години в пустиня на средата на нищото, пет пъти по-малък е от България и е заобиколен от съседи, които копнеят да го унищожат � и неведнъж са опитвали, поради което е в състояние на перманентна война. Как става така, че една аграрна и изостанала държава се превръща в една от най-проспериращите икономики в света?
Всъщност, Израел не само е една от най-проспериращите икономики в света � той е център на световните иновации. В малката държава в последните 20 години са регистрирани толкова патенти, колкото в САЩ, и цифрата е (в пъти) по-голяма отколкото патентите на всички европейски държави заедно. И именно това е причината за успеха му.
Тази книга дава не само добър поглед върху икономическата история на Израел, но за мен, като привърженик на свободния пазар � и уникален, принципно нов поглед върху икономиката, ролята на държавата в нея и принципите на практическото й развитие като цяло.
Ако трябва с една дума да синтезирам причините, на които авторът отдава успеха на Израел � военен, икономически и социален, тази дума би била „неуважение�. Изглежда, израелците не уважават никого твърде много � не уважават авторитетите, не уважават традициите, не уважават политиците си, не уважават командирите си в казармата.
Само един пример � след войната Йом Кипур, където Израел е нападнат навръх празника от обединените сили на Сирия и Египет и ги побеждава за 20 дни, срещу някои израелски полеви командири на военни части са повдигнати обвинения за� прекалено точно спазване на заповедите на щаба на армията. Обвиняват ги че не са били инициативни, не са действали по своя преценка, а просто са следвали нарежданията отгоре, въпреки че бидейки на фронта имат по-добър поглед върху ситуацията от генералите в щаба!
Именно това отричане на строгата йерархия, тази атмосфера на нуждата от постоянно доказване на ръководителите, на подкрепа на градивния конфликт, на неофициалност, характерна за армията, за израелските фирми и обществото, според „Наци� новатор�, прави от Израел� нация новатор.
От книгата се научава много за порядките в израелското общество, за огромната роля на задължителната военна служба в обучението на младите (то си е като университет егати, кандидатства се за яките поделения и т.н.) в инициативност, лидерство и умения в електрониката и информатиката, за начина на финансиране на израелския бизнес, основаващ се на т.н. рискови инвестиции и много други неща.
Всъщност, Израел не само е една от най-проспериращите икономики в света � той е център на световните иновации. В малката държава в последните 20 години са регистрирани толкова патенти, колкото в САЩ, и цифрата е (в пъти) по-голяма отколкото патентите на всички европейски държави заедно. И именно това е причината за успеха му.
Тази книга дава не само добър поглед върху икономическата история на Израел, но за мен, като привърженик на свободния пазар � и уникален, принципно нов поглед върху икономиката, ролята на държавата в нея и принципите на практическото й развитие като цяло.
Ако трябва с една дума да синтезирам причините, на които авторът отдава успеха на Израел � военен, икономически и социален, тази дума би била „неуважение�. Изглежда, израелците не уважават никого твърде много � не уважават авторитетите, не уважават традициите, не уважават политиците си, не уважават командирите си в казармата.
Само един пример � след войната Йом Кипур, където Израел е нападнат навръх празника от обединените сили на Сирия и Египет и ги побеждава за 20 дни, срещу някои израелски полеви командири на военни части са повдигнати обвинения за� прекалено точно спазване на заповедите на щаба на армията. Обвиняват ги че не са били инициативни, не са действали по своя преценка, а просто са следвали нарежданията отгоре, въпреки че бидейки на фронта имат по-добър поглед върху ситуацията от генералите в щаба!
Именно това отричане на строгата йерархия, тази атмосфера на нуждата от постоянно доказване на ръководителите, на подкрепа на градивния конфликт, на неофициалност, характерна за армията, за израелските фирми и обществото, според „Наци� новатор�, прави от Израел� нация новатор.
От книгата се научава много за порядките в израелското общество, за огромната роля на задължителната военна служба в обучението на младите (то си е като университет егати, кандидатства се за яките поделения и т.н.) в инициативност, лидерство и умения в електрониката и информатиката, за начина на финансиране на израелския бизнес, основаващ се на т.н. рискови инвестиции и много други неща.
April 2, 2015
If a book discussion is upcoming I'll do my homework and read a book I'd otherwise never pick up, and that's a good thing. I had a negative impression from this title. I thought it would consist of boosterism and a defensive enumeration of accomplishments as justification for Israel's existence, but, thankfully it was not that. It was an exploration of why entrepreneurialism, particularly of the hi tech variety, is working so well there, and how to overcome obstacles to that elsewhere.
One aspect of the success is chutzpah and brashness in the context of informality and de-emphasis of hierarchy. Everybody speaks up and challenges management, and everybody takes responsibility. People take risks. Failure is tolerated--if the party learns from it. Defensiveness is not tolerated. Since about everybody goes into the military at a young age, they also take responsibility at a young age and then transfer that approach to the civilian context. Multitasking and multi-talents are encouraged. The emphasis, then, is on a true meritocracy, with necessity posed by the various problems the mother of invention. In that vein, the hostility of neighbors and others apparently has itself led to hi tech products, travel, and new markets.
Given the status of the country, Israelis have a deeper purpose beyond simple financial success, much like America during the period we were having to respond to the Sputnik challenge. It made me a little sad for our country, where I don't think I see so much inspiration at a young age to take responsibility for our direction or even belief that it's theirs to take--and I mean action, not protest--but rather, discouragement, risk-aversion, and anomie.
Something else that made me sad for America: the separation between the civilian world of enterprise and work and the volunteer military, so that, unlike in Israel, the upper classes look down on the military, increasingly staffed by the lower classes who are responsible for society's safety and security.
Predictably some reviews lauded the book, while negative reviews looking down their respective noses at Israeli "propaganda," more or less reducing the book to a deflection from the occupation, injustice, etc.--but, then, that's spin, too, that eliminates everything positive that doesn't fit the requisite narrative. So this book is an occasion to stop the negative propaganda. This book also doesn't deal with income inequality or prejudicial treatment of those who don't serve in the military, but, on the other hand, those issues get plenty of treatment elsewhere. This just isn't that book.
There are a lot of positive reviews on ŷ--including reviews from people in Arab countries wanting to emulate the success. The book aims to make the secret of success an open one, to the extent it can be emulated.
Make enterprise, not war!
One aspect of the success is chutzpah and brashness in the context of informality and de-emphasis of hierarchy. Everybody speaks up and challenges management, and everybody takes responsibility. People take risks. Failure is tolerated--if the party learns from it. Defensiveness is not tolerated. Since about everybody goes into the military at a young age, they also take responsibility at a young age and then transfer that approach to the civilian context. Multitasking and multi-talents are encouraged. The emphasis, then, is on a true meritocracy, with necessity posed by the various problems the mother of invention. In that vein, the hostility of neighbors and others apparently has itself led to hi tech products, travel, and new markets.
Given the status of the country, Israelis have a deeper purpose beyond simple financial success, much like America during the period we were having to respond to the Sputnik challenge. It made me a little sad for our country, where I don't think I see so much inspiration at a young age to take responsibility for our direction or even belief that it's theirs to take--and I mean action, not protest--but rather, discouragement, risk-aversion, and anomie.
Something else that made me sad for America: the separation between the civilian world of enterprise and work and the volunteer military, so that, unlike in Israel, the upper classes look down on the military, increasingly staffed by the lower classes who are responsible for society's safety and security.
Predictably some reviews lauded the book, while negative reviews looking down their respective noses at Israeli "propaganda," more or less reducing the book to a deflection from the occupation, injustice, etc.--but, then, that's spin, too, that eliminates everything positive that doesn't fit the requisite narrative. So this book is an occasion to stop the negative propaganda. This book also doesn't deal with income inequality or prejudicial treatment of those who don't serve in the military, but, on the other hand, those issues get plenty of treatment elsewhere. This just isn't that book.
There are a lot of positive reviews on ŷ--including reviews from people in Arab countries wanting to emulate the success. The book aims to make the secret of success an open one, to the extent it can be emulated.
Make enterprise, not war!
October 26, 2020
What a fascinating book! As of 2009, after the United States, Israel, with a population of only 9 million, has more companies listed on the NASDAQ than any other country in the world. The per-capita venture capital investments in Israel were 2.5 times greater than in the United States, more than 30 times greater than in Europe. Startup companies proliferate in Israel like nowhere else. This is all despite the wars and terrorism that Israel has experienced. The question is, why in Israel?
There are a number of reasons. Israel is a nation of immigrants. One third of its population is foreign-born. And, immigrants are not averse to starting over, as they are by definition risk-takers. Unlike the United States, whose Citizenship and Immigration Service is designed to keep immigrants out, Israel's Immigration and Absoption Ministry is focused on bringing them in.
Another key contributor to innovation is the army. Everybody (with the exception of ultra-Orthodox Jews and Israeli Arabs) serves in the army for a few years. The army is remarkably egalitarian and meritocratic. Responsibility, independent thinking, and innovation are strongly encouraged in the army. The culture of the Israeli army is very different from that in other countries. At the end of the day, everybody participates in a sort of a brainstorming session, where all decisions and actions are discussed, analyzed, and critiqued. The team is held in higher regard than individual achievements.
Innovation and entrepreneurship is also strong because of the tight proximity of great universities, large companies, startups and an ecosystem that connects them. They are in tight proximity--not explicitly stated in the book--because the country is so small! In area, it is the size of New Jersey. The military pumps R&D funds into cutting-edge systems and elite technology units; there is a big spillover into the civilian economy.
Other small countries (Denmark, Finland, Ireland, and Sweden for example) also have an advanced technology and infrastructure, and produce lots of patents and fast economic growth and a high standard of living. But Israel has many more start-ups and more venture capital investments. Israel has a culture of aggressiveness and team orientation, being small yet aiming big.
The book is filled with plenty of fascinating anecdotes. The book describes the history of the government's investments in startups, such as investment in an aeronautical industry when the country couldn't even build a bicycle!
