Thriving in the 21st century economy transformational skills for technical professionals

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Thriving in the 21st century economy transformational skills for technical professionals

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The Technical Manager's Survival Guides THRIVING IN THE 21ST CENTURY ECONOMY Transformational Skills for Technical Professionals Dr K (Subbu) Subramanian President, STIMS Institute Inc Lexington, MA, USA Professor U Srinivasa Rangan Luksic Chair Professor of Strategy and Global Studies Babson College, Wellesley, MA, USA © 2013, ASME, Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA (www.asme.org) All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS WORK HAS BEEN OBTAINED BY THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS FROM SOURCES BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE HOWEVER, NEITHER ASME NOR ITS AUTHORS OR EDITORS GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY INFORMATION PUBLISHED IN THIS WORK NEITHER ASME NOR ITS AUTHORS AND EDITORS SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION THE WORK IS PUBLISHED WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT ASME AND ITS AUTHORS AND EDITORS ARE SUPPLYING INFORMATION BUT ARE NOT ATTEMPTING TO RENDER ENGINEERING OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES IF SUCH ENGINEERING OR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ARE REQUIRED, THE ASSISTANCE OF AN APPROPRIATE PROFESSIONAL SHOULD BE SOUGHT ASME shall not be responsible for statements or opinions advanced in papers or printed in its publications (B7.1.3) Statement from the Bylaws For authorization to photocopy material for internal or personal use under those circumstances not falling within the fair use provisions of the Copyright Act, contact the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923; tel: 978-750-8400; www.copyright.com Requests for special permission or bulk reproduction should be addressed to the ASME Publishing Department, or submitted online at: http://www.asme.org/kb/journals/administration/permissions Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Subramanian, K (Krishnamoorthy), 1949Thriving in the 21st century : transformational skills for technical professionals / Dr K (Subbu) Subramanian, president, STIMS Institute Inc., Lexington, MA, USA, prof U Srinivasa Rangan, Luksic Chair professor of strategy and global studies, Babson College, Wellesley, MA, USA pages cm Includes bibliographical references ISBN 978-0-7918-6016-8 Engineering Vocational guidance Technical education Business and education I Rangan, U Srinivasa II Title TA157.S8484 2013 620.0023 dc23 2012051159 iv v vii ix Series Page Foreword Acknowledgements Biographic Sketch Introduction Workplace Transformation: The Impact of Globalization and Business Model Revolution A New Economic Order: From Binary Company to Binary Economy 25 Transformational Skills: The Tools Necessary for Sustainable Jobs and Careers 57 Common Language and Core Capabilities: Skills to Identify and Foster New Solutions 75 Knowledge Integration: Skills to Develop New Solutions By Integrating Knowledge From All Available Resources 117 Achieving the Maximum Impact Across the Globe: Transformational Skills to Exploit New Solutions 159 Conclusion: Where Do We Go From Here? iii 183 Series Page Series Editor Marcus Goncalves Other titles in the series: Vol Team Building, by Marcus Goncalves (2006) Vol Managing Systems Development 101, by James T Karam (2007) Vol Change Management Concepts and Practices, by Marcus Goncalves (2007) Vol Conflict Resolution Concepts and Practice, by Marcus Goncalves (2008) Vol Global Management Strategies: Sales, Design, Manufacturing & Operations, by Marcus Goncalves and Brian E Porter (2008) Vol International Project Management for Technical Professionals (2009) Brian E Porter Vol Natural Negotiation for Engineers and Technical Professionals, by James S Jetton, Contributing Author Brian E Porter (2010) Vol Fundamentals of Agile Project Management An Overview, by Marcus Goncalves and Raj Heda (2010) Vol The Knowledge Tornado: Bridging the Corporate Knowledge Gap, Second Edition, by Marcus Goncalves (2012) iv Foreword Engineers were asked the following question in a recent survey: “How much of a role you think the government, industry, universities, and professional societies should play in the development of a national lifelong learning infrastructure?” The results of the survey, reported in the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) publication titled Lifelong Learning Imperative in Engineering: Sustaining American Competitiveness in the 21st Century, show that four out of five engineers expect businesses (industries) to play an important or leading role in developing the national lifelong learning infrastructure In other words, most engineers seem to believe that employers have or should have a responsibility to ensure continuous education for their engineers Is this realistic in the 21st century, which is likely to be characterized by rapid technological evolution, growing importance of entrepreneurial business models, and the continuing trend of globalization? In this book, the authors point to an alternative approach for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals They believe that self-help is the best help and thus technical professionals should take ownership of their future in a strategic way, just as businesses and corporations rely on a strategic approach for their long-term survival and success In the same report cited above, it was also noted that, “An overwhelming majority (three out of four) felt that universities and professional societies also have a significant role to play.” Therefore, it is appropriate that ASME Press, one of