The Power Of Ideas

(This was published in The Strait Times, September 23 rd, 2003 )

With India and China offering cheap, talented labour, Singapore businesses need to give themselves a different edge-by making the most of their employees' talent.

These days business leaders throughout the Asia-Pacific and most parts of the world frequently have one question on their mind: How do we get our people to do more with less? The corollary to this is: How then do we deepen our talent pool?

Underpinning these two questions is the realization that ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century economy. It is not how well a company is organized, the amount of capital it has at its disposal, its revenue, technology or even its brand-names. All these will get us only so far. As the market transforms and shifts, what used to be competitive advantages in yesteryears may suddenly be passe and woefully inadequate.

China and India are two giants who have recently awaken from their long slumber. They are seen respectively as the "factory" and "back-office" of the world. Their unbelievably low cost and the size of their hungry, nimble and well-educated work-force set new standards when we talk about economy of scale. Jobs, both blue-collar and high-paying white collar jobs, are being drawn away from developed and developing countries alike around the world. A case in point is Mexico. Despite its strategic relationship with, and its proximity to , the US, Mexican factories are emptying out steadily as business owners find the draw of China irresistible and compelling. Why is this happening?

Simply because China-based businesses are able to do more with less, and much cheaper to boot. Similarly , Indian IT professionals are highly creative and productive and yet cost a fraction of the cost of their counterparts elsewhere. Closer home, call center operations are migrating to Malaysia. Recently Singaporeans woke up to stare a set of comparative figures in the face. Cost-wise, one Singapore worker is equivalent to three Malaysian workers, fifteen Chinese workers and eighteen Indian workers. Will CPF reduction, more lay-offs and incremental increases in productivity off-set these vast cost disparities?

Taking such a route is akin to going head-to-head with these two juggernauts on their own turfs. It may sound rhetorical, but it bears asking how much of the gap can one hope to close? Will it be sufficient to keep us afloat? If not what else must business leaders do?

Many leading companies, especially in the US and Europe, are turning to the power of ideas to stay ahead of the game. It is recognized that it is better ideas that differentiate one company from another and may ultimately determine its very survival. Lawrence Summers, president of Harvard University and formerly secretary of the U.S. Treasury, puts it this way:   " At Harvard, we consider it an extremely important accomplishment when a 25-year old graduate student who has been here a mere 18 months makes a discovery that disproves a pet theory of a 55-year-old professor who has been here 30 years. Indeed , the professor whose theory has been disproved might be the first to congratulate that graduate student."

If you look at organizations in the global economy which are doing well, you will notice that they are the ones where the greatest value is being added. They foster an environment where creativity is rewarded . Theirs is an environment where employees feel empowered and motivated to look at things differently and challenge the status quo. It is an environment where it is not the idea of authority but the authority of ideas that holds sways.

How do you create an organization that is adaptable, permeable and swift? An organization where everyone is involving in generating ideas, where the right decisions are made as low in the hierarchy as possible and only the right decisions come to the top?

Many companies which have a coaching culture are all discovering that their employees are innately curious, potentially creative and crave the opportunities to share new ideas to do thing differently and better. A coaching culture stands on its head the long-standing and out-moded leadership notion that the leaders know it all and have all the answers. In a coaching culture, leaders adopt a collaborative approach because they know that today's knowledge workers demand respect not only for their contribution as an employee but also as a person. The inventive, creative and passionate capability in individuals becomes unleashed only when there is "resonance" in their relationship with other co-workers and especially with their immediate supervisors. As a result of this, CEOs and leading HR thinkers are now recognizing that the ability to coach will be a pre-requisite for senior leadership positions.

In this fast-changing market place, imagine where the company will be if it is rules- and hierarchy- based and everybody awaits new instructions and ideas from the powers that be. Re-play this scene and now imagine an environment where ideas are valued and respected and all employees regardless of rank talk animatedly about new ways of doing things? Over-lay this with a sense of individual accountability and a results-focused approach. Which scenario offers the opportunity for companies to re-write the rules of the game?

 

( Contributed by BH Tan. The writer is President , Coaching Associates Pte Ltd, an Asia-Pacific based management practice that works with multi-nationals and public institutions to achieve better business results through their people)

 

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