Culture is an essential part of the answer to the problem of innovation. Young companies everywhere, that are developing a new company culture, would be well advised to take a look at this story.
There are a number of reasons. Israel is a nation of immigrants. One third of its population is foreign-born. And, immigrants are not averse to starting over, as they are by definition risk-takers. Unlike the United States, whose Citizenship and Immigration Service is designed to keep immigrants out, Israel's Immigration and Absoption Ministry is focused on bringing them in.
Another key contributor to innovation is the army. Everybody (with the exception of ultra-Orthodox Jews and Israeli Arabs) serves in the army for a few years. The army is remarkably egalitarian and meritocratic. Responsibility, independent thinking, and innovation are strongly encouraged in the army. The culture of the Israeli army is very different from that in other countries. At the end of the day, everybody participates in a sort of a brainstorming session, where all decisions and actions are discussed, analyzed, and critiqued. The team is held in higher regard than individual achievements.
Innovation and entrepreneurship is also strong because of the tight proximity of great universities, large companies, startups and an ecosystem that connects them. They are in tight proximity--not explicitly stated in the book--because the country is so small! In area, it is the size of New Jersey. The military pumps R&D funds into cutting-edge systems and elite technology units; there is a big spillover into the civilian economy.
Other small countries (Denmark, Finland, Ireland, and Sweden for example) also have an advanced technology and infrastructure, and produce lots of patents and fast economic growth and a high standard of living. But Israel has many more start-ups and more venture capital investments. Israel has a culture of aggressiveness and team orientation, being small yet aiming big.
The book is filled with plenty of fascinating anecdotes. The book describes the history of the government's investments in startups, such as investment in an aeronautical industry when the country couldn't even build a bicycle!
Culture is an essential part of the answer to the problem of innovation. Young companies everywhere, that are developing a new company culture, would be well advised to take a look at this story.
May 11, 2015
This book is a must read for everyone in the arab world especially politicians and leaders , it explains this huge gulf between "Israel" and the Arab world
July 11, 2010
A shot in the arm for a proud zionist, "Start-up Nation" asks the following question: "How is it that Israel -- a country of 7.1 million people, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources -- produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, India, Korea, Canada, and the United Kingdom?" To answer this question, the authors offer a web of anecdotes illustrating the following themes:
1. Culturally, Israelis are a persistent people. While socially this often manifests as perceived rudeness, in the business world this is an asset.
2. Israel's mandatory army experience is conducive to developing maturity, responsibility, initiative, networking, and a wide range of job skills.
3. Israelis tend to innovate rather than remaining set in their ways, even after success.
4. Israel welcomes immigration, and Israel's new immigrants are a boon to the economy.
5. Israeli workers respond to outside attacks and other adversity with efforts to work harder and prove themselves. For example, when France abruptly stopped supplying Israel with arms, Israel began developing the technology to create their own.
6. The Israeli government has created programs to offer venture capital to start-ups.
7. Israel has a "multitask mentality" which results in flexible thinking and creative solutions.
8. Overall, Israel has a unique combination of a strong educational system, encouragement and funding for research and development, culturally reinforced aggressiveness as well as a team orientation, and an integral sense of "being small and aiming big."
Though I appreciated the book's reinforcement of my pride in Israel, I probably didn't enjoy the book as much as I would have if I were more of a business-minded reader. The anecdotes occasionally felt repetitive and started to blur into one another after a while. With that said, it's still a great feeling to finish a book thinking, "Go Israel!"
1. Culturally, Israelis are a persistent people. While socially this often manifests as perceived rudeness, in the business world this is an asset.
2. Israel's mandatory army experience is conducive to developing maturity, responsibility, initiative, networking, and a wide range of job skills.
3. Israelis tend to innovate rather than remaining set in their ways, even after success.
4. Israel welcomes immigration, and Israel's new immigrants are a boon to the economy.
5. Israeli workers respond to outside attacks and other adversity with efforts to work harder and prove themselves. For example, when France abruptly stopped supplying Israel with arms, Israel began developing the technology to create their own.
6. The Israeli government has created programs to offer venture capital to start-ups.
7. Israel has a "multitask mentality" which results in flexible thinking and creative solutions.
8. Overall, Israel has a unique combination of a strong educational system, encouragement and funding for research and development, culturally reinforced aggressiveness as well as a team orientation, and an integral sense of "being small and aiming big."
Though I appreciated the book's reinforcement of my pride in Israel, I probably didn't enjoy the book as much as I would have if I were more of a business-minded reader. The anecdotes occasionally felt repetitive and started to blur into one another after a while. With that said, it's still a great feeling to finish a book thinking, "Go Israel!"
October 30, 2012
I thought this would be a book full of real insight on the economic development of the Zionist state. instead what I found was a marketing propaganda trying to convince the reader that Israelis are smarter than others ... this itself was not even convincing.
December 7, 2015
trong mỗi chương sách những câu chuyện, dẫn chứng đưa ra hấp dẫn nhưng cách viết nhiều lúc khá rối rắm làm độc gi� khó nắm bắt hết được tinh thần của mỗi ch� đ�. Cách viết nếu được cấu trúc lại cho hợp lý hơn s� lôi cuốn người đọc hơn nhiều.
February 22, 2018
Гарааны бизнесийн өлгий нутаг гэж дэлхий нийтээр хүлээн зөвшөөрсөн Израиль улс, тус улсын еврей үндэстэн байгалийн баялаг эсвэл бидний буруугаа тохсоор сурчихсан цөөхүүлээ(Израиль улсын хүн ам 2017 оны байдлаар 8.5 сая) гэх зэрэг түмэн шалтгааныг умартаж Америкийн хөрөнгийн зах зээл буюу NASDAQ дээр дэлхийн аль ч улсаас илүү олон компаниа бүртгүүлж, мэдээлэл технологийн салбарт дэлхийд хэрхэн тэргүүлж байгаа ганц шалтгааныг олж уншихыг зорилоо.
Маш товчоор ойлгосон 3 зүйлээ бичвэл :
1. Боловсорсон нь буюу цэргийн 3 жил
Монгол компанийн тодорхой хэмжээний удирдах хүмүүстэй ярилцаж байхад их сургуулиа төгсөж гарч ирсэн олонх боловсон хүчин маань ажлын байрны шаардлага хангадаггүй бөгөөд дахин сургах хэрэг гардаг тухай ярьдаг. Нэг ёсондоо цэцэрлэг, дунд сургууль, их сургууль гэх 12-16 жилийн дамжлагыг дамжиж ирсэн бүтээгдэхүүнээ дахиад сургах шаардлага гардаг нь харамсалтай. Тэгвэл Израильд дунд сургуулиа төгссөнийх нь дараа хүн бүрийг цэргийн 3 жилийн албыг хаахыг шаарддагийг хөгжлийн нэг чухал хэсэг хэмээн уг ном-онд онцолж бичжээ. Цэргийн албыг хаахдаа залуус ирээдүйн чадварлаг боловсон хүчин болох маш энгийн хэрнэ хамгийн чухал чадварууд болох: баг болж ажиллах, хүнээс үг дуулж сурах, хүн удирдаж сурах, эх орноо ойлгох зэргийг сураад төгсөхдөө ядаж өөрийгөө, би хэн бэ?, би юунд дуртай вэ? зэргээ ойлгоод нэг ёсондоо зан төлөвийн хувьд боловсроод албаа хаагаад дуусгадаг байх нь. Нэгэнт "мундаг" ажилтанд байх ёстой суурь зан төлөвийг хөгжүүлсэн хүнд ирээдүйн мэргэжлээ сонгох, сонгосон мэргэжлээ төгсөөд ажлын байранд жинхэнэ боловсон хүчин болоход нь уг цэргийн алба ихээхэн дэм болдог гэж ойлголоо.
2. Яагаад чи миний дарга байгаа вэ?
Сонирхолтой нь энэ асуултыг эвэртэй туулай үзсэн мэт ажлын байранд хүлээж авдаггүй ажээ. Чамд ямар нэг зүйл сонирхолтой эсвэл шударга бус санагдаад байвал түүнийгээ шуудхан ил гаргаад асууж болно гэнэ. Энэ асуултын хариултыг санаанд нь тултал өгөхийн тулд хариулж байгаа хүн маань өөрөө мэдээж асуугчийг чиглүүлэх, түүнд дэмжлэг өгөх чадвартай байх ёстой. Монгол ихэнх компаниудын босоо удирдлагын системд энэ асуулт тохирохгүй. Эвгүй газар бол шанаа авч ч мэднэ. Уг асуулт нь ч ерөнхийдөө зүй ёс-д нэг их нийцэхгүй асуулт учраас үүгээр удирдах шатны хүмүүс нь чиглүүлэх, манлайлах үүргээ ухамсарлаж үргэлж бусдынхаа өмнө алхаж байдаг чиг хандлагыг харуулахыг зорьсноос үргэлж ингэж асуугаад байдаг гэж хэлээгүй болов уу.
3. Байгалийн баялаг үгүй
Нэгэнт байгалийн баялаг байхгүй учраас эдийн засгаа зөвхөн хүний оюун ухаанд түшиглэсэн бүтээгдэхүүнээр өргөхөөс өөр замгүй учраас тэр хэмжээгээр гарааны бизнес хийх, түүнийг нь засгийн газраас үе шатлалтай дэмжих зөв бодлого барихад хөтөлсөн гэж бичээгүй ч ерөнхийдөө нөхцөл байдлаас нь тийнхүү ойлголоо. Монголын нийт экспортын 97% нь байгалийн түүхий эд эзэлж байгаа бөгөөд эсрэгээрээ Монгол хүний оюун ухаанаар бүтсэн бүтээгдэхүүн ердөө 3% бүрдүүлж байгаа юм. Байгалийн баялаг бол мэдээж хязгаартай, харин оюуны бүтээл болон хүний тэнэглэл хоёр хязгааргүй бөгөөд манайх тэнэглэлээ зогсоох үед Израиль шиг мөн хөгжиж чадна гэдэгт итгэлтэй байна.
