Will You Be Left Behind?

In the words of 18th-century artist George Wood Bacon: "Fortunes are not made in the boom times...That is merely the collection period. Fortunes are made in depressions or lean times when the wise man overhauls his mind, his methods, his resources, and gets in training for the race to come".

Yet, in today's economic climate and ever increasing pace of business, senior executives are so busy putting put daily fires that they hardly have any time and energy left to reflect on crucial long-range issues, which are so critical to long-term success. One of these issues is leadership development.

I want to share with you few key excerpts from this May's issue of Chief Learning Officers magazine that are important to bring attention to:

The economic downturn has given organizations a short-term reprieve from the looming talent crunch. Many baby boomers have decided to postpone retirement given their financial portfolios...The dire predictions will STILL come true, just a little later then anticipated.

...Few employers recognize the effects of the brain drain they will suffer when boomers retire and take their knowledge and experience with them...According to an article in Human Resources Executives in December 2008, a lack of leadership already is impeding performance at 56% of the 1,100 organizations polled in 2008. In addition, 31% of the organizations expect their performance to be affected by a shortage of leaders in the next one to four years.

...If companies do not take advantage of this last-minute reprieve to build bench strength now, they will NOT get a second chance. WITHOUT IMMEDIATE ACTION, ORGANIZATIONS DEVASTATED BY ECONOMIC SETBACKS WILL FACE ANOTHER DISASTER: a brain drain never before seen in the history of this country.

So, what steps are you taking today to win the race that is sure to come?