the leading professional societies for engineers, has chosen to publish this work This book is a compilation of the observations of two professionals who have a similar starting point, but have taken different paths in their professional journey for the past three decades After obtaining his Sc.D from MIT, Dr Subramanian has pursued a career in industry He has worked with many firms, big and small, from steelmaking to high technology He has also mentored scores of technical professionals from around the world Professor Rangan got his doctorate from Harvard Business School, and then pursued an academic career, teaching strategy and global business Strategic Alliances: An Entrepreneurial Approach to Globalization, a book Prof Rangan co-authored, has been named a classic by getAbstract.com, an executive book service based in Europe v Both these professionals are passionate about looking at the world from the point of view of “what it can be?” rather than “what it has been?” In this book, they have compiled their observations and advice for the future of technical professionals worldwide vi Acknowledgements K (Subbu) Subramanian would like to acknowledge the support from and collaboration with scores of technical professionals from different industries and across the globe during his professional career Many of them are lifelong friends Several of them were fellow professionals at Saint-Gobain during Subramanian’s long career in the company The achievements as well as struggles of all these technical professionals motivated Subramanian’s work on this book He would also like to acknowledge the colleagues and friends who gave their time and patience when many of the ideas in this book were debated and put to test The list is long but a few are mentioned here: Shyam Samantha, Patrick Redington, David Graham, Ed Lambert, S Ramanath, Alain Zanoli, Mason Zhang, Rama Vedantham, Marcello Sasaki, Prof Galip Ulsoy, Prof Ramesh Babu, Prof Joao Fernando, N.K Dhand, Prof Kevin Rong, Jinsheng Wang, Bruce Kramer, Pattabhi Raman, Prof Kasturi Rangan, Said Jahanmir, Luke Glinski, Marc Tricard, Mike White, Mike Cromer, Stan Huffman, John Indge, Thomas Ardelt, Aldric Barbier, Jim Spohrer, Tim Finn, Doug Pietrick, Dave Dodd, Doug Wakefileld, Eswar Katarinagaraj, Charu Joshi and many others Subramanian would also like to acknowledge the younger generation, which includes his son Ganesh Subramanian and many of his friends and his fellow students Many conversations or debates with them extensively on the nature of education and its relation to workplace needs provided new perspectives and shaped the thoughts and guidelines expressed in this book Special thanks to his wife Durga Subramanian, who is also a technical professional She has also been working in the industry for the past three decades Countless kitchen table conversations and debates with her over the years helped Subramanian to recognize the common evolving need for the Transformational Skills for all technical professionals These skills are outlined in this book Finally the collaboration with Srini has been special Lengthy discussions and systematic exchange of views and the long meetings at Starbucks at Wellesley, MA among the authors will be in Subramanian’s cherished memory for a long time! U Srinivasa Rangan would like to acknowledge the support of Babson College while he worked on this book In particular, he is most appreciative of the support and encouragement received over the years from Len Schlesinger, college president; Shahid Ansari, provost; Deans Carolyn Hotchkiss and Dennis Hanno; Management Division chairs Bill Nemitz, Ashok Rao, James Hunt, Keith Rollag, and Nan Langowitz; and his colleagues, especially Stephen Allen, vii Allan Cohen, Sam Hariharan, and Peter Cohan He is also grateful to Andronico Luksic, who funded his endowed chair professorship, which allowed Professor Rangan to devote time to this book He also conveys his special thanks for all the support and help from his wife, Sudha, while he was working on this book The authors acknowledge Shekhar Chandrashekhar of ASME for seeding the idea for the publication of this book They gratefully acknowledge the patience and sustained motivation from Mary Grace Stefanchik and the support from Tara Smith, both from ASME, during the preparation of this book They would also like to thank Farah Ameen for her help with editing the manuscript and thus making the book reader-friendly! This book is dedicated to all technical professionals It is their output that enables the capabilities, comforts, and conveniences enjoyed in our industrial society The success of technical professionals, especially those in their midcareers, as they face the challenges of the Binary Economy is the goal of this publication viii Biographic Sketch K (Subbu) Subramanian is the President of STIMS Institute Inc., a Knowledge Integration company Subramanian has worked for more than 34 years in various positions in the industrial sector While serving at Saint- Gobain, he conceived and implemented a network of Technology Centers in the U.S., Germany, China, and India, as well as other facilities across the globe These Applications Technology Centers foster the Core Technology for surface generation processes used in a variety of industries, ranging from Semiconductors, Steelmaking, Automotive, Aerospace, Precision Engineered Components, Bio-medical Components, Ceramics, Optics, LED Lighting, PV, etc These centers promote innovation and Knowledge Integration through R&D and technology-based alliances with worldwide customers, suppliers, universities, and all other sources of knowledge These alliances have been used for new product development, technology-driven market development, as well as education and mentoring of technical professionals Subramanian has