In the news today, another company lays off 20% of their workforce next to news of another road accident. Like what’s new, right? It seems almost trendy for companies to layoff people. Reason/s, take your pick – bad investment into a volatile market, cut-throat competition, declining market share, in anticipation of the coming recession, reorganizing for a more effective organization, etc. And the majority being laid off are women because it’s the Malaysian thing to do.
On the same page, the government tells everyone “Recession? What recession? We are not in a recession” but introduces the largest economic stimulus plan in history and calls it a mini stimulus plan. Maybe stimulus plans are also very trendy these days. Other countries in Asia have one so we must have one too. I don’t understand our government so let’s get back to “trendy” companies.
I can’t help but draw parallels between what’s happening in corporations today to whales that have lost their sense of direction and found themselves beached, 500 miles off course. And in a state of panic, they swim even harder only to find themselves driven further inland until there is nothing left to do but hope for high tide soon…(so that they can swim further inland perhaps?). You can’t really blame the poor whale. It’s in a state of panic and driven by the need to survive, there’s just no room for common sense or intelligence.
Not unlike corporations who have to look at numbers first so that the chief can breathe easier at the next shareholder’s meeting, sometime in this financial year, which isn’t too far away. Think ‘short term’ QUICK! Reduce workforce by 20%! But wait, shouldn’t you be looking at reducing 20% of your payroll and 1% of your workforce might just solve that problem? My bad, I forgot, no room… Damn, having shareholders suck too. Well, you can borrow money (also very trendy) to buy back the company’s stock and get the shareholders off your back. If you’re government owned – nice, you can go back to your game of solitaire during office hours.
I’d like to know where the smart companies are. I’m sure they exist but are they in Malaysia? Umair Hague wrote a great piece in the Harvard Business Review called the Smart Growth Manifesto. If poor whale could read, it might have reached fertile sea by now.
In summary:
Yesterday’s incumbents are beginning to fail en masse, while these revolutionaries remain resilient. Why? As our research at the Lab suggests, getting smart is a better choice than staying dumb: smart growth results in more creativity, innovation, effectiveness, and power than dumb growth.
