Precaution and Preparedness

While reading some of the coverage and reports of the recent and massive Typhoon Haiyan I came across a really interesting piece on the Lean Crew site titled Wind Engineering. In the piece, the author breaks down some of the science behind wind speeds and wind pressure experienced in hurricanes, tropical storms, and tornados.Ellsworth Kelly - Colors for a Large Wall, 1951

It is a fascinating look at the topic, and kind of shocking too in a way, to think about the tremendous fury these kinds of natural disasters unleash, and their impact to life and property. In the piece, though, there was one really intriguing observation about preparedness and the precautions that can (or really can't) be taken by people and property owners in advance of these kinds of storms. Have a look and I will have a quick comment or two after the excerpt:

If you don’t live in the middle of the country, you may think of tornados as those storms that destroy trailer parks, but that isn’t giving them their proper respect. The winds in a tornado are typically much higher than those in a hurricane. Residential building codes are written to protect against most hurricanes; they don’t even try to handle tornados. A house’s primary protection against tornado damage is the extremely small probability that a tornado will hit it.

I don't live in tornado country, so I don't personally know if that last point is 100% correct, (but it seems pretty plausible, I mean, is it even possible to build normal, residential housing units that could conceivably withstand 200+ MPH winds?), but let's assume for now that it is in fact accurate.

What it reminds us, all too well, is that we simply can't (and probably shouldn't) attempt to prepare for every possible adverse event that potentially may impact ourselves or our businesses. Some risks, like a tornado, are simply too devastating for us to even have an effective plan for handling. 

But, as in the case of the storm actually making a direct hit on one individual structure, the odds are low enough that it makes the risk acceptable to the thousands if not millions of folks who live in tornado country.

Sometimes, I suppose, the best preparedness is just an honest assessment of the likelihood of impact.

Note: I know you know this but donations can be made for Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts via the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and probably lots of other relief agencies as well.

SPORTS WEEK #3 - No one cares what you don't have

Note to readers: As I have had a really busy Summer and early Fall preparing for the now recently concluded HR Technology Conference, the posting frequency here has been pretty diminished lately. Additionally, I find myself well behind my regular number of 'sports' posts that form the basis of my contribution to the annual 8 Man Rotation E-book on sports and HR. So I have declared this week of October 21 to be 'Sports Week' on the blog. I'm shooting for 5 days of sports-themed posts to make sure I don't get dropped from the 8 Man crew. So if sports takes are not your thing, check back in a week of so, when I will probably have another equally inane theme working.

Onward..

No matter who you are, where you work, and the time/budget/resources/talent that you have at your disposal to carry on your campaigns for conquest of the world the unassailable fact is that someone out there has access to more/better/faster/smarter than you. 

Unless you are a recruiter or Talent pro at Google. Then you have already won, and there is no need to read any further.

But if you are not in that prime position of recruiting for or managing talent at the clear market or geographic top dog then from time to time you run into what are 'competitive disadvantages' in your efforts to find, attract, coach, develop, retain, and squeeze the best performance from your workforce.

Someone else can offer a better starting salary to college recruits.

Someone else has a better, more comprehensive benefits program.

Someone else has won a few of those 'Best Places to Work' awards, (the ones you can't be bothered to fill out the application for).

Someone else has a reputation for sticking with their strategy, even when times are tough, and not announcing layoffs three days after posting record earnings.

You get the idea. No matter how great you are, someone out there is probably doing it better.

You can let your relative disadvantage be that crutch you rely on, and the excuse you fall back on when explaining why you can compete with the better funded, faster, sexier, and generally 'not that different that you, just not as obviously dysfunctional' others in your space.

Or you can take a page from the Triqui Indian (or Mexico) boys basketball team, and not only compete, but win and dominate an international competition while PLAYING BAREFOOT.

From a CNN piece describing the team and the tournament:

Despite most of the team being of short stature and playing barefoot, the Triqui Indian boys from Mexico won the championship -- and the hearts of many -- at the International Festival of Mini-Basketball held in Argentina.

Their coach, Sergio Zuniga explains that playing barefoot is a reflection of the poverty in their community in the state of Oaxaca.

"The boys train barefoot, they always walk barefoot. There are no resources to buy shoes," Zuniga commented in an interview with the Basketball Federation of the Province of Cordoba, where the tournament was held.

The seven games against six local teams ended with incredible scores: 86-3 over Celestes; 22-6 against Cordoba University; 72-16 against Central; 82-18 over Hindu; 44-12 against Monteeis and 40-16 over Regatas de Mendoza.

The National Sports and Physical Culture Commission of Mexico named the team as the "Barefoot Giants of the Mountains."