published extensively on technical and management-related topics He holds several patents, many of which have been commercialized He has presented talks worldwide on various topics, including Surface Engineering, Innovation, Technology-Driven Market Development, and Career Development Strategies for professionals in the Global Economy Subramanian has published a book titled The System Approach—A Strategy to Survive and Succeed in the Global Economy, Hanser Gardner, 2000 Subramanian obtained his B.S (M.E.) degree from Osmania University, India, and Doctor of Science degree (M.E.) from MIT, USA He worked at Ford Motor Company and International Harvester Company, prior to joining Norton Company, which is now part of Saint-Gobain He founded his company, STIMS Institute Inc., (WWW.STIMSInstitute.com) to develop and implement new business models based on Knowledge Integration, Science-Based Industrial Process Solutions, Education and Mentoring of Technical Professionals, as well as to build alliances with technical, academic, and business professionals worldwide Subramanian is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) His views on life and living can be read at his blog site: WWW.Sipractce.com ix “According to the National Science Board’s authoritative publication Science and Engineering Indicators 2008, the country turns out three times as many STEM degrees as the economy can absorb into jobs related to their majors So what’s going on? Simply put, a desire for cheap, skilled labor, within the business world and academia, has fueled assertions—based on flimsy and distorted evidence—that American students lack the interest and ability to pursue careers in science and engineering, and has spurred policies that have flooded the market with foreign STEM workers This has created a grim reality for the scientific and technical labor force: glutted job markets; few career jobs; low pay, long hours, and dismal job prospects for postdoctoral researchers in university labs; near indentured servitude for holders of temporary work visas.”(2) Finding cheap skilled labor has been the goal of businessmen ever since the beginning of the industrial revolution When the skills expand and the labor costs for such skills increase, employers migrate their business or operation to lower-labor-cost regions Thus, the highly skilled industrial labor from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut (the Northeast states) made room for the low-wage, low-skilled labor from the Midwest and later the Southern states This migration has now continued offshore There has also been a parallel flow of skilled labor through immigration The new wave of immigrants has always been one of the sources of skilled labor in the U.S Each batch of skilled labor has been better educated than the one before it This will continue to be the case as long as the U.S is seen as the land of immigrants and a land of opportunity The lack of suitable jobs for locally educated technical professionals is not solely due to the flooding of the labor pool by immigrant professionals Instead, the adverse conditions of high cost of education, undue burden of student loans, and poor guidance for students to become better qualified through employable skills are among the factors In this book, we have described in detail the need for Transformational Skills, which are at the core of competitiveness for all technical professionals We can discuss in detail the many factors that are impediments to employment of technical professionals We can also discuss the reasons why these impediments make STEM education less attractive for the student body But it is better to recognize the larger picture first, i.e., the impact of the Binary Economy and resultant issues We suggest this as the only prudent course for technical professionals The Transformational Skills outlined in this book, which are a blend of technical skills, system thinking, and strategic options, are suggested as a way forward for all technical professionals Out of a population of more than seven billion worldwide, only a small fraction enjoys the fruits of 186 developments in the industrial economy today Thanks to globalization, the availability of these benefits to larger populations is increasing at a rapid rate This requires an ever-increasing range of efforts to replicate or reproduce more of the PT-intensive solutions—Product, Process, and Use—already perfected and used in the advanced industrial economies There is a greater need for larger quantities of automobiles, planes, furniture, clothing, housing, power tools, energy and its distribution, etc The twin forces of globalization—DT and Global Capitalism—are fueling Replication Solutions for this ever-expanding demand for growth in developing nations This growing global demand is certainly a large area of opportunity for technical professionals worldwide For technical professionals in the emerging nations, this may be more of an opportunity in their home base Those in the developing nations have to strive harder to align with such opportunities, even though they may exist in countries and regions outside of their home base They will require the Transformation Skills outlined here to seek out such opportunities Developing a common language, system thinking, knowledge integration, use of portable diagnostic tools, etc are some of the skills applicable in these cases There is a parallel effort to produce and supply manufactured goods (the outputs of Replication Solutions) to consumers in the developed nations But to retain a competitive advantage, industrial organizations, particularly in the developed nations, such as the companies and manufacturers in the U.S., have to constantly improve their cost, quality, and productivity This is accomplished in two ways:   Decrease