Маш товчоор ойлгосон 3 зүйлээ бичвэл :
1. Боловсорсон нь буюу цэргийн 3 жил
Монгол компанийн тодорхой хэмжээний удирдах хүмүүстэй ярилцаж байхад их сургуулиа төгсөж гарч ирсэн олонх боловсон хүчин маань ажлын байрны шаардлага хангадаггүй бөгөөд дахин сургах хэрэг гардаг тухай ярьдаг. Нэг ёсондоо цэцэрлэг, дунд сургууль, их сургууль гэх 12-16 жилийн дамжлагыг дамжиж ирсэн бүтээгдэхүүнээ дахиад сургах шаардлага гардаг нь харамсалтай. Тэгвэл Израильд дунд сургуулиа төгссөнийх нь дараа хүн бүрийг цэргийн 3 жилийн албыг хаахыг шаарддагийг хөгжлийн нэг чухал хэсэг хэмээн уг ном-онд онцолж бичжээ. Цэргийн албыг хаахдаа залуус ирээдүйн чадварлаг боловсон хүчин болох маш энгийн хэрнэ хамгийн чухал чадварууд болох: баг болж ажиллах, хүнээс үг дуулж сурах, хүн удирдаж сурах, эх орноо ойлгох зэргийг сураад төгсөхдөө ядаж өөрийгөө, би хэн бэ?, би юунд дуртай вэ? зэргээ ойлгоод нэг ёсондоо зан төлөвийн хувьд боловсроод албаа хаагаад дуусгадаг байх нь. Нэгэнт "мундаг" ажилтанд байх ёстой суурь зан төлөвийг хөгжүүлсэн хүнд ирээдүйн мэргэжлээ сонгох, сонгосон мэргэжлээ төгсөөд ажлын байранд жинхэнэ боловсон хүчин болоход нь уг цэргийн алба ихээхэн дэм болдог гэж ойлголоо.
2. Яагаад чи миний дарга байгаа вэ?
Сонирхолтой нь энэ асуултыг эвэртэй туулай үзсэн мэт ажлын байранд хүлээж авдаггүй ажээ. Чамд ямар нэг зүйл сонирхолтой эсвэл шударга бус санагдаад байвал түүнийгээ шуудхан ил гаргаад асууж болно гэнэ. Энэ асуултын хариултыг санаанд нь тултал өгөхийн тулд хариулж байгаа хүн маань өөрөө мэдээж асуугчийг чиглүүлэх, түүнд дэмжлэг өгөх чадвартай байх ёстой. Монгол ихэнх компаниудын босоо удирдлагын системд энэ асуулт тохирохгүй. Эвгүй газар бол шанаа авч ч мэднэ. Уг асуулт нь ч ерөнхийдөө зүй ёс-д нэг их нийцэхгүй асуулт учраас үүгээр удирдах шатны хүмүүс нь чиглүүлэх, манлайлах үүргээ ухамсарлаж үргэлж бусдынхаа өмнө алхаж байдаг чиг хандлагыг харуулахыг зорьсноос үргэлж ингэж асуугаад байдаг гэж хэлээгүй болов уу.
3. Байгалийн баялаг үгүй
Нэгэнт байгалийн баялаг байхгүй учраас эдийн засгаа зөвхөн хүний оюун ухаанд түшиглэсэн бүтээгдэхүүнээр өргөхөөс өөр замгүй учраас тэр хэмжээгээр гарааны бизнес хийх, түүнийг нь засгийн газраас үе шатлалтай дэмжих зөв бодлого барихад хөтөлсөн гэж бичээгүй ч ерөнхийдөө нөхцөл байдлаас нь тийнхүү ойлголоо. Монголын нийт экспортын 97% нь байгалийн түүхий эд эзэлж байгаа бөгөөд эсрэгээрээ Монгол хүний оюун ухаанаар бүтсэн бүтээгдэхүүн ердөө 3% бүрдүүлж байгаа юм. Байгалийн баялаг бол мэдээж хязгаартай, харин оюуны бүтээл болон хүний тэнэглэл хоёр хязгааргүй бөгөөд манайх тэнэглэлээ зогсоох үед Израиль шиг мөн хөгжиж чадна гэдэгт итгэлтэй байна.
July 10, 2015
من يرغب بقراءة أسباب أعمق من "الدعم الغربي والأمريكي" عن سبب نهضة وتفوّق إسرائيل على محيطها العربي، فيبدو أن هذا الكتاي يشكّل وجبة جيّدة.
يستعرض الكتاب مجموعة من الخصال عند الإسرائيلين، ومجموعة من العوامل، وكيفية استثمار الظروف المواتية، وتحديّ المصاعب، لتحقيق ما حققته إسرائيل، دون أن يقتصر الحديث على الجانب الإقتصادي أو موضوع الشركات الناشئة - رغم العنوان.
من المفاهيم المتكررة في صفحات الكتاب مفهوم الخوتزبه، والتي تتجاوز (الجرأة في الحق) إلى (الوقاحة في الرأي) والدفاع عنه امام من هم أكبر سنًا أو منزلةً. (الصراحة المطلقة، النقد الذاتي، وإعطاء الفرصة أمام الصغار ليتحدثوا ويناقشوا.)
أيضًا عدم رضا اليهود بشيء يجعلهم يندفعون في عملية من المراجعة والتحسين اللانهائية - حسبما يقول الكاتب.
وهناك دور الجيش الإلزامي في صقل الشخصية الإسرائيلة، وهذا عكس الدور الذي تلعبه الخدمة الإلزامية في الجيوش العربية من ناحية تسطيح الإنسان وتحويله إلى روبوت مطاع.
في الجيش الإسرائيلي لا يوجد تقديس لثقافة الطاعة والإنضباط.
إقتباسات:
- تشير إحدى التقديرات إلى أن الكثير من الإسرائيلين بدخلوهم سن الخامسة والثلاثين يكونون قد زاروا أكثر من اثني عشر بلدًا بعد خدمة الجيش.
- "إسرائيل ليست بحاجة إلى مزيد من الصهاينة أو السياسيين، إنها بحاجة لمزيد من رجال الأعمال".
- ينهي الطلاب دراستهم الجامعية مع الوقت وهم في منتصف العشرينيات، والبعض منهم لديه درجة في الدراسات العليا بالفعل، وعدد كبير منهم قد تزوج أيضًا، لقد نضجوا كثيرًا ونالو خبرة كبيرة في الحياة.
- يقول شاينبرغ؛ الإبداع يحتاج لمنظور مختلف كليًا عن الحياة، وأعتقد أن ذلك يرجع في إسرائيل لفضل التعليم المتأخر، الزواج بسنّ مبكرة، والخبرة العسكرية، ففي الجيش تكون في بيئة يجب عليك أن تفكّر فيها أين ستضع قدمك، وعليك أن تتخذ قرارات تتعلق بالموت والحياة، وتتعلم حول الانضباط، وتتعلم أن تدرب عقلك على القيام بأشياء وخصوصًا إذا كنت على خط الجبهة. إضافةً لذلك يقدّم الجيش فرصة فريدة من نوعها حيث يعمل الشبان والشابات بشكل وثيق ومكثف مع نظرائهم من مختلف الخلفيات الثقافية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية والدينية.
- الخدمة العسكرية - يقول المؤلف - الإلزامية تقوي الروابط في المجتمع، لأن العلاقات التي تتطور خلال الخدمة العسكرية تتمتع بالقوة والعمق.
- في الجيش تُجبر على التفكير بثلاث أو أربع نقلات إضافية مقدمًا.
يستعرض الكتاب مجموعة من الخصال عند الإسرائيلين، ومجموعة من العوامل، وكيفية استثمار الظروف المواتية، وتحديّ المصاعب، لتحقيق ما حققته إسرائيل، دون أن يقتصر الحديث على الجانب الإقتصادي أو موضوع الشركات الناشئة - رغم العنوان.
من المفاهيم المتكررة في صفحات الكتاب مفهوم الخوتزبه، والتي تتجاوز (الجرأة في الحق) إلى (الوقاحة في الرأي) والدفاع عنه امام من هم أكبر سنًا أو منزلةً. (الصراحة المطلقة، النقد الذاتي، وإعطاء الفرصة أمام الصغار ليتحدثوا ويناقشوا.)
أيضًا عدم رضا اليهود بشيء يجعلهم يندفعون في عملية من المراجعة والتحسين اللانهائية - حسبما يقول الكاتب.
وهناك دور الجيش الإلزامي في صقل الشخصية الإسرائيلة، وهذا عكس الدور الذي تلعبه الخدمة الإلزامية في الجيوش العربية من ناحية تسطيح الإنسان وتحويله إلى روبوت مطاع.
في الجيش الإسرائيلي لا يوجد تقديس لثقافة الطاعة والإنضباط.
إقتباسات:
- تشير إحدى التقديرات إلى أن الكثير من الإسرائيلين بدخلوهم سن الخامسة والثلاثين يكونون قد زاروا أكثر من اثني عشر بلدًا بعد خدمة الجيش.
- "إسرائيل ليست بحاجة إلى مزيد من الصهاينة أو السياسيين، إنها بحاجة لمزيد من رجال الأعمال".
- ينهي الطلاب دراستهم الجامعية مع الوقت وهم في منتصف العشرينيات، والبعض منهم لديه درجة في الدراسات العليا بالفعل، وعدد كبير منهم قد تزوج أيضًا، لقد نضجوا كثيرًا ونالو خبرة كبيرة في الحياة.