Awesome.

A team of poor, short, and certainly disadvantages and barefoot kids from the mountains of Mexico remind us that whatever barriers or obstacles or 'It's not fair' complaints that we might offer up are just about always pretty hollow, and kind of meaningless.

The message?

Find a way. Don't settle. Don't let the competition beat you before the game has even started.

And don't underestimate the determination of a foe that by virtue of playing through some remarkable challenges have become much, much tougher than you realize.

SPORTS WEEK #2 - It's good to have enemies

Note to readers: As I have had a really busy Summer and early Fall preparing for the now recently concluded HR Technology Conference, the posting frequency here has been pretty diminished lately. Additionally, I find myself well behind my regular number of 'sports' posts that form the basis of my contribution to the annual 8 Man Rotation E-book on sports and HR. So I have declared this week of October 21 to be 'Sports Week' on the blog. I'm shooting for 5 days of sports-themed posts to make sure I don't get dropped from the 8 Man crew. So if sports takes are not your thing, check back in a week of so, when I will probably have another equally inane theme working.

Onward..

Quick bit of background for the non-NBA fans that might be reading this.

There are two NBA franchises that call Los Angeles home - the Lakers, who have been one of the most successful teams in all of North American sports over the decades, and the Clippers, who have been one of the least successful, inept, and downright sad organizations in their history. Additionally, both teams play their home games in the same arena - the Staples Center. 

If you are a casual or even a non-fan of the NBA chances are you at least know the famous Laker teams led by all-time legends like Jerry West, Kareeem Adbul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant.

You have probably not ever heard of the Clippers. The Lakers have consistently played for and won championships, while the Clippers at best have been a faceless also-ran, and at worst, have been the laughing stock club of the league.

But in the last couple of seasons the fortunes and outlooks are starting to shift, just a little for the Los Angeles teams. The Lakers, beset by injuries and the aging of their star players are in a downward trend, while the Clippers, with much younger and dynamic stars are more optimistic than ever about their chances to compete for the NBA title.

To add to the Clippers' sense of optimism, the team hired a new coach, the respected Doc Rivers, who has won a title as coach of the Boston Celtics, and is widely regarded as one of the top 5 coaches in the sport. The presence of a leader like Rivers, along with the group of young and talented players has the Clippers thinking big for the upcoming season.

But before the Clippers can 'win' the NBA, they need to first climb out of the shadow of their much more well known, and successful (at least historically), co-tenants of the Staples Center, the Lakers.

And Doc Rivers has, before the first game of the new season has even tipped off, fired the first blow on his home turf - by ordering the Lakers' 16 NBA Championship banners that hang from the Staples Center rafters be covered up with posters of members of the current Clippers squad when the Clippers are playing their home games. 

Some details from the Ball Don't Lie blog:

The Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers both moved into the Staples Center during the 1999-00 season, the only NBA teams to share an arena. Since then, the Lakers have hoisted five NBA championship banners to add to their 16 in total, alongside two other conference titles in that span. In that time the team has also added two more retired numbers to the jerseys that hang at the top of the arena, bringing that total to nine, while also hoisting two tributes to the championship Minneapolis Lakers and late Hall of Fame broadcaster Chick Hearn.

In that time, the Clippers have accomplished … well, they made it to the second round a couple of times.

New Clippers coach Doc Rivers is attempting to change that. After the laissez-faire turn of former coach Vinny Del Negro, the former Boston Celtics coach has decided to instill a defensive mindset and more consistent offensive philosophy for a Clippers team that disappointed with a first round exit in last year’s playoffs. And to drive a team-first point home, he’s asked the Staples Center to cover the Lakers banners when the Clippers take hold of the arena. From the Los Angeles Times.

Said Rivers, "Listen, I think this is our arena when we play," Rivers said. "So I just thought it would be good that we show our guys. No disrespect to them. But when we play, it's the Clippers' arena as far as I know."

To the non-sports fan this may seem pretty insignificant, as in, 'So what, the Clippers are covering up the Lakers banners when they are playing. Big deal.' 

But to a professional team, and their fans, these championship banners symbolize excellence, dedication, sacrifice, hard work, and ultimately team pride.  To cover them up is a like an insult or a gesture of disrespect, (at least that is how I would interpret the move).

But from Rivers perspective, the decision makes complete sense. His team can't even think about winning the NBA title until they begin by 'winning' their home court. And unique to the Clippers, winning their home court means conquering one of the most successful, and world famous sports franchises of them all, the Lakers.

Life is better, or at least more interesting with a few enemies.

Batman needed the Joker. Luke Skywalker needed Darth Vader. Maverick needed Iceman.