cost through de-skilling of the work content (through automation of all possible activities pertaining to information processing and logistics) De-localize all the resources used: technical and non-technical work force, raw materials, and semi-finished goods through outsourcing and offshoring Technical professionals have to be extremely selective and targeted to align their skills with the above efforts To this end, some of the Transformational Skills discussed in this book are very useful Building alliances across industries through Core Technology platforms and emphasis on End-to-End Innovation are a few examples of the skills needed in these areas of opportunity In turn, these lead to New Solutions for better and more effective exploitation of the cost reduction and automation opportunities 187 Merely participating in Replication Solutions to reduce cost—standardize and de-skill what is already at work—results in diminishing value for the larger cross section of STEM workers If large companies and organizations tend to emphasize Replication Solutions, then technical professionals may need to pursue more nascent and incubatory opportunities in smaller companies and entrepreneurial projects rather than seek the safety and illusory stability of the large organizations As we have pointed out earlier, such nascent opportunities are being incubated even in large companies through outsourced innovation, so technical professionals need to keep an eye out for these opportunities The skills and creativity of technical professionals will always be much more in demand to foster New Solutions, such as a five-wheel car or three-winged plane, space business, etc., than to incrementally improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of known solutions for widgets! We believe that identifying and fostering such New Solutions, from idea generation all the way to identifiable impact, have to become an essential and inherent element of education for technical professionals Some political leaders have made calls for approaches to employ larger segments of the population, including those without much academic education Manufacturing is considered a sector of activity that can employ a large number of unskilled workers This may no longer be the case in the Binary Economy Even the “manufacturing” jobs of the future will need professionals who have the essential Transformational Skills It is possible to educate those with Transformational Skills on the technical aspects of an industry or sector of activity The converse, i.e., success through access to jobs and on-the-job technical training alone, may not be sufficient To create more well-paying jobs, the U.S will need to foster New Solutions in increasingly large numbers Many of these have to be replicated (manufactured) to create a larger pool of employment However, for such “advanced manufacturing” to be competitive, there will a need for high levels of flexible automation, where the direct labor cost is reduced dramatically In the end, the economics of higher-volume production has to become independent of the labor cost! This is possible through flexible automation and DT-driven information automation At the same time, once developed, a New Solution (including flexible automation) will be more economical for countries with a larger population and lower standard of living (low-wage cost) Ultimately, this does not bode well for long-term high levels of employment of workers (including those with STEM education) in developed nations such as the U.S., Western Europe, or Japan Thus national policies to foster a high employment rate may have to go beyond the manufacturing sector and the jobs it can create The future of the industrial sector may not be much different from that of the 188 agricultural sector Both of them will be essential ingredients of the U.S economy, but with a significantly smaller employment base In order to create a larger number of opportunities for STEM professionals, there should be a drive for New Solutions irrespective of the industrial sector Countries have to make the creation of opportunities to exploit the skills of these professionals a part of their national economic and labor policies This will help revitalize opportunities for knowledge workers with STEM education and, in turn, revitalize the middle class, which is the foundation of the economic vitality of any nation In our view, under the Binary Economy, all STEM-educated workers across the globe will find it difficult to get suitable jobs/careers if their education is limited to academics Instead, they need to seek out formal education along the lines of the Transformational Skills outlined in this book In addition, their education must enable them to apply their academic and Transformational Skills to specific sectors, domains, or industries These three parts of the education (academic, transformational, and industry/sector specific) must be integrated and tailored throughout the schooling process, i.e., from community colleges to all levels of higher education and continuing/professional education This leaves an important question: What are the industries/sectors that can benefit from these three building blocks of education? There is no simple answer There are already demands for constant streams of New Solutions from every well-established industry or business sector; this is congruent with the needs of technical professionals Generally they exist or evolve around common Core Technology platforms Technical professionals who are already employed and in leadership roles can initiate efforts to exploit such Core Technology– driven New Solutions across the companies and academic institutions relevant to them Earlier in this book, this process was described as ecosystem development based on a common