- يقول شاينبرغ؛ الإبداع يحتاج لمنظور مختلف كليًا عن الحياة، وأعتقد أن ذلك يرجع في إسرائيل لفضل التعليم المتأخر، الزواج بسنّ مبكرة، والخبرة العسكرية، ففي الجيش تكون في بيئة يجب عليك أن تفكّر فيها أين ستضع قدمك، وعليك أن تتخذ قرارات تتعلق بالموت والحياة، وتتعلم حول الانضباط، وتتعلم أن تدرب عقلك على القيام بأشياء وخصوصًا إذا كنت على خط الجبهة. إضافةً لذلك يقدّم الجيش فرصة فريدة من نوعها حيث يعمل الشبان والشابات بشكل وثيق ومكثف مع نظرائهم من مختلف الخلفيات الثقافية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية والدينية.
- الخدمة العسكرية - يقول المؤلف - الإلزامية تقوي الروابط في المجتمع، لأن العلاقات التي تتطور خلال الخدمة العسكرية تتمتع بالقوة والعمق.
- في الجيش تُجبر على التفكير بثلاث أو أربع نقلات إضافية مقدمًا.
Read
August 7, 2011An inspiring, terrific book. Israel is a tiny nation of seven million people with few natural resources, surrounded by countries eager for its destruction. Yet Israel has more companies listed on NASDAQ than any other country except the United States. How has it developed into a high-tech tiger in the face of such adversity? In this brief but lively account, authors Dan Senor and Saul Singer explain how Israel has made a habit of turning disadvantages into advantages through continual innovation and adaptation. There are several possible explanations, including the positive influence of the Israeli military, but it's a lot more than that: "It is a story not just of talent but of tenacity, of insatiable questioning of authority, of determined informality, combined with a unique attitude toward failure, teamwork, mission, risk, and cross-disciplinary creativity."
Ultimately, this book is about more than Israel's success in the world of venture capital; it's about a nation that succeeds due to the greatest natural resource of all; its people. Considering the lack of cultural self-confidence and the economic malaise pervading the majority of liberal democracies these days, it might be time to take a page out of the Israeli playbook.
Ultimately, this book is about more than Israel's success in the world of venture capital; it's about a nation that succeeds due to the greatest natural resource of all; its people. Considering the lack of cultural self-confidence and the economic malaise pervading the majority of liberal democracies these days, it might be time to take a page out of the Israeli playbook.
September 20, 2013
Even though I finshed this book like 3 days ago, I still have a lot of lingering feelings about it, to the point that I decide to write them all out.
This book is about Israel, but somehow it is not about Israel. This is actually a nostalgic book about what the author thinks early America stands for: a nation of immigrants, a nation of self-discipline, no strong central authority, the dream of getting rich, the dream of being equal, the place to change the world, etc. The author portrays Israel as somehow the central place to the narrative of a new American dream - a piece of fantasy that Americans themselves seem to have lost over years of experimenting with history. But it is a fantasy nevertheless, and to have that fantasy prescribed over the economic miracle of Israel is somehow problematic.
For that reason, I feel a little troubled reading this book. I hope that I am not the only one who feels that way.
This book is about Israel, but somehow it is not about Israel. This is actually a nostalgic book about what the author thinks early America stands for: a nation of immigrants, a nation of self-discipline, no strong central authority, the dream of getting rich, the dream of being equal, the place to change the world, etc. The author portrays Israel as somehow the central place to the narrative of a new American dream - a piece of fantasy that Americans themselves seem to have lost over years of experimenting with history. But it is a fantasy nevertheless, and to have that fantasy prescribed over the economic miracle of Israel is somehow problematic.
For that reason, I feel a little troubled reading this book. I hope that I am not the only one who feels that way.
September 14, 2018
This book is a clear praising-to-the-heaven type. From the start to the end, you will find Dan Senor being deeply in love with the Israeli nation that it looks like a biased book.
The author presents that Israeli IDF in specific and military in general is the main reason behind the entrepreneur-culture in Israel. It's policy of absorbing immigrants and support for the start-ups making it a country based on economic-research.
The bad thing was that Dan consistently glorified IDF as he were its spokesperson.
This book is good from the learning point for those who're interested in entrepreneurship and business.
The author presents that Israeli IDF in specific and military in general is the main reason behind the entrepreneur-culture in Israel. It's policy of absorbing immigrants and support for the start-ups making it a country based on economic-research.
The bad thing was that Dan consistently glorified IDF as he were its spokesperson.
This book is good from the learning point for those who're interested in entrepreneurship and business.
October 8, 2013
I've been completely ignorant until I got recommended to read this book by a trusted friend. Some facts in this book are just totally astonishing! Actually I've completed reading 3 or 4 days ago but this will have to be revised again and again. Just feel the urge to review xD
September 5, 2013
3.5 thì chính xác hơn. Khá thú v� và có kh� năng gây cảm hứng nhưng cũng không phải hoàn hảo, với cái nhìn của nhà báo, có phần hơi đơn giản hóa và lý tưởng hóa.
October 20, 2018
Go far, stay long, see deep.
April 16, 2024
أمة مختلّة | Psychopath nation
العنوان المقترح لهذا الكتاب الظريف، والمقتبس من
الورقة العلمية الظريفة أيضًا: إسرائيل، أمة مختلة نفسيًّا
للأساتذة: د.كيفين باريت، والبروف زافار، ود.لاوران جوينوت
والتي استنتجت ما يلي: الأمة اليهودية، كدولة وكمجتمع عالمي منظم
تعمل بشكل جماعي تجاه الأمم الأخرى والمجتمعات البشرية الأخرى
بالطريقة التي يتصرف بها المختلّ النفسي (السايكوباتي) تجاه زملائه البشر
هذا ما جاء في ذهني حين قرأت عنوان الكتاب
ثمّ قرأت عنه، فتفاءلت، حتى أنّي أرسلت لصديقي
"لقيت ياعبدالله كتاب في ريادة الأعمال نقرأه ونناقشه"
بكل حسن نية، بدأت قراءة الكتاب، للاستفادة من التجربة
بالكاد استطعت كبح جماح عقلي الناقد حتى منتصف الكتاب
.
يقول بأنّ سر التفوق الإسرائيلي هو "خوتزبه"، أي الوقاحة، الغيظ، العصبية
-هل يعود بي هذا الكتاب إلى فكرة أن تفوقهم يعود لاختلالهم السايكوباتي؟-
هذه الوقاحة حتى في علاقتهم بالإله حين افتروا عليه الكذب الموثق في القرآن
"وقالت اليهود يد الله مغلولة، غلت أيديهم ولعنوا بما قالوا بل يداه مبسوطتان"
ووقاحتهم مع أنبيائهم، كمحاولة قتل وصلب المسيح: وقتلهم النبيّين بغير الحق
هنا، يؤكد المؤلفان أن هذه الوقاحة سمة ذاتية تلموديّة قديمة وهو مزاج عام
وانعكست على جرأتهم على رؤاسهم فينادون نتنياهو بيبي وشارون آرييك
وعدم المجاملة، يقول: لا نبالغ في الهتاف للأداء الجيد، ولا نطرد للأداء السيء
وجعلهم أكثر جدلًا، يقول أيضًا: الإسرائيليين واليهود، لكل اثنين منهم ثلاثة آراء
نقوم بالأمور على الطريقة الإسرائيلية، نتجادل حتى الموت
[وهذا التطرف السيء، نقابله بتطرف سيء، نحن لا نتجادل]
نخرج من الاجتماع بوجوه محمرة لكن نصل إلى نتائج مفيدة
نادرًا ما يتحدث أحد عن آخر وراء ظهره في شركات إسرائيل
لا يمتلك الإسرائيليون الثقافة الانضباطية، بل تحدي المسلّمات ونقاش كل شيء
إدارة50أمريكيا أسهل من5إسرائيليين يتحدّون كلّ شيء من لمَ أنت مديري وليس العكس؟
للملازم في جيش إسرائيل حرية أكبر في اتخاذ القرار من نظرائه في الجيوش الأخرى
الأقرب للقهوة من يقدمها للآخر، سترى العميد يقدمها للجندي، بعكس الجيش الأمريكي
إذا دخل رائد أمريكي ينهض النقباء، إذا دخل عقيد ينتصب الرائد، لديهم هرميّة متصلّبة
حتى رتبة رقيب، لديه أخطر أسرار إسرائيل الأمنية الكبرى، رغم خطورة ذلك إذا خُطف
[ويكرّر دائمًا أن سر النجاح: تدريب الجيش الإسرائيلي؛ على دماء الأطفال والنساء طبعًا]
"تجد الشركات أفضل الخبراء لدى المجندين، هم المعيار الحاسم لأفضل الكفاءات المهنية"
.
وكالعادة لا يستطيع أن يكون الإسرائيلي إسرائيليًا إذا لم يكذب كذبته المبتذلة والسخيفة
"تحولت أرض مليئة بالرمال والمستنقعات والملاريا في السبعينات إلى العالم الأول"
ويقول نكتة عن امرأة: زارت إسرائيل في السبعينات وأحبت "الثقافة الأصلية" للبلد
.
ويفتخر المؤلفان بالخيانة لأجل إسرائيل، كتجنيد مهندس سويسري لتهريب تصميم طائرة
لكنهم يتباكيان حين لم تبعهم فرنسا طائراتها، ووصفا موقف فرنسا والفصل كاملًا: الخيانة
-يبدو أننا لا نتحدث عن سايكوباتية محضة، بل مزيج حدّي من سايكوباتية ونرجسية-
.
ينحاز المؤلفان بعماء للحكم على دبي بالفشل بسبب غياب وسائل الاحتجاج السلمية
زاعمان أن منظمة حقوق الإنسان في دبي تتبع حاكمها الشيخ محمد بن راشد وحكومته
وزاعمان أنّ الحكومة لا تشملها حرية النقد، وأنها بلا شفافية، وتراقب الانترنت مركزيا
وبأنّ دبي هي مكان لنشر ابتكارات صنعت في مكان آخر وإيصالها إلى السوق الإقليمي
وبأنّه لا يوجد في دبي إبداع، أو ابتكار، بل تقليد، ولا تركيز على مراكز أبحاث وتطوير
وبأنّ علاقة رجال المال معها علاقة صفقة تجارية وجمع مال سريع ثم يعودون لأوطانهم
وبأنّ من مؤشراتهما لقياس ضعف الابتكار هي ضعف ترجمة الكتب أو براءات الاختراع
وبأنّ جلب الماركات كجامعتي نيويورك لأبوظبي وجورجتاون لقطر يبني سمعة وليس إبداعًا
وزاعمان -ببجاحة- أن توزيع النفط على الخليجيين أسكت المطالبة بالإصلاح السياسي
بأنّ السعودية تأخرت! لأنها فصلت الجنسين في المدارس! فاضطرت لجلب مدرسين ضعفاء
.
