Monday night I attended an SMU Cox School of Business and Bank of Texas Business Leaders Spotlight presentation. Featured speaker, Geoff Colvin, senior editor-at-large of "Fortune" magazine, talked about some of my favorite subjects--global competitive advantage, how American businesses are performing in the global marketplace, the changes that are occurring and why the changes are occurring now. Though about 100 business leaders attended, I came away motivated to share with others what he had to say because of the insight and clarity of the message.
"Top talent has never been more valuable, nor competition for it more fierce....After 500 years or so, the scarcest, most valuable resource in business is no longer financial capital. It's talent," says Mr. Colvin. What a profound statement. Mr. Colvin says it best, and you can hear a shorter, but similar, 25 minute presentation by him on the subject at the career radio blog: Landed.fm. Another option is to read his February 6th article, "Catch a Rising Star," from "Fortune" magazine.
I've heard more than one speaker recently say that the answer to America's sustaining a global competitive advantage is education, especially in grades K-12. Mr. Colvin points to multiple times in history when America was challenged to invest more in the education system and did so successfully. A great opportunity for all of us to invest! However, I've not heard anyone adequately address the questions of, "What does America look like in 20 years?" or, "What do we do about our jobs?" My questions for you: Do you know of anyone who is using computer simulation to predict the impact of global change on America in the future, three, five, or twenty years? Does your company have a great strategy for future-focused innovation, I/T investments and retaining top talent? What are the strategies? I'd love to hear from you. Email me. And thank you, Mr. Colvin, for a great call to action.
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