Core Technology platform The tendency will always be to state that “it is beyond my reach” or “it is the job of the leadership.” We urge all technical professionals to get out of this self-fulfilling prophecy They need to stop looking for leadership elsewhere Instead, they have to start with a new paradigm: “The buck stops here.” The Transformational Skills we have outlined are enablers for technical professionals’ transition to a proactive role We also need a national policy that is relentlessly focused on new pathways to a range of New Solutions dominant in their technical content, as well as professional solutions based on physical sciences Thus, while there should be a relentless effort to find new sources of fossil fuel supplies, there must be a parallel effort to develop alternative energy sources Energy efficiency and thus less energy consumption and emission of pollutants may not only be prudent 189 from an ecological point of view, but will also be needed to create new demands for the skills of technical professionals Space and deep-sea exploration are avenues to foster New Solutions that demand the higher skill levels of technical professionals Health care solutions, as well as New Solutions for safety, security, and comfort are also similar pathways But all of these roads to New Solutions are not likely to become real and commercial purely based on market conditions and commercial demand in the near term Investors will always prefer a status quo as they attempt to drain the sap out of old and established trees and pathways The opportunity for this is limitless, at least in the foreseeable future, as long as low-cost resources for Replication Solutions are available across the globe In this scenario, creation of new pathways and opportunities for technically skilled professionals may not see the light of day unless they are fostered through wise and reasoned national policies These national policies need to foster a better economy and better ecology, as well as create greater opportunities for technically skilled professional workers Such policies need not be the home base of either political party, but they must not become the political football in the contest between two parties These types of games will not serve the larger population or the longterm employment opportunities for technical professionals in the U.S Caught in this political football are the technical professionals and their careers Irrational exuberance for cost reduction (enabled through DT applications) has resulted in the sacrifice of demand for these professionals (with their education limited to academic skills) in the last four decades They are the faceless middle class, the disappearing middle of the U.S population The relentless focus on shareholder value enabled by Global Capitalism has led to many of the technical professionals delocalizing their plants, processes, and research centers In the end, the very same workers have been left holding the bag as their jobs were right-sized, downsized, and ultimately eliminated! But our suggestion to the technical professional is not to wallow in self-pity Instead, each technical professional, armed with his/her academic and industry specific knowledge, can become further empowered for change, rigorously deploying the Transformational Skills outlined in this book While the investor’s preference will always be to take the less risky path to exploit known solutions, technical professionals can provide the means to reduce such perceived risk of New Solutions The relentless focus on the science behind New Solutions and their exploitation through diagnostics and data-driven approaches are the means to validate new ideas and thereby reduce perceived 190 risk We have discussed these as aspects of the Transformational Skills earlier in the book The Transformational Skills described in this book are largely results oriented It is not a call for more of the same education Of course there is a serious debate on the nature of education itself In a Time magazine essay titled, “Failure Is Not a Bad Option Resilience Helps Kids More Than High SATs Do,” it was noted that “A good GPA, even from a lousy high school, is far better predictor of whether a student will finish college than a high SAT score.”(3) In this article, it was also noted that, “rather than focus so much on cognitive skills, some heretics suggest, a little more grit is what kids really need.” In our view these arguments allude to a specific need but not address the root cause Resilience and perseverance against odds are always the hallmarks of a successful person But these arguments are examples of task-oriented thinking They lack a system thinking, which we have described as one of the Transformational Skills! It is an undeniable axiom of globalization that anyone in any job or profession has to be better than anyone else who can the same job from a pool of workers across the globe Conversely, those who can a job in a similar manner to others around the globe will be rewarded for their effort at the lowest value at which the work can be procured from anyone else across the globe! Every worker will fall into one of these two extremes Anyone in the middle will be ultimately swept to the low-labor-cost pool While there will be a natural tendency to be swept into the lower-wage pool, it will require a special effort to swim against the current to be associated with the limited few in the high-wage, high-reward pool Swim against the stream and reach a high place (of New Solutions with identifiable impact) or be swept away into the global pool of low-cost resources (needed for Replication Solutions) is the true paradigm of globalization There is little or no opportunity for treading water in this paradigm This constant struggle to swim upstream and against the current is what is perceived as the volatility and uncertainty in the workplace Suggestions such as higher education, higher SAT scores, and more grit and perseverance are all means to the same end But as we have detailed in this book, all of these have to be formatted toward identification, development, and exploitation of New Solutions using Transformational Skills as the means to this end Author Seth Godin makes a powerful argument for all workers to become “linchpins.”