وما الذي يهدد نجاح إسرائيل؟ "التدهور المتواصل لأمن المنطقة"، يقصدون أمنهم طبعًا
"هدف القوة النووية المحيطة مثل إيران هو بث الذعر في مواهب إسرائيل لمغادرتها"
"من بين أهم 1,000 اقتصادي عالمي: 25 إسرائيليًا، غادروها ولم يبق منهم إلا 3 فقط"
"أكثر +3,000 أستاذ جامعي إسرائيلي هربوا من البلاد لجامعات خارجية بشكل دائم"
"تضاعف الانضمام لدراسة اللاهوت هروبًا عن التجنيد من 400 إلى عشرات الآلاف"
.
الكتاب دعاية تسويقية مبتذلة لإقناعك بأن الإسرائيليين أذكى من باقي البشر
بل يسأل بصراحة: لماذا إسرائيل عظيمة هكذا؟ هل اليهود أذكياء إلى هذا الحد؟
متجاهلًا حقيقة سرقة الأرض وما عليها، وصدقات أمريكا ودول أوروبا المتواصلة
متجاهلين اعتداءهم على أرض أجمل البساتين وأتقن العمارة وخير النابغين وهدمها جميعًا
كأن الكتاب منشور مكتب العلاقات العامة في الجيش، لأنه تمجيد لهم مع مقدمات وخاتمة
أو مشروع بمليوني دولار لوكالة تسويق لتكتب كتابًا تسويقيّا للجحيم/المافيا/الإرهابيين
يقلب الحقائق، فالقدرات الإسرائيلية إبداع ذاتي أنقذ الغرب، بينما هو: عالة طفيلية عليهم
بل يمكن قول: عوامل النجاح المذكورة كلّها متجذرة في عقود من القمع والاحتلال العسكري
لا يهم إن كان المؤلفان يكذبان أو مزيّفا الوعي، المهم أن الكتاب كذبة، ووعي ومزيف
أخذ حكايات نجاح فردي نجدها في كل العالم ويكررها بشكل ممل بين الفصول
.
"اليهود الإثيوبيين مجموعة مهاجرة تم إنقاذها من قبل المحسنين الإسرائيليين البيض"
"هم عبء اقتصادي تم طردهم، بعكس المهاجرين الروس؛ النعمة للاقتصاد الإسرائيلي"
.
وعد المؤلفان أولًا بعدم الدخول في السياسة، لكنّك ستجد حكايات التهديد الإيراني
ولوم على "الأعداء العرب" في فشل عملية السلام والانتقاد العدواني السلبي الشامل
من الممكن أن يكون هذا مقبولًا، لو كان هناك بعض النقد المتوازن لعدائية إسرائيل
وتجاهلها الصارخ للقانون الدولي، والمجازر ضد المدنيين، لكنه غير موجود
.
حرّر نتنياهو الاقتصاد من الحكومة كوزير مالية ومستشار سابق في بي.سي.جي
خفض ضريبة الأفراد والشركات، والخدمات الاجتماعية، وسقف العجز لـ1% من الميزانية
جمّد إنفاق الحكومة 3 سنين، خصخص البنوك والنفط والطيران والشحن، رفع سن التقاعد
أعجبتك إصلاحاته؟ مجرّد إعادة ترتيب العصابات المسعورة للعدوان على غزة، وحدث
.
قراءة هذا الكتاب تشبه ان تقرأ شتائم مطولة لوالدتك
قراءة هذا الكتاب تشبه أن تضع عقلك تحت أحذيتهم العسكرية
قراءة هذا الكتاب تشبه أن تمسك سيفهم بيدك وتجرح به صدرك
أما الإعجاب بهذا الكتاب فهو هزيمة لعقلك أمام الأكاذيب الصريحة
وهزيمة حزينة لقلبك أمام الإهانات المتواصلة والتدمير الممنهج لك
العنوان المقترح لهذا الكتاب الظريف، والمقتبس من
الورقة العلمية الظريفة أيضًا: إسرائيل، أمة مختلة نفسيًّا
للأساتذة: د.كيفين باريت، والبروف زافار، ود.لاوران جوينوت
والتي استنتجت ما يلي: الأمة اليهودية، كدولة وكمجتمع عالمي منظم
تعمل بشكل جماعي تجاه الأمم الأخرى والمجتمعات البشرية الأخرى
بالطريقة التي يتصرف بها المختلّ النفسي (السايكوباتي) تجاه زملائه البشر
هذا ما جاء في ذهني حين قرأت عنوان الكتاب
ثمّ قرأت عنه، فتفاءلت، حتى أنّي أرسلت لصديقي
"لقيت ياعبدالله كتاب في ريادة الأعمال نقرأه ونناقشه"
بكل حسن نية، بدأت قراءة الكتاب، للاستفادة من التجربة
بالكاد استطعت كبح جماح عقلي الناقد حتى منتصف الكتاب
.
يقول بأنّ سر التفوق الإسرائيلي هو "خوتزبه"، أي الوقاحة، الغيظ، العصبية
-هل يعود بي هذا الكتاب إلى فكرة أن تفوقهم يعود لاختلالهم السايكوباتي؟-
هذه الوقاحة حتى في علاقتهم بالإله حين افتروا عليه الكذب الموثق في القرآن
"وقالت اليهود يد الله مغلولة، غلت أيديهم ولعنوا بما قالوا بل يداه مبسوطتان"
ووقاحتهم مع أنبيائهم، كمحاولة قتل وصلب المسيح: وقتلهم النبيّين بغير الحق
هنا، يؤكد المؤلفان أن هذه الوقاحة سمة ذاتية تلموديّة قديمة وهو مزاج عام
وانعكست على جرأتهم على رؤاسهم فينادون نتنياهو بيبي وشارون آرييك
وعدم المجاملة، يقول: لا نبالغ في الهتاف للأداء الجيد، ولا نطرد للأداء السيء
وجعلهم أكثر جدلًا، يقول أيضًا: الإسرائيليين واليهود، لكل اثنين منهم ثلاثة آراء
نقوم بالأمور على الطريقة الإسرائيلية، نتجادل حتى الموت
[وهذا التطرف السيء، نقابله بتطرف سيء، نحن لا نتجادل]
نخرج من الاجتماع بوجوه محمرة لكن نصل إلى نتائج مفيدة
نادرًا ما يتحدث أحد عن آخر وراء ظهره في شركات إسرائيل
لا يمتلك الإسرائيليون الثقافة الانضباطية، بل تحدي المسلّمات ونقاش كل شيء
إدارة50أمريكيا أسهل من5إسرائيليين يتحدّون كلّ شيء من لمَ أنت مديري وليس العكس؟
للملازم في جيش إسرائيل حرية أكبر في اتخاذ القرار من نظرائه في الجيوش الأخرى
الأقرب للقهوة من يقدمها للآخر، سترى العميد يقدمها للجندي، بعكس الجيش الأمريكي
إذا دخل رائد أمريكي ينهض النقباء، إذا دخل عقيد ينتصب الرائد، لديهم هرميّة متصلّبة
حتى رتبة رقيب، لديه أخطر أسرار إسرائيل الأمنية الكبرى، رغم خطورة ذلك إذا خُطف
[ويكرّر دائمًا أن سر النجاح: تدريب الجيش الإسرائيلي؛ على دماء الأطفال والنساء طبعًا]
"تجد الشركات أفضل الخبراء لدى المجندين، هم المعيار الحاسم لأفضل الكفاءات المهنية"
.
وكالعادة لا يستطيع أن يكون الإسرائيلي إسرائيليًا إذا لم يكذب كذبته المبتذلة والسخيفة
"تحولت أرض مليئة بالرمال والمستنقعات والملاريا في السبعينات إلى العالم الأول"
ويقول نكتة عن امرأة: زارت إسرائيل في السبعينات وأحبت "الثقافة الأصلية" للبلد
.
ويفتخر المؤلفان بالخيانة لأجل إسرائيل، كتجنيد مهندس سويسري لتهريب تصميم طائرة
لكنهم يتباكيان حين لم تبعهم فرنسا طائراتها، ووصفا موقف فرنسا والفصل كاملًا: الخيانة
-يبدو أننا لا نتحدث عن سايكوباتية محضة، بل مزيج حدّي من سايكوباتية ونرجسية-
.
ينحاز المؤلفان بعماء للحكم على دبي بالفشل بسبب غياب وسائل الاحتجاج السلمية
زاعمان أن منظمة حقوق الإنسان في دبي تتبع حاكمها الشيخ محمد بن راشد وحكومته
وزاعمان أنّ الحكومة لا تشملها حرية النقد، وأنها بلا شفافية، وتراقب الانترنت مركزيا
وبأنّ دبي هي مكان لنشر ابتكارات صنعت في مكان آخر وإيصالها إلى السوق الإقليمي
وبأنّه لا يوجد في دبي إبداع، أو ابتكار، بل تقليد، ولا تركيز على مراكز أبحاث وتطوير
وبأنّ علاقة رجال المال معها علاقة صفقة تجارية وجمع مال سريع ثم يعودون لأوطانهم
وبأنّ من مؤشراتهما لقياس ضعف الابتكار هي ضعف ترجمة الكتب أو براءات الاختراع
وبأنّ جلب الماركات كجامعتي نيويورك لأبوظبي وجورجتاون لقطر يبني سمعة وليس إبداعًا
وزاعمان -ببجاحة- أن توزيع النفط على الخليجيين أسكت المطالبة بالإصلاح السياسي
بأنّ السعودية تأخرت! لأنها فصلت الجنسين في المدارس! فاضطرت لجلب مدرسين ضعفاء
.
