This is what I call a Kodak Moment

On Thursday January 19th, Kodak, yet another global pioneer in technology and business, files for bankruptcy “protection.” In it’s heyday, the imaging technology company coined the phrase, “a Kodak moment,” a testament to the impact it had in capturing billions of memories.

Even in 2012, Kodak, having developed digital camera technology, is indirectly responsible for every picture uploaded to Facebook and the like. That’s what makes this failure so baffling, but it does highlight the prevailing problem facing America’s economy: shortsightedness.

It’s an ailment most pundits miss because they suffer from the same condition or profit directly from. But there is nothing new or surprising here. In fact, it’s overlooked because we consider it sound business to have a 3-year outlook.

And maybe such a limited forecast of your company’s business dealings served well in the early 1900′s but today, 3 years is the difference between never having heard of an upstart company like Twitter and it being mentioned on the nightly news.

We hear it all the time. Upgrade or become obsolete. The job you are doing today may not exist tomorrow. Yet, some of America’s largest and most important corporations, economically speaking, are doing business in much the same way they have for decades.

The bankrupt Kodak is a classic example of how this continued practice is destroying the fabric of American business. The company meets great success out of the gate, swells with capital and inefficiency and builds economies of scale around products that are rapidly becoming obsolete.

The cash flow pours and we build our economy: jobs, debt and trade, around obsolescence. Then we watch a Titanic sail and are surprised to find that iceberg awaiting. Again. But if we know limited visibility is an issue, the solution seems obvious: more lifeboats.

Guess we should have had more lifeboats, huh?

I don’t remember if removing those extra lifeboats on the actual Titanic was an illegal move back then, but it should have been. The reason is obvious. When disaster strikes, people survive, or at least have a fighting chance, when you’ve prepared for the inevitable. Companies like Kodak need legal pressure to prepare for the future. It’s easy.

In much the same way that Google gives it’s employees 20% of paid time to work on creative passions, Kodak and the like should be dedicating a mere 20% of it’s profits to the technologies of tomorrow. Wealthy profiteers and shareholders are wary of any idea that takes money out of his pocket, but remember, that’s exactly why all those people died in the Atlantic. At least the people on the Titanic can blame the unexpected.

Business has no excuse. It’s a fact. Change is coming. Dedicating 20% of your multi-national, gazillion corporation’s profits into the long-term success of the company also ensures the viability of an entire industry over time. Equally important, it strengthens the value of any single company, and elevates the economy of tomorrow.

We’re talking more jobs, better opportunities for workers and an America that is primed to compete in the global market. As it stands, Corporate America is better prepared for 1912 than it is for 2012. We must require big business to be equipped with 20% lifeboat to ensure our economy not only survives, but thrives.

Imagine if oil companies were legally mandated to invest in tomorrow’s energy solutions as opposed to drilling for ones discovered over a century ago. We’d be living in a very different world today. And companies as huge and prestigious as Kodak wouldn’t need bailouts or be prepping for massive layoffs.

Corporations investing in the future of America. Imagine that.