WE'RE A YOUNG COUNTRY - LET'S ACT LIKE IT!

One thing we do very poorly in Australian business is youth development. Perhaps this reflects the gross inadequacy in our political leadership, an oxymoron if ever there was one.

Australians benefited, to some degree, from imperial preference and the Deakinite Settlement. Over time, however, industrial relations reform has been our Achilles heel. Business pundits, economists and especially Liberal politicians tend to focus on supply-side labour reform. The ALP, on the contrary, now wishes to entrench penalty rates and reregulate 457 Visas and outsourcing. And so we rehash the tired old arguments of unionised labour in contradistinction to neo-liberal/laissez faire economics.

This is not a strategy for success, A G Lafley and Roger Martin can show us, in an era where marketing and strategy will intersect in a dynamic ‘reconverging’ global landscape – to borrow Prof Niall Fergusson’s term.  

In light of the skills gap, therefore, I would argue that we need to develop – REALLY develop – our next generation of leaders. And this requires business to step up to the plate and take risks on their underutilised assets. With an aging population and without the sovereign wealth to sustain our commodities boom, we could end up with “Japanitis”. (Abenomics or no, Japan seems to deflate into the distant horizon). Our big banks and resources companies are stuck with Anti-Strategy, cost-cutting infinitum without new leadership teams and innovation to replace falling growth.

Too often, it seems to me, Aussie business executives take the short-term, quarterly road to revenue through cost-cutting, consolidation and/or streamlining operations and back-office functions without developing their future executives and middle managers. Their ‘bench’ is left on the bench without the ability to stretch their skills and the opportunity to compete. Unsurprisingly, large companies and mid-level businesses cannot find talented protégés to take the baton.

This trend can only decline, in my view, toward industry mediocrity, bottlenecks and depleted international and regional margins. On this basis, Australia will not be able to compete with Asia or service the Asian regional supply-chain. As such, Australian industry needs an action plan to bring promising youngsters up to speed and, in so doing, expand our regional business strategy.

C’mon Australia, we are a Lucky Country.. But luck eventually runs out without the planning to replace old industry practices with new growth.. I know we can do better than that.