Platinum Author
If you think that the green shoots of economic recovery are a sign that the recession and that things are getting back to "normal" you certainly need to think again. For starters the unprecedented levels of debt mean a reduced capacity to borrow that will curtail spending and thus reduce the level of trade that you would have called normal before the recession. (See my earlier article "Reinventing Business for the New Economy" for more on that topic.) And that is ignoring the fact that pre-recession growth was artificially stimulated, unrealistic and unsustainable (and - in many cases - even fraudulent.) However, there are other factors that reinforce that message.
Firstly, post-war Western economies have flourished as a result of a productive capacity that exceeded that of the rest of the world. That is no longer the case. The rapid growth of China and India (and to a lesser extent some of the other Eastern economies) has dramatically shifted the economic scales.
Secondly, whatever the rights or wrongs of the debate on climate change, environmental concerns are going to both focus our attention and absorb resources that might otherwise have been used to stimulate our economic growth and development.
Unquestionably it is going to be tough out there and the game and the stakes will be very different to what they were.
Historically it has been our ingenuity and innovation that enabled the West to dominate the world. However, with the "shrinking globe" and the speed at which new ideas are communicated, copied and improved, it is unlikely that we will be able to count on this to rescue us this time. Nevertheless, innovation is still our primary means of remaining competitive and ensuring we do not fall back to the point of becoming subordinate economic powers in future.
And innovation is the primary domain of business. So, for Western economies to retain any semblance of their current standards of living it is imperative that business remains at the forefront of innovation. To do so, however, requires a new approach to the operation of business and the way it is structured. Why? Because innovation relies on people and for too long business has failed to fully recognize the value of people.
People are the source of new ideas and it is either arrogant or naive to think that ideas only originate with a select few. If your business is to remain competitive, you have to find a way to unite your people and create the strength of purpose and teamwork that creates a strong corporate culture. A culture that embeds engagement and continuous improvement and creates an organization that can move quickly because it is responsive and adaptable. This is not the norm and it is not possible under traditional organization structures that concentrate power in the hands of an elite few and operate through "command-and-control" tactics.
Innovation demands that you move beyond the "hired hand" mentality towards your people and engage their "hands, hearts and heads" so that everyone is aware of what is going on around them and alert to new ways of doing things. It requires "empowering" people to provide collective leadership; engaging them so that they enjoy and relish responsibility for their own work and are comfortable contributing new ideas and suggestions for improvement whenever and wherever they spot an opportunity.
If you are not already actively looking for the means to create such a culture, and to build and sustain a business where this is second nature, you need to start now.
About this Author
Bay Jordan, author of "Lean Organizations Need Fat People" and "A Feeling of Worth," is the founding director of Zealise Limited. Zealise helps businesses to value their people, offering a unique employee ownership system that creates greater employee engagement with better teamwork and strategic alignment that transforms performance and bottom line results. To find out more about how these breakthrough management solutions will help you and your business please check our website at http://www.zealise.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bay_Jordan