(4) First, he describes the sad state of affairs of most professionals as follows: “We are surrounded by Bureaucrats, Note Takers, Literalists, Manual Readers, TGIF laborers, Map Followers and fearful employees, who are in pain They are in pain because they are overlooked, underpaid, laid off and stressed out.” Then he goes on to argue that every worker has to become a 191 linchpin, which he describes as: “A linchpin is an unassuming piece of hardware, something you can buy for sixty nine cents at the local hardware store It is not glamorous, but it is essential It holds the wheel on to the wagon….Every successful organization has at least one linchpin; some have dozens or even thousands The linchpin is an essential element, the person who holds parts of the operation together Without the linchpin the thing falls apart.”   “Your business needs linchpins It is scary to rely on a particular employee, but in a post-industrial economy, you have no choice You are capable of becoming a linchpin And if you do, you will discover that it is worth the effort.” In essence he argues for a transformation in the way we work, where value addition becomes the primary and only goal All other efforts are intended to be the means to this singular goal This he describes as: “The more value you create in your job, the fewer clock minutes of labor you actually spend creating that value In other words, most of the time, you are not brilliant.” The challenge is to increase the number of moments when you are brilliant and use all other available time to make sure that such brilliance is realized through New Solutions of value to someone else This realization of value through your New Solutions needs to become the goal of every technical professional, through the relentless pursuit and practice of Transformational Skills “It might take a lot tinkering or low level work or domain knowledge for that brilliance to be evoked….”(4) In Chapter 6, we explained how this painstaking approach can be formalized through a series of steps based on scientific fundamentals and data-driven approaches to problem solving (Figure 6.5) Yet, despite the best efforts for such progression, the work climate may not be conducive to the same “This is more difficult if you have a job where your employer does not expect you to create much value…the boss believes that it is merely a slog,” states Godin Also, the job could be highly standardized and structured, like moving bricks “But if you have no choice but to move bricks, your opportunity is to think hard about how you even this mundane task, because almost any job can be transformed….” states Godin While we agree with the model of “linchpin,” i.e., becoming indispensable to any organization, there are serious structural and economic impediments at work Globalization and the Binary Economy are like the irresistible forces at play One cannot merely be an immovable object—like a linchpin—against such irresistible forces Instead, one needs to learn why such forces exist in the first place and how their needs can be met in a logical and thoughtful manner The 192 Transformational Skills we have described in this book are an effort to provide logic and framework, such that each professional can further refine and adapt them to his/her specific discipline of academic excellence in conjunction with his/her area of activity 193 References “Report: The Low-Wage Recovery and Growing Inequality—Two Years Into the Recovery, America’s Good Jobs Deficit Continues,” National Employment Law Project, August 31, 2012, http://nelp.3cdn.net/c54d93acdb96420855_03m6i2dq6.pdf “What Scientist Shortage?” Beryl Lieff Benderly, Columbia Journalism Review, January/February 2012, http://www.cjr.org/reports/what_scientist_shortage.php?page=all “Education: Failure Is Not a Bad Option,” Belinda Luscombe, Time Magazine, September 10, 2012, p 57 Linchpin: Are You indispensable? Seth Godin (2011), Portfolio Trade Publisher 194 Index A ABB, 135 Amazon.com, 19, 20 Amco, 135 Apple, 11–12, 20 Applications technology (AT), 84–88 inter-industry alliances and, 86 role of, 84–85 Arthur, Brian, 47 B Bezos, Jeff, 19 Binary Company emergence of, 25–36 Binary Economy challenges, 46–53 concept of, 3–4 definition, 41 emergence of, 36–42 impact of, 42–43 innovation and, 44–46 global knowledge integration, 151–152 modes of, 183 New Solutions, 29, 31, 34–35, 40, 41, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51–52 overview, 25 price vs volume relationship, 44–45 questions raised by, 53–54 Replication Solutions, 29, 32, 33, 34, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 skills required for workers, 47 two modes of, distinguishing features of, 51, 117 winners in, 47–48 Bing, 14 Blue-collar workers, 14, 15, 46 “Brick and mortar industries,” 42 Business units (BUs), 30, 32 C Co-creation, of value, Common language, development of, 70, 75–91 domain/sector specific knowledge, 92–93 3-D view of core capabilities and, 104–114 manufacturing, 90–91 process, 82–83, 88 product, 81–82, 88 quality, 89–90 technology, 97–104 use/application, 83–84, 88–89 Communication described, 75–76 Conformance, 163 vs creativity, 163–164 Constraints, as system inputs, 121–122 “Conversion of fixed costs into variable costs,” 18 Core capabilities, 5, 147–149 arrangement of, aspects, 146 of company, 108–109 described, 