I am sure Rivers and the Clippers want to be the 'new' Lakers in Los Angeles, but to get there they are going to have to see their neighbor as more of their enemy.

And to crawl out from under the Lakers' shadow, covering up the banners that testify to Laker success is a smart move. Sure, it may tick off the Lakers, but that is the idea I think. You can't climb to the top without making a few enemies along the way. 

If manufacturing really returns to the US, it will be with far fewer humans

The return or rebirth or re-emergence of American manufacturing continues to be a desired if elusive goal. Medium or moderately skilled manufacturing jobs, long the foundation of much of the American middle class, have been on a long but steady decline over the last several decades. 

Check the below chart (from the New York Times) to see some data on the percentage decline in employment in various manufacturing sectors:

The data on job losses since 1990 show the most dramatic decreases in employment in textiles and apparel. Which makes sense just by thinking about how the vast majority of the clothes we buy and wear are made somewhere else. The history and reasons for this shift to overseas import of textiles and apparel are pretty well understood - manufacturers relocated operations and increased capacity in low and even lower wage places in the world - China, India, Bangladesh, and so on.

But as the recent New York Times piece "U.S. Textile Plants Return, With Floors Largely Empty of People" does a great job of documenting, even textile and apparel manufacturing can return to the United States, provided that the conditions whereby the American companies can  compete, chiefly increased automation thus reducing 'people' costs, are in place.

In the piece (which is kind of long, but you should read it all anyway), we see how textile plants in South Carolina are re-opening and even expanding their capacity as the advances in technology and automation, coupled with the logistical benefits of being able to produce where the customers want to sell, are enabling this rebirth or renaissance of sorts.

Except that the 'rebirth' requires many fewer people than in the heyday of American manufacturing.

From the NYT piece:

American manufacturing has several advantages over outsourcing. Transportation costs are a fraction of what they are overseas. Turnaround time is quicker. Most striking, labor costs — the reason all these companies fled in the first place — aren’t that much higher than overseas because the factories that survived the outsourcing wave have largely turned to automation and are employing far fewer workers.

But as manufacturers find that American-made products are not only appealing but affordable, they are also finding the business landscape has changed. Two decades of overseas production has decimated factories here. Between 2000 and 2011, on average, 17 manufacturers closed up shop every day across the country, according to research from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

Now, companies that want to make things here often have trouble finding qualified workers for specialized jobs and American-made components for their products. And politicians’ promises that American manufacturing means an abundance of new jobs is complicated — yes, it means jobs, but on nowhere near the scale there was before, because machines have replaced humans at almost every point in the production process.

Take Parkdale: The mill here produces 2.5 million pounds of yarn a week with about 140 workers. In 1980, that production level would have required more than 2,000 people

It is a story I think we are going to continue to see - automation and robots and logistics are going to conspire to make 'Made in America' a more commonly seen tagline on all kinds of products.

But this new 'Made in America' will be far different than what many of us remember - when the colossus' of American manufacturing companies employed veritable armies of workers to churn out the products for the domestic and export markets.

It is amazing and incredible to read a story like the Times piece that describes just how some American manufacturers are coming back, and are on par competitively with anyone else in the world. But we also need to remember that just taking the one example from the Parkdale mill, what used to be the work of 2,000 is now the work of 140.

Those 140 jobs have indeed come back. 

There are 1,860 that are almost certainly never coming back.

Have a great weekend!

CHART OF THE DAY: American Household Trends

Spotted this beauty on the Big Picture site a couple of days ago - a look at how the composition of American households has changed, kind of dramatically, over the last 40+ years.

Have a look:

Of course you spotted the major changes since 1970 - the percentage of households consisting of 'traditional' families, i.e.. married couples with children has fallen by over half. 

What has grown pretty significantly over that time, (and for many readers of this blog, and me too is our lifetimes), are 'non-traditional' households and people of both genders who are living alone.

And taking a couple of these household categorizations and combining them we see that in 1970 about 70% of all households included a married couple, but by 2012 that number fell to 49%.

Americans are getting married, (or staying married) less, living alone more, and have by a wide, wide margin moved away from what are now fast becoming antiquated ideas about what the traditional American family and household is.

Why post this kind of data on the blog you might be asking? 

I don't know, maybe because I find it interesting, (which is pretty much the only reason anything gets posted on the blog).

And maybe because I do think it is important to think about what is going on at a macro level sometimes as these trends and new realities do impact our organizations, the people we employ, their challenges and needs, and how HR will be done in the future.

What do you think? Does it matter to your organization that America has changed so dramatically in the last few decades?

Happy Thursday.