I want to thank whomever is responsible for choosing me as a featured member for this month.
While new to this group, I am not new to the risk management community. For a number of years I was an entrepreneur with several start ups. I based my leap into entrepreneurship on 13 years on the business side of four major newspaper in Des Moines, IA, Chicago Tribune, Charlotte (NC) Observer, and Memphis (TN) Publishing Company. Rising through the corporate ranks to the executive suite at a young age. I was able to participate in the technology leap to digital pre-press production and photography in our building of a new plant in Memphis. Technology advances then was clear to me that print media would continue to lose readership and thus advertisers. It was also clear to me that technology was where the real wealth building power was developing. After creating several start ups in Memphis, with some success, I decided I needed more hands on technology experience on a larger scale and stage.
I earned my credentials and street creds with DynaTech Data Systems, as Midwest Region VP for the multinational data communications manufacturer of data center equipment. I followed that with a similar role with McData, a manufacturer of WAN controls for the IBM SNA. In both instances I was expected to build my team of technicians, project manager and clients.
Then I joined a big multinational, Texas design/build architect and construction firm which specialized in building large, raised floor data centers and network operations centers (NOC) for EDS, Comdisco, Chicago board of Options Exchange, Morton Company, and Paine-Webber, now USB. This activity was a very high dollar and high risk environment. In addition to architecture, engineering and data communications technology, team leaders needed to be able to install, configure and train users to use the new systems. It was then I realized just how fast technology was picking up speed and sizing down more quickly. Because of that, much more user training would be necessary.
Now we are reaching a point of exhausting available knowledge talent. What? You may say! During this long recession, yes it's still with us, organization accelerated the use of automation to replaced repetitive tasks which had previously been accomplished by less educated workers. The results is technology eliminating jobs permanently -- never to return. The growth is in information knowledge use and application.
Our education system has been so neglected and liberalized, the odds are remote that we can expedite the next generations education process without more abuse and cheating is slim and none. According to McKinsey Global Institute global demographics survey, we will be short 38 to 40 million needed college graduates by 2020. This is not "smoke and mirrors" projections. It is only actuarial math.
So my passion is to find alternatives which can be effective in closing the knowledge worker availability gap through a blended workforce solution is building momentum. Available technology and a systems process approach can make possible all worker types around the world to work together in virtual teams. More importantly, the performance metrics from these systems can reduce people (human capital) decision making risks. The end results is moving risk management more to the upside of growth rather than the back side of economic instability.
I welcome any comments on this important issue because it will affect our children and grandchildren as well as the cost of education.
You can find our more at www.competing4thefuture.com or my blog www.sp3mike.com
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