Finding the Best Brains!
06/09/03
Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE, finds the best brains wherever he can find them: "We are moving R&D offshore to India, China and Germany. We're a global company. More than 40% of our employees live outside the U.S. We're just trying to link into other pools of engineering talent and get the broadest exposure to ideas, to talent, to growth and to markets. We need to utilize every global brain we can inside the GE system."
If the global economy is your ocean, the great leaders fish for the best brains wherever they can find them? Free enterprise seeks out opportunity and people who can give them an edge in taking advantage of that opportunity. Complacent, expensive workers lose jobs to the hungry and talented workers from developing countries who have been watching our ads and are willing to work hard to earn their share of what we have. Developing countries get the advantage of cheaper products and services, but must face the cost of economic upheaval. We used to think workers could have a job for a lifetime; that is no longer the case. The trick is to never let you or your people become complacent while coasting in outdated skills. Competition will come, and good competition will win as long as people can reach out and touch opportunity in cyberspace any time and any where they want to. Don't worry about being good at outdated skills; keep learning the skills that will keep you an attractive resource wherever you live or work. Be one of those global brains who people are ready to hire. And if you are not one of those global brains, you better find a way to serve or supply someone who is. There is also good news on the horizon. The success of other countries does not limit our own. The more countries that become developed, the more products and services we can buy and the more customers we have for our own market. Terrorism flourishes where there is no opportunity; dreams replace devastation in cultures that truly believe they can secure their version of the American Dream. What are you doing to prepare for the future instead of falling victim to it?
A PAULSON QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Don't worry about being good at outdated skills; keep learning the skills that will keep you an attractive resource wherever you live or work. Be one of those global brains who people are ready to hire. And if you are not one of those global brains, you better find a way to serve or supply someone who is." --Terry Paulson, Ph.D., CSP, CPAE
MONDAY'S MIRTHFUL MOMENT
This week's mirthful moment comes from Dan Poynter, two kids stories worth repeating. Kids to say the darndest things. Enjoy!
An acquaintance of mine who is a physician told this story about her then 4-year-old daughter. On the way to preschool, the doctor had left her stethoscope on the car seat, and her little girl picked it up and began playing with it. 'Be still, my heart,' thought my friend, 'my daughter wants to follow in my footsteps!' Then the child spoke into the instrument: "Welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order?"
A certain little girl, when asked her name, would reply, "I'm Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter." Her mother told her this was wrong, she must say, "I'm Jane Sugarbrown." The Vicar spoke to her in Sunday school, and said, "Aren't you Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter?" She replied, "I thought I was, but mother says I'm not."
When you keep your eyes open for mirth, you just may find it! Hope this kicks off your morning and helps get your mood adjusted for the week. Now, get busy MAKING CHANGE WORK and have some fun along the way!...