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I went to The Home Depot to purchase several items, among them a flashlight.  They have an extensive selection, ranging from tiny things that fit easily in any pocket, to  rechargeable LED flood lights with a gazillion lumen output.  There are several brands in each size category, so there is a dizzying selection, onto which I focused my finely honed flashlight selection skills.

And I found that every (as in: every) flashlight was made in China, regardless of brand.  I was willing to pay a little more for a flashlight that was made in America, but there was no way that I could do that.

Does something strike you as counter-productive here?  It does to me and I’m wondering what you and I can do about it.  After all, we’re leaders.

So, how about you and I start right now to make Made in the USA a priority for our purchases?  And we tell the people who look to us for leadership to do the same.  We’ll have to stop making the cheapest price our sole criterion for product selection, but ultimately we’ll put more Americans back to work and that will produce more customers for our own products and services.  Just Google “Made in USA + _______” – the “_______” is a placeholder for the name of the item you want – and you’ll likely find all the sources you need for what you want – even flashlights.  And read this article in The Atlantic Magazine.

Be a great leader.  You have to demonstrate that for it to stick and this is a great way to do that.

Note to my Canadian friends:  It works the same way in Canada.  Decide with your purchases who you want to keep employed.

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