Talent Management - October 2008 - (Page 58)

[full potential] by Marshall Goldsmith I I Vive la Difference n the past, even as recently as a few years ago, markets operated on a national or regional scale. This meant company leaders had little trouble communicating and interacting with each other, their employees and their customers, as most of them shared a common language and culture. 1. A world of conformity, in which billions of people wear the same clothes, speak the same language and consume the same media. 2. A world of short-term stimulation, in which countless hours are spent on mindless television programs, Web sites, video games and virtual reality that greatly diminish life experience. ter recognize people who make the transition from success to signiﬁcance. Community heroes need to be celebrated based upon their skills in giving, rather than taking. 2. Celebrate diversity. Our ability to adapt to changing situations largely is a function of our diversity. Language leads us to view the world in different ways and to have different approaches to making decisions and solving problems. We need to encourage diversity in language, culture and lifestyle to ensure our survival. Powerful countries must not try to make other countries become like them. Residents of the global community need to celebrate the fact that “different” may be synonymous with “fascinating,” “enhancing” and even “necessary.” 3. Build long-term value. We need to inspire and educate people about the value of investing for The advent of a truly global economy brings new opportunities 3. A world of isolation, in which and challenges. The advantages of large portions of people’s lives global trade are well-known. Inare spent striving for personal creased global competition leads excitement and gain with little to higher-quality products and thought for others and even less services at lower prices. Consumeffort devoted to helping future ers have access to an incredible generations. diversity of goods that may have Still, attempts at stopping the ﬂow been produced anywhere in the world. Poor countries with lower of globalization are doomed to faillabor costs can “catch up” by doing ure for two reasons: labor-intensive work that would 1. The Internet is global, and inforcost much more in wealthy countries, and eventually gain the purchasOur ability to adapt to ing power to buy changing situations largely is more goods and a function of our diversity. services from the rest of the world. As a result, communication, trade and culture have become more global and, in all likelihood, they’ll continue to move in that direction. Amid this change, opportunities for learning will be greater than ever. “Global connectedness” means we can interact in ways that lead to rapid and positive learning. The road to globalization is not without its bumps, though. While the global culture has great potential beneﬁts, it also can have great costs. People around the world are much more likely to look alike, act alike and sound alike. Today, we likely are as concerned with “cultural extinction” as we are with the extinction of plant and animal species. Three problems in particular could make economic globalization a nightmare: mation can spread faster than any institution’s ability to control it. 2. Almost all of the brilliant, young people developing new technologies believe in the free ﬂow of information, do not like censorship and are not intimidated by government edict. With all of these issues in mind, how can we create a positive global community? We can start with efforts in three key areas: 1. Reach out to humanity. In the global community, it’s easy to reach out, but it’s also easy to become isolated. We need to be inspired by the value in trying to beneﬁt the world, not just ourselves. As opportunities for huge individual achievement and wealth form, we need to bet- About the Author Dr. Marshall Goldsmith is a world authority in helping successful leaders achieve positive, lasting change in behavior. He is the author or co-editor of 22 books, including What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. He can be reached at editor@ talentmgt.com. the future. Long-term value is the result of vision, creativity, innovation and hard work, and we should foster these qualities in people before they enter the workforce. By inspiring people and educating them in the values of celebrating diversity, building long-term value and reaching out to humanity, we can build a global community that is neither a nightmare nor a pipe dream. 58 October 2008 talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com http://www.talentmgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talent Management - October 2008

Talent Management - October 2008 Editor’s Letter Contents Human Performance Leading Edge Foundations The Three Pillars of Executive On-Boarding Role-Based Assessment: Thinking Inside the Box Who's Going to Speak Up for Health Care? Obey the Push to Automate Managing the Star Performer No One Wants to Work With Adopting a Mutual-Funds Model for Talent Management Hewlett-Packard: Simple Talent Management in a Technical World Team Effort Pays in Talent at London Business School The Employee Survey: What’s in It for Me? Why Most Managers Are Stuck Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

Talent Management - October 2008

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