We are now at the last chapter of Rita Gunther McGrath’s book, “The End of Competitive Advantage”. In this last chapter, Rita shifts her focus from what increased market turbulence means for corporations to what it means for people.
Here is her interesting starting point. You might think that this means trouble. Jobs re less secure than they were. And this is true. Jobs are less secure than they were. At the same time, this lack of security is not a problem for everyone equally. In fact, for people who have high value transferable skills, it is a bonus.
Why? The fact is that these people can now find work more easily on a project basis or where ever they get the best compensation or other incentives to work. These people now can demand more … and they do.
Indeed, you might take this a step further. The competitive advantage of firms now depends on what people they have in their orbit rather than what resources they control. Building relationships trumps just getting big.
This means that the roles for personal success have changed. It used to be “loyalty above all.” What is it now? That is next. Stay tuned!
