The Tectonic Shift: From Tech To Talent
Until recently, technology was viewed as providing such a powerful competitive advantage that it was widely accepted that Technology trumped Talent -- and this view was not incorrect, given the specific market conditions present at that time as well as the competitive firepower, and often stellar results which were powered by tech.
Flash ahead to today.
In today's, fast-paced, hyper-connected Global Business Environment, organization's can no longer reliably create a competitive advantage solely through technology. This does not mean that technology is not important or critical to an organization's success. It is but on the whole, tech is now undifferentiated and simply a requirement -- like a fixed phone line's dial tone or the electricity released with the flick of a light switch -- a requirement or baseline tick box providing next to nothing in terms of competitive or marketplace differentiation let alone in creating a competitive advantage.
Formerly Technology-Driven competitive advantages have given way to Talent-Driven ones, and this shift from Tech to Talent will only continue to accelerate and intensify with the democratization of tech.
This tech democratization is due in large part to the atmospheric rise, and global impact of Open Source Software coupled with Cloud Computing's plethora of ready-made applications, infinite on-demand scaling, and pay as you go business model (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS).
And while availability and accessibility of Software Applications and Ops-Dev services has rocketed skyward, the other half of the equation, the hardware side, has not sat still. During this time, hardware has continued to adhere to Moore's Law, racing forward with new chip designs, new architectures, and ever finer device geometries which have been put into production using advances in material science, and improved device fabrication processes resulting in higher through puts and yields. The end result has been an exponential, if not geometric, increase in processing power, and bandwidth across device types while the cost per unit of technology (packets, bits, MIPS, etc.) has plummeted.
Together, both sides of the tech equation has effectively made technology (hardware, software, applications, and solutions) not just ubiquitous and democratized but fully fungible.
Flash ahead to today.
In today's, fast-paced, hyper-connected Global Business Environment, organization's can no longer reliably create a competitive advantage solely through technology. This does not mean that technology is not important or critical to an organization's success. It is but on the whole, tech is now undifferentiated and simply a requirement -- like a fixed phone line's dial tone or the electricity released with the flick of a light switch -- a requirement or baseline tick box providing next to nothing in terms of competitive or marketplace differentiation let alone in creating a competitive advantage.
Formerly Technology-Driven competitive advantages have given way to Talent-Driven ones, and this shift from Tech to Talent will only continue to accelerate and intensify with the democratization of tech.
This tech democratization is due in large part to the atmospheric rise, and global impact of Open Source Software coupled with Cloud Computing's plethora of ready-made applications, infinite on-demand scaling, and pay as you go business model (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS).
And while availability and accessibility of Software Applications and Ops-Dev services has rocketed skyward, the other half of the equation, the hardware side, has not sat still. During this time, hardware has continued to adhere to Moore's Law, racing forward with new chip designs, new architectures, and ever finer device geometries which have been put into production using advances in material science, and improved device fabrication processes resulting in higher through puts and yields. The end result has been an exponential, if not geometric, increase in processing power, and bandwidth across device types while the cost per unit of technology (packets, bits, MIPS, etc.) has plummeted.
Together, both sides of the tech equation has effectively made technology (hardware, software, applications, and solutions) not just ubiquitous and democratized but fully fungible.
The Shift Accelerates & Intensifies
As the shift from a Tech-Driven to Talent-Driven organization continues to accelerate and intensify through the democratization of technology, it is further propelled by the 21st Century Global Business Environment which has been marked by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
So how exactly does a Talent-Driven Organization go about creating a competitive advantage and what does it accrue from? Simply stated:
A Talent-Driven Organization's competitive advantage is created, strengthened, diluted or destroyed through the aggregate efforts of its employees. both internal-facing and external-facing, across all functions, and touch points over a period of time.
For this reason, even the most common or seemingly small or insignificant interactions, conversations, negotiations, decisions or delays will eventually coalesce and converge, resulting in an organizational impact which is either positive or negative.
More specific examples include:
Talent trumps Tech, and provides a Talent-Driven competitive advantage only when talent has been strategically aligned and interwoven with a Core Technology Stack, Core Business Practices/Processes and the Company's Culture.
It should not come as a surprise, that just as technology must be properly architected, implemented, and aligned to be effective so it is with talent -- only more so as tech cannot simply walk away, disengage or not show up. But talent not only can and does - it does so with great frequency and with great ramifications.
Therefore, the most important activity affecting and impacting the organization's talent-based competitive advantage is how current, and future talent is acquired, developed, engaged, aligned, deployed, and retained.
So how exactly does a Talent-Driven Organization go about creating a competitive advantage and what does it accrue from? Simply stated:
A Talent-Driven Organization's competitive advantage is created, strengthened, diluted or destroyed through the aggregate efforts of its employees. both internal-facing and external-facing, across all functions, and touch points over a period of time.
For this reason, even the most common or seemingly small or insignificant interactions, conversations, negotiations, decisions or delays will eventually coalesce and converge, resulting in an organizational impact which is either positive or negative.
More specific examples include:
- How processes, practices, and systems are created, selected, integrated, and deployed.
- How customer and employee conversations, and collaborations are opened, navigated, and closed.
- How negotiations with vendors, and stakeholders are opened and resolved.
- How ecosystem partners, and stakeholders (internal and external) are influenced and persuaded.
Talent trumps Tech, and provides a Talent-Driven competitive advantage only when talent has been strategically aligned and interwoven with a Core Technology Stack, Core Business Practices/Processes and the Company's Culture.
It should not come as a surprise, that just as technology must be properly architected, implemented, and aligned to be effective so it is with talent -- only more so as tech cannot simply walk away, disengage or not show up. But talent not only can and does - it does so with great frequency and with great ramifications.
Therefore, the most important activity affecting and impacting the organization's talent-based competitive advantage is how current, and future talent is acquired, developed, engaged, aligned, deployed, and retained.
