Talent wars – the 21st century

The 21st century, into its 3rd decade, is being characterized by the ‘talent wars’, perhaps eclipsing the conflicts for resources, ideology, territory, etc. Talent flows to the highest bidder. Talent only thrives in an economic environment that is growing and competitive (perhaps hyper competitive).

Talented human resource is the only resource a country needs, e.g., Japan, or Israel. Such slogans have been bandied about for a century. But they have now been ratified by history and supporting data. Going forward, the corporate work environment, already in a flux, is changing. So are other work environments — military, social, healthcare and education (especially education).

Pakistan has lost out! Our Educational and social support for the relevant talent has been missing. According to recent research, the educational systems based on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) are going to be relevant.

The World Economic Forum, Davos (a rich person’s talking club) has predicted that talent emerges from the following skills — technology use and development, problem solving, working with people (leadership and social influence), self-management.

The three big issues in talent are developing talent, spotting talent, and retaining talent. The USA, long the talent crucible, has fielded talent spotters for 150 years in sports entertainment, science, and even other fields.

In Pakistan, talent development has been affected by many adverse factors (many reports have been published and shelved). The job market is flooded by under-equipped job seekers. The main sectors of employment are confused. The state sector is a sinkhole (even if you are qualified from Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC).

The multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in Pakistan since the 1950s provided most of the management talent. Now the MNCs are no longer interested in long-term investment in talent development in Pakistan. Their top local talent is exported. The local private sector that is usually family owned has its own issues. They appreciate talent up to a point — the family controls the strategic decisions.

A quick review of Pakistan’s sports history is quite telling. The decline is perceptive. Cricket takes most of our attention. Hence relatively more talent oriented. Consider Shoaib Akthar, the greatest quickie of his time, left in frustration. PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) could not handle this talent.

He (Shoaib) along with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younus was beyond world-class. Currently, Babar Azam is perhaps the greatest stroke player since Sachin T. Great! But what about field hockey? Or squash racquets? Or wrestling? I hear that the Pakistan Olympic Committee is a mess. Personal interests over talent. Hence the achievement of the javelin thrower is remarkable.

We live in the Silicon Valley era. In the last 40 years, the people who manage (the techies, the investors, the innovators) have prioritized talent over everything else. They rolled out the red carpet for talented employees from all over the world. So, too in Silicon Glenn (Scotland), China, South Korea, Japan, and Israel. Pakistan was lucky to get Tania Aidrus.

But what happened? I have not read her exit interview. But I can speculate - she collided against a system that abhors talent, new ideas, innovation, and favours. Job security is risk averse, and operates on nepotism. I keep reading in the business press that the start-up era has finally come to Pakistan. Good luck! But I also read about many shutdowns. One start-up becomes an upstart.

Rather than managing their own business, they were thinking of buying a bank. Stick to your knitting. Follow your job description. The major challenge that Pak start-ups will face is the harsh reality of corporate management. After the funding has been secured, the grind starts.

Financial controls, personnel, marketing strategy, monthly monitoring of every business aspect, environmental screening. I suspect that the young managers of these start-ups have no ‘live’ experience of the hard realities of the market. By the time they learn, the business may have failed. Pakistan is not kind to business failures. There are a few second chances.

Going back to the talent wars. In March 1963 I was doing high school in California, USA. John F. Kennedy, the then President, was addressing a press conference. One reporter asked him “Mr President in the few years your government has achieved a lot in social legislation, space, technology, media, arts, defence, etc., how have you accomplished this in a short span of time?”

JFK, always the humourist, replied with a one-liner. Then, on a more serious note he said: “I am a talent manager. We have assembled the finest team of professionals within and outside the cabinet.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022