وما الذي يهدد نجاح إسرائيل؟ "التدهور المتواصل لأمن المنطقة"، يقصدون أمنهم طبعًا
"هدف القوة النووية المحيطة مثل إيران هو بث الذعر في مواهب إسرائيل لمغادرتها"
"من بين أهم 1,000 اقتصادي عالمي: 25 إسرائيليًا، غادروها ولم يبق منهم إلا 3 فقط"
"أكثر +3,000 أستاذ جامعي إسرائيلي هربوا من البلاد لجامعات خارجية بشكل دائم"
"تضاعف الانضمام لدراسة اللاهوت هروبًا عن التجنيد من 400 إلى عشرات الآلاف"
.
الكتاب دعاية تسويقية مبتذلة لإقناعك بأن الإسرائيليين أذكى من باقي البشر
بل يسأل بصراحة: لماذا إسرائيل عظيمة هكذا؟ هل اليهود أذكياء إلى هذا الحد؟
متجاهلًا حقيقة سرقة الأرض وما عليها، وصدقات أمريكا ودول أوروبا المتواصلة
متجاهلين اعتداءهم على أرض أجمل البساتين وأتقن العمارة وخير النابغين وهدمها جميعًا
كأن الكتاب منشور مكتب العلاقات العامة في الجيش، لأنه تمجيد لهم مع مقدمات وخاتمة
أو مشروع بمليوني دولار لوكالة تسويق لتكتب كتابًا تسويقيّا للجحيم/المافيا/الإرهابيين
يقلب الحقائق، فالقدرات الإسرائيلية إبداع ذاتي أنقذ الغرب، بينما هو: عالة طفيلية عليهم
بل يمكن قول: عوامل النجاح المذكورة كلّها متجذرة في عقود من القمع والاحتلال العسكري
لا يهم إن كان المؤلفان يكذبان أو مزيّفا الوعي، المهم أن الكتاب كذبة، ووعي ومزيف
أخذ حكايات نجاح فردي نجدها في كل العالم ويكررها بشكل ممل بين الفصول
.
"اليهود الإثيوبيين مجموعة مهاجرة تم إنقاذها من قبل المحسنين الإسرائيليين البيض"
"هم عبء اقتصادي تم طردهم، بعكس المهاجرين الروس؛ النعمة للاقتصاد الإسرائيلي"
.
وعد المؤلفان أولًا بعدم الدخول في السياسة، لكنّك ستجد حكايات التهديد الإيراني
ولوم على "الأعداء العرب" في فشل عملية السلام والانتقاد العدواني السلبي الشامل
من الممكن أن يكون هذا مقبولًا، لو كان هناك بعض النقد المتوازن لعدائية إسرائيل
وتجاهلها الصارخ للقانون الدولي، والمجازر ضد المدنيين، لكنه غير موجود
.
حرّر نتنياهو الاقتصاد من الحكومة كوزير مالية ومستشار سابق في بي.سي.جي
خفض ضريبة الأفراد والشركات، والخدمات الاجتماعية، وسقف العجز لـ1% من الميزانية
جمّد إنفاق الحكومة 3 سنين، خصخص البنوك والنفط والطيران والشحن، رفع سن التقاعد
أعجبتك إصلاحاته؟ مجرّد إعادة ترتيب العصابات المسعورة للعدوان على غزة، وحدث
.
قراءة هذا الكتاب تشبه ان تقرأ شتائم مطولة لوالدتك
قراءة هذا الكتاب تشبه أن تضع عقلك تحت أحذيتهم العسكرية
قراءة هذا الكتاب تشبه أن تمسك سيفهم بيدك وتجرح به صدرك
أما الإعجاب بهذا الكتاب فهو هزيمة لعقلك أمام الأكاذيب الصريحة
وهزيمة حزينة لقلبك أمام الإهانات المتواصلة والتدمير الممنهج لك
January 5, 2016
يقول الزعيم والفيلسوف الصينى Sun Tzu � صن تزو، في كتابه فن الحرب:
"من يعرف عدوه ويعرف نفسه يقود مائة معركة بدون خطر أو خوف من النتائج، ومن لا يعرف عدوه ولكنه يعرف نفسه فقد يحرز نصراً أو يلقى هزيمة، ومن لا يعرف عدوه ولا يعرف نفسه يكون في دائرة الخطر في كل معركة!
Start Up Nation
كتاب مميز ينقل لنا أحداث نهضة وتميز إسرائيل ودور الشركات الناشئة في تكوين الإقتصاد الإسرائيلي.
كثير من فصول هذا الكتاب مؤلمة ومرهقة جداً؛ لأنها تحاكي الواقع الإسرائيلي -حديث العهد- وتميزه عن باقي الدول المجاورة.
من أكثر السطور التي لازلت أفكرُ بها هي:
أن إدارة خمسة إسرائيليين أكثر تعقيداً من إدارة خمسين أمريكياً، لأنهم (الإسرائيليون) سيتحدونك في كل شيء، بدءً من لماذا أنت مديري؛ لماذا لست أنا مديرك؟
أسلوب المجادلة الذي يتبعه الإسرائيليون "الخوتزيه"هو من الأسباب الذي جعلهم مبدعين، وهو أيضاً سبب رئيسي في تحطيم قدسيّة رؤسائهم ومحاسبة الجميع إن أخطأوا.
لا ننكر أيضاً بأن هنالك بعض المبالغات في بعض المواطن، ولكن ليس من المنطق أيضاً تجاهل الواقع الحالي "لدولة" إسرائيل وما تحتله من مكانة في شتى المجالات سواء في المجال العسكري، الإقتصادي، التقني، أو الريادة في شركات الأعمال.
أقول دولة "كواقع" يجب الإعتراف به لكي يتم معرفة حجم العدو الذي نجابهه، وليس كقضية فلسطينية؛ كقضية هي "كيان صهيوني" مغتصِب وليس هذا موضع لسرد الإثباتات التي تدل على ذلك!
إسرائيل تعد من أوائل الدُول بالنسبة للبحوث والدراسات، فنسبة المقالات والأبحاث والأوراق العلمية الإسرائيلية المنشورة كل عام تعادل أكثر من عشرة أضعاف نسبة تعداد سكانها بالنسبة إلى سكان العالم، النسبة الأضخم عالميّاً لوجود العلماء والتقنيين والمهندسين إلى عدد السكان الكلي، حيث يوجد 140 عالماً ومهندساً وتقنيّاً من بين كل 10 آلاف إسرائيلي عامل، بينما قمة الهرم التكنولوجي العالمي (الولايات المتحدة) مثلًا فيها 85 لكل 10 آلاف واليابان 83 فقط لنفس النسبة!
وتعد إسرائيل إيضاً من أعلى النسب في العالم في إعداد الشركات الناشئة؛
(۳۸٥۰ شركة ناشئة إجمالاً، أي بمعدل شركة واحدة لكل ۱۸٤٤ إسرائیلي).
إسرائيل هي سبب رئيسي وراء إبتكار وتطوير الكثير من المنتجات التي نستخدمها؛ مثل Intel Inside, IBM, Pay Bal, وغيرها الكثير.
وبعد كل ذلك نأتي بكل سذاجة ونقول بأن زوال إسرائيل سيكون بـ 2020 بناءً على تكهنات بعض السياسيين، أو يأتي آخر ويعلق النصر والهزيمة بتعداد المصلين لصلاة الفجر وتعادلها مع صلاة الجمعة!!
حال الواقع العربي حالياً لن يتغيّر إلا إذا تم إتخاذ جميع السُبل العقلانيّة في المنافسة القوية لهذا الكيان المعاصِر، التغلب لن يكون إلا بعد دراسة ممحصة وعميقة في الأسباب التي جعلت هذه الدولة في هذا المكان عالمياً.
وأختم بهذه العبارة لـ (جون كينيدي، رئيس الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية �1961: 1963�)
لم تُنشَأ إسرائيل من أجل أن تختفي، إسرائيل سوف تبقى وتزدهر، إنها ابنة الأمل وموطن الشجعان، ولا يمكن أن تحطمها شدة أو يشوشها نجاح، إنها تحمل درع الديمقراطية وتتشرف بحمل سيف الحرية.
Start Up Nation كتاب أنصح الجميع بقراءته.
محمد أبوسل
27-10-2015
June 3, 2017
As an Israeli, I've never read a book that boosted my national self esteem like this.
So it's 4:54AM and I couldn't sleep, which made me read this book (no offense). It's a very readable book, despite the dry subject matter, it works. That's no easy feat.
This book made me feel guilty for my choices in the army. I'm not going to leave with this network, I picked artistic over elite and I sometimes wonder if I'll regret that in the future.
Nonetheless, I feel this book didn't show Israel the way I see it. Sure yeah, chutzpah is a thing and the army definitely matures us (I'm doing 3 jobs instead of the one that I was trained for) but I hated how this book talks about Haredim, Ethiopians, and Israeli Arabs. There are so many social and culture programs that help these people and the numbers continue to look better. Don't talk about them so negatively.
Additionally, I think the Israeli "I'm gonna do this my way" thing also leads to a difficulty to work together on things. Everyone thinks they're right, they think their way is right. Israelis are so stubborn and sometimes it's so hard to communicate.
Ultimately, this book shows Israel very positively. In a world where people constantly belittle and criticize Israel, it's nice to read something so positive. I think it's also important for people to read, so maybe they'll get a better understanding of what the army actually looks like here. But, as an Israeli, I must struggle with the positive.
What I'm taking with me:
� I actually got to meet the guy from Intel and he pretty much said exactly what this book says.
� I love that this book claims that Israel was created out of stubbornness and spite, that we brought to life an ancient civilization because "davka".
