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Be clear about this from the outset - we believe that business is changing for the better.

These pages are about helping you to make the best of an extraordinary set of business circumstances.

 

 

 

Obviously, we’re talking here about the more progressive businesses around the world. However, as throughout time, slower businesses must either catch up or fall away.

 

You’re clearly something of a problem solver yourself, are ambitious and a self starter.

You didn’t open this page by accident, did you?

 

Chaos and confusion aren't bad - it's a sign of change.

 

Don't waste time and energy wondering what businesses need to give to get what they need. This is about YOU.

Business is changing...

The working environment over the last two decades has become more complex, wider ranging and more competitive than ever before, and the skills needed to thrive in it are changing.

- the economies of the US and Japan continue to grow,
- the European Community is expanding and has tapped into whole populations of highly skilled and capable people,
- the Tiger economies are once again roaring,
- Russia is back as a superpower,
- the rampant growth in India and China is just a warm up for what’s expected to come in the next few years.
And that’s without even mentioning the the Middle East !

Technology continues to provide us with new and different ways to contact each other – even if some of them currently act as major distractants and our true communication skills are at an all time low!

Globalisation has shrunk the world as companies expand to take advantage of new markets and the options of lower cost production.

To thrive in this new world, businesses need to be nimble and quick to react to changing circumstances, yet at the same time keeping risks down to a minimum.

That needs people who can work in different ways than the traditional ones. They need problem solvers, not just "do-ers". And they're not easy to find, which gives YOU a clear advantage.

The old ways aren’t enough

No longer is it enough to just turn up in time, do your hours, then head off home again, forgetting about work. The “nine to five” mentality is 1970s. Employers want flexibility and are prepared to pay for it.

It’s not enough either to sit on some specialised technical knowledge without actively sharing it and developing it further. The “Knowledge is power” fallacy has been blasted away over the last decade. It’s what you do with it that counts now.

Nor is it enough to fall into a routine of activities that you follow slavishly at any given time of a day, week or month - the accelerating growth of business process outsourcing has seen to that.

What employers want

Even a brief search on the internet for what employers are after identifies sets of skills that would have been alien just ten years ago:

To the traditional list of capabilities like "numerate, literate, enthusiastic, reliable and leader" have been added AS STANDARD requirements like:

  • “self starter”, “collaborative worker”, “good communicator”, “able to work on a range of tasks”, “flexible”, “resilient”, “analytical” and “able to deal with change”.
  • “Computer literate” and “Systems aware” are rarely mentioned as they are taken as almost assumed.
  • There are also an increasing number of employers that state a need to be “comfortable working in chaos”, because the normal rate of change is creating an almost fluid operational state for some businesses! In this case, chaos is good.

The age of the “knowledge worker” is well under way.

Traditional, departmental-style roles are becoming extinct. Employers now want flexible and capable problem solvers, but to make the best of continual change, businesses need their employees to demonstrate one set of traits above all others:

The winners in the 21st Century will be those who have people who can Think, who can Communicate effectively and who can easily Adapt to changing and different circumstances.

 

A final thought: In the last decade we have apparently moved into the “Age of Aquarius”, where solutions to problems are expected to be more subtle and complicated. It’s the age of the complex and interrelated solution, and for those people who are equipped for it . What an opportunity for you!

Business is becoming more complex and decisions must take into account many dependencies, sometimes spreading across the globe. The continual flow of change can appear to be confused and chaotic if you don't understand it, but if you do, it provides you with a marvellous advantage.

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