Blog - Strategy

Your Most Valuable Competitive Advantage is about to Evaporate

Posted by Scott Newton on Apr 30, 2021 6:24:36 AM

Tags: Blogs - Strategic Transformation, leadership, strategy meetings, future of your business, Strategy, Digital Transformation, Value creation, Corporate Governance

Your Most Valuable Competitive Advantage is about to Evaporate.

The Gap is growing between the most desirable companies to work for, and the vast majority of others. Take a look around your offices (or today around your Zoom, Slack, and Teams screens.) 4 in every 10 people you work with plan to change companies this year. In Canada and South Korea the number increases to 50%. Even in Southern Europe, which traditionally has much lower labour mobility the percentage is 35%.

We are witnessing the biggest change in the labour market since World War 2. Are you ready for it?

What can you as a Chair, Board Member, or CEO do about this accelerating gap?

Photo 28895214 © Anizza | Dreamstime.com

The first step is in completing a thorough Strategy Review. Revisit:

    1. Your Assumptions about the future and the Implications for your Organization
    2. The Products and Markets you will serve and must stop serving in the future
    3. Capabilities required for your future success- to be developed internally and acquired
    4. Your future partnerships and investments in new and innovative technologies
    5. The Risks your organization faces in the future that do not even exist today

Let us focus now on C. Capabilities unfortunately have often been shifted off to an L&D office and not considered the highest priority for the Board and Management. As the gap continues to grow between the desirable firms and the remainders, you and your colleagues leading and guiding the company need to put your highest attention on how you will develop and retain your people to achieve your goals.

Much emphasis is being put on Digital Transformation today, and you and I are fortunate enough to be working and collaborating with the leading organizations around the world in this exciting space. While Billions in CAPEX are being invested in Technology, the success of Digital Transformation projects is 90% about people and their capabilities. 

At your next board meeting- management and the board can work through the tough challenging questions of where you will find the best people, why they will want to work with you, and how will you encourage them to stay and develop even further tomorrow.

Mind the Gap between Value Creation and all the noise.

Data on people turnover was provided by the March 22, 2021 Work Trend Index Annual Report "The Next Great Disruption"  published by Microsoft