� Shimon Peres �
So it's 4:54AM and I couldn't sleep, which made me read this book (no offense). It's a very readable book, despite the dry subject matter, it works. That's no easy feat.
This book made me feel guilty for my choices in the army. I'm not going to leave with this network, I picked artistic over elite and I sometimes wonder if I'll regret that in the future.
Nonetheless, I feel this book didn't show Israel the way I see it. Sure yeah, chutzpah is a thing and the army definitely matures us (I'm doing 3 jobs instead of the one that I was trained for) but I hated how this book talks about Haredim, Ethiopians, and Israeli Arabs. There are so many social and culture programs that help these people and the numbers continue to look better. Don't talk about them so negatively.
Additionally, I think the Israeli "I'm gonna do this my way" thing also leads to a difficulty to work together on things. Everyone thinks they're right, they think their way is right. Israelis are so stubborn and sometimes it's so hard to communicate.
Ultimately, this book shows Israel very positively. In a world where people constantly belittle and criticize Israel, it's nice to read something so positive. I think it's also important for people to read, so maybe they'll get a better understanding of what the army actually looks like here. But, as an Israeli, I must struggle with the positive.
What I'm taking with me:
� I actually got to meet the guy from Intel and he pretty much said exactly what this book says.
� I love that this book claims that Israel was created out of stubbornness and spite, that we brought to life an ancient civilization because "davka".
� Shimon Peres �
August 1, 2020
The economic development of Israel is undoubtedly amazing. My country - Azerbaijan also needs to take the Israeli model as an example in a number of aspects. The book is rich in the interesting facts. It provides a closer look into Israeli culture including Jewish mentality to create innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem which forms start up nation. The chapters about immigration of Jews and the military system of Israel were particularly interesting.
June 20, 2021
I found this book surprisingly well written. I was expecting broad platitudes and shallow speculation, but the authors cite very concrete data and specific examples that are not only insightful but well presented as well.
September 21, 2011
I thought I knew a lot about Israel, but the book is rich in anecdotes. The history of Israel is well described and innovation was probably a necessity to survive. If there is a point I appreciated less is the importance the authors give to the military. They may be right, that’s not the point, but I thought the topic came too often in the chapters. This remains a great book and a must read for anyone interested in high-tech innovation and entrepreneurship.
I’d like now to quote a few things I liked. It’s not structured at all, but I invite you to read the book!
From the Introduction
Google’s CEO and chairman, Eric Schmidt said that the United States is the number one place in the world for entrepreneurs, but “after the U.S., Israel is the best.� Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer has called Microsoft “an Israeli company as much as an American company� because of the size and centrality of its Israeli teams.�
The authors begin by explaining that adversity and multidimensionality as much as the talent of individuals, are critical: “it is a story not just of talent but of tenacity, of insatiable questioning of authority, of determined informality, combined with a unique attitude toward failure, teamwork, mission, risk, and cross-disciplinary creativity.�
Chapter 1- Persistence
The usual joke Americans need to put, but it is a good one!
Four guys are standing on a street corner . . .
an American, a Russian, a Chinese man, and an Israeli. . . .
A reporter comes up to the group and says to them:
“Excuse me. . . . What’s your opinion on the meat shortage?�
The American says: What’s a shortage?
The Russian says: What’s meat?
The Chinese man says: What’s an opinion?
The Israeli says: What’s “Excuse me�?
—MIKE LEIGH, Two Thousand Years
- No inhibition about challenging the logic behind the way things have been done for years.
- A rude, aggressive culture which tolerates failure.
- Israeli attitude and informality flow also from a cultural tolerance for what some Israelis call “constructive failures� or “intelligent failures.�
- It is critical to distinguish between “a well-planned experiment and a roulette wheel
(During the meeting with the chief scientist, there was a similar argument: “if we have a 5% success rate, we’d better give the responsability to donkeys to choose and if it is 70% success rate, we do not take enough risks�)
- Amos Oz talks about “a culture of doubt and argument, an open-ended game of interpretations, counter-interpretations, reinterpretations, opposing interpretations. From the very beginning of the existence of the Jewish civilization, it was recognized by its argumentativeness.�
Chapter 2- Lesson from the military
- Narrow hierarchy and autonomy gives a lot of responsibility to individuals, authority is discussed
- People are mature earlier.
- No need to wait for order to act.
- “The key for leadership is the soldiers� confidence in their commander. If you don’t trust him, if you’re not confident in him, you can’t follow him.�
- “If you aren’t even aware that the people in the organization disagree with you, then you are in trouble�
- “Real experience also typically comes with age or maturity. But in Israel, you get experience, perspective, and maturity at a younger age, because the society jams so many transformative experiences into Israelis when they’re barely out of high school. By the time they get to college, their heads are in a different place than those of their American counterparts.”� “The notion that one should accumulate credentials before launching a venture simply does not exist.�
A dense network - the whole country is one degree of separation (Yossi Vardi)
Chapter 5- Order and chaos
- Singapore’s leaders have failed to keep up in a world that puts a high premium on a trio of attributes historically alien to Singapore’s culture: initiative, risk-taking, and agility; in addition to being real experts who can improvise in situations of crisis.
- Innovation is fundamentally an experimental endeavor (improvisation over discipline)
- Learn from mistake with no fear of losing face.
- Nobody learns from someone who is being self defensive
- Fluidity, according to a new school of economists studying key ingredients for entrepreneurialism, is produced when people can cross boundaries, turn societal norms upside down, and agitate in a free-market economy, all to catalyze radical ideas.
Chapter 7 - Immigration
Immigrants are not averse to starting over. They are, by definition, risk takers. A nation of immigrants is a nation of entrepreneurs.—GIDI GRINSTEIN
Sergey Brin spoke in an Israeli high school: “Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys,� he said in Russian, his choice of language prompting spontaneous applause. “I emigrated from Russia when I was six,� Brin continued. “I went to the United States. Similar to you, I have standard Russian-Jewish parents. My dad is a math professor. They have a certain attitude about studies. And I think I can relate that here, because I was told that your school recently got seven out of the top ten places in a math competition throughout all Israel.� This time the students clapped for their own achievement. “But what I have to say,� Brin continued, cutting through the applause, “is what my father would say—‘What about the other three?
The authors mention the seminal work of AnnaLee Saxenian (Regional advantage, the New Argonauts). As a few examples of Israel tech. diaspora mentioned in the book:
- Dov Frohman - Intel � 1974 � Wikipedia link. Apparently Israel has been the core of Intel innovation in the past decade and Intel is the largest private employer in Israel.
- Michael Laor � Cisco � 1997 � Linkedin profile. Cisco has acquired 9 israeli start-ups since Laor came back (more acquisitions than in any other country except the USA)
- Yoelle Maarek - Google � now at Yahoo!
But one should not forget Mirabilis/ICQ (see below) or Check Point. Check Point was established in 1993, by the company’s current Chairman & CEO Gil Shwed, at the age of 25, together with two of his friends, Marius Nacht (currently serving as Vice Chairman) and Shlomo Kramer (who left Check Point in 2003 to set up a new company).
Chapter 9 � Yozma
Another member of the tech. diaspora: Orna Berry � PhD USC � Unisys-IBM then Ornet and Gemini then OCS chief� The VC industry was really launched through the Yozma effort as well as Israeli incubators. Gemini was the first Israel fund. See the wikipedia article about venture capital in Israel.
Another quote on start-ups vs. more mature industries: “In aerospace, you can’t be an entrepreneur,� he explained. “The government owns the industry, and the projects are huge. But I learned a lot of technical things there that helped me immensely later on.�
Chapter 12 - Transdisciplinarity
“There’s a multitask mentality here.� The multitasking mentality produces an environment in which job titles—and the compartmentalization that goes along with them—don’t mean much.
- “Combining mathematics, biology, computer science, and organic chemistry at Compugen�
- “Putting this together required an unorthodox combination of engineering skills.�
The term in the United States for this kind of crossover is a mashup. And the term itself has been rapidly morphing and acquiring new meanings. � An even more powerful mashup, in our view, is when innovation is born from the combination of radically different technologies and disciplines. The companies where mashups are most common in Israel are in the medical-device and biotech sectors, where you find wind tunnel engineers and doctors collaborating on a credit card–sized device.
But the authors do not forget to mention that Israel is A country with a motive
Role models
Though Israel was already well into its high-tech swing by then, the ICQ sale was a national phenomenon. It inspired many more Israelis to become entrepreneurs. The founders, after all, were a group of young hippies. Exhibiting the common Israeli response to all forms of success, many figured, If these guys did it, I can do it better. Further, the sale was a source of national pride, like winning a gold medal in the world’s technology Olympics.
“There’s a legitimate way to make a profit because you’re inventing something,� says Erel Margalit “You talk about a way of life—not necessarily about how much money you’re going to make, though it’s obviously also about that.�
“Indeed, what makes the current Israeli blend so powerful is that it is a mashup of the founders� patriotism, drive, and constant consciousness of scarcity and adversity and the curiosity and restlessness that have deep roots in Israeli and Jewish history. “The greatest contribution of the Jewish people in history is dissatisfaction,� Peres explained.
