Globalization was flawed in two key ways from the perspective of leadership: One significant error was the belief that designing goods could be completely separated from manufacturing them, with wealthier nations focusing solely on the former; however, the speaker contends that manufacturing prowess fosters design skills through knowledge sharing and collaboration. This meant nations initially focused on production began to excel in design, challenging the dominance of those who only designed. The second major issue highlighted is the detrimental effect of relying on inexpensive labor, suggesting it hinders innovation as companies are less incentivized to improve processes when they can simply reduce costs through cheap labor. The speaker views this reliance as a negative addiction for American companies.