105 3-D view of, 5, 70, 104–114 experience, 105, 106 knowledge, 105–106 opportunities for collaboration based on, 112 people skills, 105, 107–108 transformation engines, 113 Core competency described, 105 Core Technology, 6, 31, 53, 68 ability to build ecosystem based on, 71 integration of, 149–155 platforms, 187, 189 Corporate Strategy, 16 Cross-border dependencies, 10 “Creative workers,” 160 Creativity, 163 vs conformance, 163–164 “Critical thinking,” 26 195 Culture, background, and bias Transformational Skills development and, 78 Customers’ preferences/demand, convergence of, 10 D Developed economy reward for jobs in, 37–38, 39 vs emerging economies, comparison of salaries in, 38 Diagnostic tools/methods, use of, 71, 136–149 Digitization, 104 described, 13–14 global dispersal of value activities and, 14–18 impact of, 13 new business models and, 18–20 second economy, 47 Domain/sector specific knowledge, 92–93 Drucker, Peter, 149 DT, 187 E Ehrenreich, Barbara, 161 EINS (through innovation and entrepreneurship), 185 Einstein, Albert, 75 Emerging economy reward for jobs in, 37–38, 39 vs developed economies, comparison of salaries in, 38 Emotional Intelligence for New Solutions (EINS), 7, 71–72, 159, 173–181 End-to-End Innovation, 7, 71, 160–173 defined, 164–165 example, 167–168 outcomes in Binary Economy, 173 practical aspects, 165–166 stage gate process, 169–170 End-to-End Innovation, 187 Energy efficiency, 189–190 Engineering, defined, 98 Entrepreneurship types of, 18–20 Environmental barriers to Transformational Skills development, 79 Exide, 135 Expedia, 20 Expenses, as system inputs, 121 Experience, 105, 106 Exploration vs exploitation, concept of, 49–50 External suppliers, use of, 11 Exxon Mobil, 12, 20 F Facebook, 20 Factory Worker, 58–59 sources of income, 26 Field, Alexander J., 48 Florida, Richard, 160 Ford Motor Co., 30–31 G Gandhi, Mahatma, 173 GE, 20 General Motors, 20 Global Capitalism, 57, 104, 187, 190 Globalization competition and strategies for profit maximization, 10–11 digitization and See Digitization evolution of, 10–11 external suppliers, use of, 11 impact of, value chain, spread of, 11–12 Globalization and Its Discontent, 49 Global Perspective Program (GPP), 68 Godin, Seth, 66–67 Goldman Sachs, 12 Google, 12, 14, 20, 77 H Hamel, Gary, 105 I IBM, 52, 120 Income sources of, 26 Infineon, 12 196 reliance on portable diagnostic tools, 136–149 System Approach, 117–133 Information Processing, 4, 15–16, 26, 58, 59–60, 106 Innovation, 77, 118, 164 See also End-toEnd Innovation Binary Economy and, 44–46 components of, 170 leadership and, 178–179 modes for, 45 outcomes in Binary Economy, 173 phases of, 165 price vs volume relationship, 44–45 sawtooth model, 44–45 stage gate process, 169–170 Input/transformation/output system, 5, 61, 68, 72, 82, 83, 113, 118, 119, 126, 138, 145–146 Instagram, 20 Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP), 68 “Internet era,” 160 Investments, as system inputs, 121 iPhone, 11–12 L Labor, division of, 11–12 steps, 16 Lafley, A.G., 51 Landscape, Lao Tzu, 104 Leadership styles of, emotional intelligence and, 178–179 Leaning skills, 43 Legacy Solution vs New Solution, 177 Leucippus, 117 Levitt, Ted, 10 Linchpin, Are You Indispensable?, 66–67 LinkedIn, 20 Logistic processes, 82 Logistics management, 94 activities, 94 J Jahanmir, Said, Dr., 110 Job(s) defined, 144 input/transformation/output system, 145–146 number of, reward vs., 36–37 security, 145 Jordan, Michael, 160 K Katz, Jonathan I., 77 Kennedy, John F., 48 Knowledge domain/sector specific, 92–93 Knowledge, sources of, 4, 63–68, 105–106 building-block approach, 66, 67–68 Taylorism, 64–65 20th century paradigm, 63–65 Knowledge integration, Core Technology integration, 149–155 emphasis on science, 133–136 global, in Binary Economy, 151–152 human-centered, 149–150 overview, 117 M Malone, Thomas W., 136 Management, defined, 99 Management information systems (MIS), 83 Manufacturing, 90–91 Microsoft, 20 MiTiHeart Corporation, 109–110 Mohawk Innovative Technology, Inc (MiTi), 109–110 N Needs, as system inputs, 121 New business models impacts of, 13, 18–20 New Solutions, 2, 3, 5, 7, 49–50, 65 in Binary Economy, 29, 31, 34–35, 40, 41, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51–52 “co-existence,” with Replication Solutions, 175 defined, 61–62 demand for, 62 EINS, 71–72, 159, 173–181 model for advanced, in 21st century, 92 197 Transformational Skills for See Transformational Skills transformation and, 63 vs Legacy Solution, 177 NFL draft system, 185 Nickel and Dimed-On (Not) Getting By in America, 161 Noise Transformational Skills development and, 78 Non-physical processes, Non-tradable sectors, 46–47 Norton Co., 30 Professional Effectiveness, 27–28 defined, 27 vs early 20th century employment, 28–29 vs end of 20th century employment, 32–33 vs late 20th century employment, 30–32 vs 21st century employment, 33–36 Professional growth, 145 Professional Solutions, 4, 16, 26, 58, 59, 60–61 Professional Worker, 58, 59, 60–61 sources of income, 26–27 O Office Worker, 58 sources of income, 26 Operational dependence, 10–11 Organizational structures See also Traditional industrial organizations two modes of, 14–18 Outsourcing, 20 defined, 11 Q Quality, 89–90 P People skills, 105, 107–108 Perception, issues of Transformational Skills development and, 79, 80 P&G, 30, 34, 51–52 Physical Labor, 4, 15, 19, 25–26, 28, 58–59 Physical processes, 4, 5, 82, 101–103 outcomes of, 101–102 vs service processes, 83 Physical Technology (PT) domain/sector specific knowledge based on, 92–93 Poincaré, Jules Henri, 133 Prahalad, C.K., 105 price vs volume relationship, 44–45 Principles of Scientific Management, 64 Printing press, invention of, 13 Process, 82–83, 88 Product, 81–82, 88 Professional, defined, 36, 61 R Raman, Aroon, 135–136 Rane, 135 