“Change or Die”
‘’Change Or Die.’’ – Tadashi Yanai
I recently finished Thomas Friedman’s book “Thank you for being late”. Friedman argues that humans are actually fairly adaptable creatures. Our problem is that our capacity to adapt is currently being outpaced by a “supernova,” built from three ever faster things: technology, the market and climate change.
On technology he argues convincingly (primarily due to the acceleration of Moore’s Law) that 2007, which saw the arrival of the iPhone, Android and Kindle, was the year when software began and I believe this marked the beginning of the disruptive economy with the rise of companies such as Airbnb, Uber, and Netflix.
This in turn reminded me of the famous quote ‘’Change Or Die’’ by Tadashi Yanai (Uniqlo’s CEO). If we do accept that these forces highlighted by Friedman – and Moore’s Law in particular – are indeed leading to exponential rates of change (where we will find it hard, as human beings, to adapt exponentially fast) then we had better get cracking!
I am certainly not suggesting that I have the answers to best profit from the technology which is rapidly disrupting our personal and corporate lives. However, I believe that we all have to start somewhere and share, within our areas of expertise, thoughts that could be of interest or help others. This is true for all of us, whether we are working at an up-and-coming startup or an established MNC, as both will be affected by the disruptive economy.
As a commercially focused and driven talent acquisition and executive search leader I have come from an international background and have needed both strategic and operational skills. I have been very fortunate to have worked globally over the last 15 years in a wide range of different industries and international locations.
It is during these years that I have had the pleasure to advise and coach a high-number of successful executives who have encouraged me to share my professional views more widely.
Consequently I have decided to start a series of leadership thoughts to share some of my observations and opinions on how the disruptive economy has and will continue to impact talent acquisition as well as wider human capital trends.
I hope you enjoy reading my content and I look forward to hearing your feedback.
