Why Your Company Won't Survive The Change That's Coming

By: Shaun Browne

It Really is the Economy... Stupid

Many organizations will not survive the transition to the new economy, in part because they are paralyzed by this one.
Most organizations aren't ready to manage the change that's coming. They are stuck in an old model of doing business, one that, while trusted and traditional, hamstrings them for future growth, in part because they are ignoring their responsibilities to train, develop, and coach their employees.

Three Reasons

Ronald Hirshhorn, in his 2013 research summary, "Impacts of Structural Changes in the Canadian Economy," states that there are three issues that will impact growth:

• Decomposition of productivity growth  - the Canadian economy now has a dominant sector with a weak capacity for innovation and multifactor productivity growth,
• Changes in employment  - the increasing number of service jobs, the rise in temporary, short-term, and part-time positions (the so-called 'giging culture'),
• Declining wages - the lack of full-time positions and paid overtime, reduce the willingness of employees to make major financial commitments. 

Hirshhorn goes on to say that the lack of investment, roadblocks to the expansion of service producers due to difficulties in innovating, and the lack of output measurement in the service sector, and the challenging task of reallocating labour, all contribute to the lack of organizational readiness.

What's Past is Prologue

Peter Drucker, even back in 1986, said that the economy was not on the verge of a change, it had already changed. In his landmark article in Foreign Affairs, Drucker writes of a massive, permanent de-coupling of the industrial economy, employment, and trade. And, like the past, our economy today is suffering from a collapse in raw material prices, oil revenue, and increasing unemployment in traditional industrial sectors. The economy may not be de-industrializing, but the workforce has.
The move to ever-larger facilities has resulted in an over-capacity in space, as organizations downsize to meet new demands. Take a walk through your local mall or main street, to see how retail has eroded, with resulting empty shops and vacant parking lots.

How Can We Survive and Thrive

• Get ready.
• Prepare your people.
• Help them adapt.
• Build skills.
• Innovate.
• Become sustainable.

The future is coming, whether we like it, or not.

Shaun Browne is President and Founding Partner of Digital Mentor Group Inc. He is also Vice President - Productivity Mentoring, Innovation Canada. He can be reached at onthejobtraining.com.