Andrew Grill urges executives to grasp new ways of using technology to commercial advantage - with key tips for surviving the tech wreckage
Corporate boards today are comprised of a number of diverse and talented people with years of experience.
But herein lies the problem – they are experienced in the old way of thinking. They have probably developed and executed plans and strategies based on existing processes and methods. What if we were able to supplement these years of experience with young, talented “eleaders”?
Jack Welsh, at General Electric in the US, has put this in place, with young university graduates being assigned a board member that they can coach or guide through the ecommerce minefield.
Reverse mentoring
This is almost like reverse-mentoring when the wise and
experienced is guided by the young and enthusiastic.
What if we extended this concept and looked at
recruiting one of these mentors – an eleader – onto the
board. Someone who is young, but commercially savvy, has
the skills of a good communicator and could help guide
the board and, ultimately, the company into the online
space.
Perhaps we should call them “edirectors”. Great idea I hear you say – let’s get them involved in some workshops, but we won’t put them on the board. It’s too much of a risk.
And the doubters would be right. These youngsters aren’t experienced in the old way of doing things. We don’t have pre-conceived ideas about the “way it has always been done” and we would probably challenge the status quo.
But what about the positives of such a move? This would mean that someone with the right sort of experience – and by that I mean experience with emerging technologies and new business processes – would be able to impart their knowledge and experience in these new areas and help drive the company into the online world.
They would also provide a fresh look at what is going on. Global recruitment firm Korn Ferry recently surveyed boards in Australia, and came up with the following conclusions: board sizes have decreased from eight to an average of seven members, they have a more diverse range of skills, and more women are being appointed.
Need for an eplan
However, what I noticed was missing from the survey was
an appreciation of the diverse skill sets needed in the
online space and the plan to address this shortfall. No
one surveyed seemed to know what do to address this
urgent need.
If more suitably qualified people – including many of my peers – were to come forward and make themselves available, boards in Australia would be able to supplement their ranks with edirectors and help navigate today’s leaders through their ecommerce minefield.
What I believe is urgently needed by Australia’s education system and business community as a whole is an “eplan” that addresses three key career stages.
Stage 1 of the eplan is what I call the grow-them strategy – addressing school leavers and tertiary students and finding ways to attract them to the industry and get them to study the right subjects up front.
Stage 2 is the keep-them strategy to keep the talents that we have fought so hard to find. This may involve some succession planning – to identify the movers and shakers and ensure you can retain them and get them involved with the company’s strategy.
I speak of these people as “the people who get it” These people are key in your organisation – people you cannot afford to lose.
Stage 3 is the coach-them strategy – to find and engage the eleaders and install them onto our boards. Perhaps over the next few years we will hear more about “eboards” – those boards who can now claim they “get it” and can confidently plan for their ecommerce future.
Tips for survival
In closing, let me offer some recommendations to help
better prepare today’s leaders for electronic commerce.
1. Create a new ecommerce division to focus solely on
ecommerce initiatives;
2. How about providing all staff with internet access at
work and at home;
3. Encourage staff to buy goods over the internet;
4. Subscribe to internet magazines;
5. Initiate study tours to the US;
6. Link bonuses to ebusiness milestones;
7. Draw up a plan to appoint edirectors;
8. Provide targeted ebusiness training; and
9. Source “ementors” for your senior managers and the
board.