David Schlesinger's "Off-Shoring With Obligation" memo
Interesting memo sent by David Schlesinger (Reuter's managing editor) to his Staff where he tried to deal straight with the growing outsourcing trend within his company:
Off-Shoring With Obligation I grew up in New London, Connecticut, which in the 19th century was a major whaling center. In the 1960’s and 70’s the whales were long gone and the major employers in the region were connected with the military - not a surprise during the Vietnam era. My classmates’ parents worked at Electric Boar, the Navy and the Coast Guard. The peace divident changed the region once again, and now it is best known for the great gambling casinos of Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods and for the pharmaceutical researchers of Phizer. Jobs went; jobs were created. Skills went out of use; new skills were required. The region changed; people changed. New London, of course, was not unique. How many mill towns saw their mills close; how many shoe towns saw the shoe industry move elsewhere; how many towns that were once textile powerhouses now buy all their linens from China? Change is hard. Change is hardest on those caught by surprise. Change is hardest on those who have difficulty changing too. But change is natural; change is not new; change is important. The current debate about off-shoring is dangerously hot. But the debate about work going to India, China and Mexico is actually no different from the debate once held about submarine workd leaving New London or shoe work leaving Massachusetts or textile work leaving North Carolina. Work gets done where it can be done mose effectively and efficiently. That ulimately helps the New Londons, New Bedfords and New Yorks of this world even more than it helps the Bangalores and Shenzhens. It helps because it frees up people and captial to do different, more sphisticated work, and it helps because it gives an opportunity to produce the end product more cheaply, benefiting customers even as it helps the corporation. It’s certainly difficult for individuals to think about “their” work going away, being done thousands of miles away by someone earning thousands of dollards less per year. But it’s time to think about the opportunity as well as the pain, just as it’s time to think about th eobligations of off-shoring as well as the opportunities … Every person, just as every corporation, must tend to his or her own economic destiny, just as our parents and grandparents in the mills, shoe shops and factories did.
Hi Folks,
Some people have asked me about a comment I posted on Linkedin about this book re why this book has been a revelation for me... So here is my explanation:
This book has helped realizing how much flat the world has became in terms of potential activity outsourcing, and how much this pattern is and will reshape how we do business at the macro and micro level in one hand.
In addition, it has helped me better understand my personal ecosystem and future (present to be honest) personal challenges... Now working and competing globally have became a must not only at the corporate level but at the personal level as well.
In conclusion, a revelation of new threats and opportunities in this new era...
By the way, I've started reading the next volume from Friedman: "Hot, Flat, and crowded"...
Stay tuned!
Yohan
Pardon me for the size the video that doesn't perfectly fit in my blog layout, but I believe the below video from MIT WORLD may be valuable for some of you:
Run Forrest Run... but in the optimal direction to achieve results!!!
Those days trying to be competitive and working very hard to serve your personal agenda are not politically correct... I believe this needs to change in order to achieve results, I mean results that will make you proud of what YOU are and what YOU have achieved in life, for you and for your ecosystem. If you believe in you, there is no magic you need to invest... your time, your money, and without a doubt your energy!
As many things in live, you need first to define your direction, your own 'way', and then RUN Forrest RUN!
I have found this African proverb in one of the lastest books I read, it has inspired me:
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle.
When the sun comes up, you better start running.
This proverb is extremely powerful, but, IMHO it misses one important point: first select the optimal direction and then run... At the end of the day, running in the wrong direction may not help it!
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