Again “Not just talent, but tenacity, insatiable questioning of authority, determined informality, unique attitude toward failure, teamwork, mission, risk and cross-disciplinary creativity.�
As a conclusion
“So what is the answer to the central question of this book: What makes Israel so innovative and entrepreneurial? The most obvious explanation lies in a classic cluster of the type Harvard professor Michael Porter has championed, Silicon Valley embodies. It consists of the tight proximity of great universities, large companies, start-ups, and the ecosystem that connects them—including everything from suppliers, an engineering talent pool, and venture capital. Part of this more visible part of the cluster is the role of the military in pumping R&D funds into cutting-edge systems and elite technological units, and the spillover from this substantial investment, both in technologies and human resources, into the civilian economy. � But this outside layer does not fully explain Israel’s success. Singapore has a strong educational system. Korea has conscription and has been facing a massive security threat for its entire existence. Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Ireland are relatively small countries with advanced technology and excellent infrastructure; they have produced lots of patents and reaped robust economic growth. Some of these countries have grown faster for longer than Israel has and enjoy higher standards of living, but none of them have produced anywhere near the number of start-ups or have attracted similarly high levels of venture capital investments. What’s missing in these other countries is a cultural core built on a rich stew of aggressiveness and team orientation, on isolation and connectedness, and on being small and aiming big. Quantifying that hidden, cultural part of an economy is no easy feat. An unusual combination of cultural attributes. In fact, Israel scores high on egalitarianism, nurturing, and individualism. In Israel, the seemingly contradictory attributes of being both driven and “flat,� both ambitious and collectivist make sense when you throw in the experience that so many Israelis go through in the military. There is no leadership without personal example and without inspiring your team. The secret, then, of Israel’s success is the combination of classic elements of technology clusters with some unique Israeli elements that enhance the skills and experience of individuals, make them work together more effectively as teams, and provide tight and readily available connections within an established and growing community.
If you have arrived here, you were interested enough in this long article. Logically, your next move would be to buy Start-Up Nation!
I’d like now to quote a few things I liked. It’s not structured at all, but I invite you to read the book!
From the Introduction
Google’s CEO and chairman, Eric Schmidt said that the United States is the number one place in the world for entrepreneurs, but “after the U.S., Israel is the best.� Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer has called Microsoft “an Israeli company as much as an American company� because of the size and centrality of its Israeli teams.�
The authors begin by explaining that adversity and multidimensionality as much as the talent of individuals, are critical: “it is a story not just of talent but of tenacity, of insatiable questioning of authority, of determined informality, combined with a unique attitude toward failure, teamwork, mission, risk, and cross-disciplinary creativity.�
Chapter 1- Persistence
The usual joke Americans need to put, but it is a good one!
Four guys are standing on a street corner . . .
an American, a Russian, a Chinese man, and an Israeli. . . .
A reporter comes up to the group and says to them:
“Excuse me. . . . What’s your opinion on the meat shortage?�
The American says: What’s a shortage?
The Russian says: What’s meat?
The Chinese man says: What’s an opinion?
The Israeli says: What’s “Excuse me�?
—MIKE LEIGH, Two Thousand Years
- No inhibition about challenging the logic behind the way things have been done for years.
- A rude, aggressive culture which tolerates failure.
- Israeli attitude and informality flow also from a cultural tolerance for what some Israelis call “constructive failures� or “intelligent failures.�
- It is critical to distinguish between “a well-planned experiment and a roulette wheel
(During the meeting with the chief scientist, there was a similar argument: “if we have a 5% success rate, we’d better give the responsability to donkeys to choose and if it is 70% success rate, we do not take enough risks�)
- Amos Oz talks about “a culture of doubt and argument, an open-ended game of interpretations, counter-interpretations, reinterpretations, opposing interpretations. From the very beginning of the existence of the Jewish civilization, it was recognized by its argumentativeness.�
Chapter 2- Lesson from the military
- Narrow hierarchy and autonomy gives a lot of responsibility to individuals, authority is discussed
- People are mature earlier.
- No need to wait for order to act.
- “The key for leadership is the soldiers� confidence in their commander. If you don’t trust him, if you’re not confident in him, you can’t follow him.�
- “If you aren’t even aware that the people in the organization disagree with you, then you are in trouble�
- “Real experience also typically comes with age or maturity. But in Israel, you get experience, perspective, and maturity at a younger age, because the society jams so many transformative experiences into Israelis when they’re barely out of high school. By the time they get to college, their heads are in a different place than those of their American counterparts.”� “The notion that one should accumulate credentials before launching a venture simply does not exist.�
A dense network - the whole country is one degree of separation (Yossi Vardi)
Chapter 5- Order and chaos
- Singapore’s leaders have failed to keep up in a world that puts a high premium on a trio of attributes historically alien to Singapore’s culture: initiative, risk-taking, and agility; in addition to being real experts who can improvise in situations of crisis.
- Innovation is fundamentally an experimental endeavor (improvisation over discipline)
- Learn from mistake with no fear of losing face.
- Nobody learns from someone who is being self defensive
- Fluidity, according to a new school of economists studying key ingredients for entrepreneurialism, is produced when people can cross boundaries, turn societal norms upside down, and agitate in a free-market economy, all to catalyze radical ideas.
Chapter 7 - Immigration
Immigrants are not averse to starting over. They are, by definition, risk takers. A nation of immigrants is a nation of entrepreneurs.—GIDI GRINSTEIN
Sergey Brin spoke in an Israeli high school: “Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys,� he said in Russian, his choice of language prompting spontaneous applause. “I emigrated from Russia when I was six,� Brin continued. “I went to the United States. Similar to you, I have standard Russian-Jewish parents. My dad is a math professor. They have a certain attitude about studies. And I think I can relate that here, because I was told that your school recently got seven out of the top ten places in a math competition throughout all Israel.� This time the students clapped for their own achievement. “But what I have to say,� Brin continued, cutting through the applause, “is what my father would say—‘What about the other three?
The authors mention the seminal work of AnnaLee Saxenian (Regional advantage, the New Argonauts). As a few examples of Israel tech. diaspora mentioned in the book:
- Dov Frohman - Intel � 1974 � Wikipedia link. Apparently Israel has been the core of Intel innovation in the past decade and Intel is the largest private employer in Israel.
- Michael Laor � Cisco � 1997 � Linkedin profile. Cisco has acquired 9 israeli start-ups since Laor came back (more acquisitions than in any other country except the USA)
- Yoelle Maarek - Google � now at Yahoo!
But one should not forget Mirabilis/ICQ (see below) or Check Point. Check Point was established in 1993, by the company’s current Chairman & CEO Gil Shwed, at the age of 25, together with two of his friends, Marius Nacht (currently serving as Vice Chairman) and Shlomo Kramer (who left Check Point in 2003 to set up a new company).
Chapter 9 � Yozma
Another member of the tech. diaspora: Orna Berry � PhD USC � Unisys-IBM then Ornet and Gemini then OCS chief� The VC industry was really launched through the Yozma effort as well as Israeli incubators. Gemini was the first Israel fund. See the wikipedia article about venture capital in Israel.
Another quote on start-ups vs. more mature industries: “In aerospace, you can’t be an entrepreneur,� he explained. “The government owns the industry, and the projects are huge. But I learned a lot of technical things there that helped me immensely later on.�
Chapter 12 - Transdisciplinarity
“There’s a multitask mentality here.� The multitasking mentality produces an environment in which job titles—and the compartmentalization that goes along with them—don’t mean much.
- “Combining mathematics, biology, computer science, and organic chemistry at Compugen�
- “Putting this together required an unorthodox combination of engineering skills.�
The term in the United States for this kind of crossover is a mashup. And the term itself has been rapidly morphing and acquiring new meanings. � An even more powerful mashup, in our view, is when innovation is born from the combination of radically different technologies and disciplines. The companies where mashups are most common in Israel are in the medical-device and biotech sectors, where you find wind tunnel engineers and doctors collaborating on a credit card–sized device.
But the authors do not forget to mention that Israel is A country with a motive
Role models
Though Israel was already well into its high-tech swing by then, the ICQ sale was a national phenomenon. It inspired many more Israelis to become entrepreneurs. The founders, after all, were a group of young hippies. Exhibiting the common Israeli response to all forms of success, many figured, If these guys did it, I can do it better. Further, the sale was a source of national pride, like winning a gold medal in the world’s technology Olympics.
“There’s a legitimate way to make a profit because you’re inventing something,� says Erel Margalit “You talk about a way of life—not necessarily about how much money you’re going to make, though it’s obviously also about that.�
“Indeed, what makes the current Israeli blend so powerful is that it is a mashup of the founders� patriotism, drive, and constant consciousness of scarcity and adversity and the curiosity and restlessness that have deep roots in Israeli and Jewish history. “The greatest contribution of the Jewish people in history is dissatisfaction,� Peres explained.
Again “Not just talent, but tenacity, insatiable questioning of authority, determined informality, unique attitude toward failure, teamwork, mission, risk and cross-disciplinary creativity.�
As a conclusion
“So what is the answer to the central question of this book: What makes Israel so innovative and entrepreneurial? The most obvious explanation lies in a classic cluster of the type Harvard professor Michael Porter has championed, Silicon Valley embodies. It consists of the tight proximity of great universities, large companies, start-ups, and the ecosystem that connects them—including everything from suppliers, an engineering talent pool, and venture capital. Part of this more visible part of the cluster is the role of the military in pumping R&D funds into cutting-edge systems and elite technological units, and the spillover from this substantial investment, both in technologies and human resources, into the civilian economy. � But this outside layer does not fully explain Israel’s success. Singapore has a strong educational system. Korea has conscription and has been facing a massive security threat for its entire existence. Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Ireland are relatively small countries with advanced technology and excellent infrastructure; they have produced lots of patents and reaped robust economic growth. Some of these countries have grown faster for longer than Israel has and enjoy higher standards of living, but none of them have produced anywhere near the number of start-ups or have attracted similarly high levels of venture capital investments. What’s missing in these other countries is a cultural core built on a rich stew of aggressiveness and team orientation, on isolation and connectedness, and on being small and aiming big. Quantifying that hidden, cultural part of an economy is no easy feat. An unusual combination of cultural attributes. In fact, Israel scores high on egalitarianism, nurturing, and individualism. In Israel, the seemingly contradictory attributes of being both driven and “flat,� both ambitious and collectivist make sense when you throw in the experience that so many Israelis go through in the military. There is no leadership without personal example and without inspiring your team. The secret, then, of Israel’s success is the combination of classic elements of technology clusters with some unique Israeli elements that enhance the skills and experience of individuals, make them work together more effectively as teams, and provide tight and readily available connections within an established and growing community.
If you have arrived here, you were interested enough in this long article. Logically, your next move would be to buy Start-Up Nation!
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