Reich, Robert, 21 Replication Solutions, 2, 3, 7, 49, 50, 61 in Binary Economy, 29, 32, 33, 34, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 “co-existence” of New Solutions With, 175 end of 20th century model for, 91 Return on investment (ROI), 143, 144 Returns on net assets (RONA), 144 Reward(s) in developed and emerging economies for similar jobs, 37–38, 39 vs number of jobs, 36–37 Rheingold, Howard, 160 The Rise of the Creative Class and How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life, 160 S Saint-Gobain Abrasives, 129 Salaries comparison in U.S and China, 38 Samsung, 12 Scale, economies of, 10 Science defined, 98, 133–134 emphasis on, 71, 133–136 198 knowledge integration and, 133–136 purpose of, 98 Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals, 2, bimodal distribution of jobs, 9, 12 Scope/knowledge interdependence, 11 Second economy, 47 Self-empowerment, 159 See also Transformational Skills Service processes, 82, 101–103 vs physical processes, 83 “Service workers,” 160 Sinek, Simon, 141 Skills sets of, 26–27 Smith, Adam, 18 Solution defined, 61–62, 101 demand for, 62 Spence, Michael, 46 Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, 141 STEM education, 183–184, 186 STEM professionals, 183–184 Stiglitz, Joseph E., 49 Stock-keeping units (SKUs), 17 Strategic business unit (SBU), 32 Stress Transformational Skills development and, 79 Supply chain, 11 defined, 93 vs value chain, 93–97 Supply chain management, 93–94 System Approach, 5–6, 69, 71, 117–133, 174 advantages, 132–133 alignment of core capabilities at each level, 120–121 highlights of, 126–127 implementation of, 127–131 to industrial processes, 143 inputs, categories of, 121–123 constraints, 121–122 expenses, 121 investments, 121 needs, 121 outputs as benefits, 124 as stakeholder benefits, 124 system, 123–125 technical, 123 The System Approach-A Strategy to survive and succeed in the Global Economy, 118 System outputs, 123–125 benefits, 124 as stakeholder benefits, 124 vs technical outputs, 124 System skills, levels of, 142 T Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 64 Taylorism, 64–65 Technical outputs, 123 vs system output, 124 Technical professionals categories of work, 40 traditional approach to success, 63–64 Technology, 97–104 meaning of, 77–78, 97 value chain, 95–97 20th century employment knowledge, sources of, 63–65 opportunities and challenges, 30–32 professional effectiveness vs., 28–33 21st century employment Professional Effectiveness vs., 33–36 3M Co., 30 Tradable sectors, 46–47 Traditional industrial organizations breakdown of work content, 14–16 digitization, impacts of, 15–18 Transformation component of, 63 described, 63 System Approach, 5–6, 69, 117–133 Transformational Skills, 4, 5, 47, 57–72 ability to build ecosystem based on identified Core Technology platforms, 71 barriers, 78–80 culture, background, and bias, 78 environmental, 79 199 message, 79 noise, 78 ourselves, 79 perception, 79 smothering, 79 stress, 79 common language development ability, 70 See also Common language described, 68–69 3-D view of core capabilities, 70 emotional intelligence for New Solutions, 71–72, 159, 173–181 emphasis on science and use of portable diagnostic tools/ methods, 71, 133–149 end-to-end innovation, 71, 160–173 to identify and foster New Solutions, 70 knowledge integration and, See also Knowledge integration for New Solutions development, 71 for New Solutions exploitation and maximum impact across long reaches achievement, 71–72, 159–181 requirement of, 65–67 for 21st century technical professionals, 70 System Approach, 71 See also System Approach T-shaped professionals, 120 TSMC, 12 U Unemployment structural problems, 46 Use/application, 83–84, 88–89 “User-perceived value,” 81 V Value-added activities, 11 digitization and global dispersal of, 14–18 Value chain global dispersal of, 11–12 vs supply chain, 93–97 W Wal-Mart, 17 White-collar technology, 59 White-collar workers, 14, 15, 27, 36, 59 “Win-win” approach, 178 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 68–69 Work categories of, 4, 15–16, 26, 40 Workplace transformation, 9–20 digitization, impact of, 13–18 globalization, impact and evolution of, 9–11 new business models, impact of, 18–20 overview, value chain, global dispersal of, 11–12 Y Yahoo, 14 200 .. .The Technical Manager's Survival Guides THRIVING IN THE 21ST CENTURY ECONOMY Transformational Skills for Technical Professionals Dr K (Subbu) Subramanian President, STIMS Institute Inc Lexington,... Subramanian to recognize the common evolving need for the Transformational Skills for all technical professionals These skills are outlined in this book Finally the collaboration with Srini has been special... (Krishnamoorthy), 194 9Thriving in the 21st century : transformational skills for technical professionals / Dr K (Subbu) Subramanian, president, STIMS Institute Inc., Lexington, MA, USA, prof U Srinivasa Rangan,

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Mục lục

  • Table of Contents

  • Series Page

  • Foreword

  • Acknowledgements

  • Biographic Sketch

  • Chapter 1 Introduction

  • Chapter 2 Workplace Transformation: The Impact of Globalization and Business Model Revolution

  • Chapter 3 A New Economic Order: From Binary Company to Binary Economy

  • Chapter 4 Transformational Skills: The Tools Necessary for Sustainable Jobs and Careers

  • Chapter 5 Common Language and Core Capabilities: Skills to Identify and Foster New Solutions

  • Chapter 6 Knowledge Integration: Skills to Develop New Solutions By Integrating Knowledge From All Available Resources

  • Chapter 7 Achieving the Maximum Impact Across the Globe: Transformational Skills to Exploit New Solutions

  • Chapter 8 Conclusion: Where Do We Go From Here?

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