90-Day Goals

Read two reports this morning on the internet. One had to do with goals being set for 30-day and 90-day timeframes. The other had to do with how underprepared America, Canada and Mexico are for the employment markets just a few years away. In the US that market is very much here and now.

Two reports that seem totally unconnected. But they are. Cause and effect connected, actually.

As a planner I have seen this problem many times. Goals are focused on short term measurable objectives while outcomes desired push time horizons far ahead.

Imagining the desired outcome at some point in the future – say 3 or 5 years from now – provides the time for deep thinking and creativity. The codependent elements of any situation become more visible when time is given to consider them all. And this practice allows time to manage those elements better to produce better results.

Robotics and artificial intelligence are already part of the workplace in America. It is hugely alive in Japan and China. And other nations. However, in America, we used the new technology to acquire faster precision production, that is replicable. Standardized, efficient, higher quality. This application delivered better results and cost accountants calculated lower costs over time with higher, sustained return on investment in the new technology. Another result: fewer workers on the plant floor. Labor shortage avoided.

But that’s only the immediate labor shortage. Actually, technology will displace a lot of current workers in time. Newer skills, however, are needed by employers right now. An army of underemployed people are available for hire, but they do not have the needed skills.

Who can address this need?  Schools – including community colleges and high schools – but also universities, unions, trade associations and employers.

Did I just say employers? Yes, I did. They are the ones who should have forecast their labor needs. They are the ones who should have determined the resources from which labor needs would be satisfied. Seeing the imbalance of supply and demand, employers should have enlisted partners to fill the gap. They did not. And public resources did not respond either.

There are those who warned this problem was imminent. They were pooh-poohed. But now the warning is a clear and present issue to deal with.

Millions of underemployed and intelligent people can be taught and trained to replenish the labor pool. Chronically unemployed persons are also available for deployment at some level of the labor spectrum. All of this will take ingenuity, cooperation and collaboration on the part of many institutions of commerce and education. We have the resources. We have the people. And we have the know-how to fix the problems.

Why is this not done?

I think the reason is pretty simple: America thinks and plans short term, not long term. We have had this lesson drilled into us for generations. World War II and its aftermath taught us this. Japan and Germany chose long-term planning models to rebuild their economies and cultures. They succeeded. They are the paradigms of strategic thinking and planning. Our own space program taught us how to develop a skilled labor force.

The labor market should have solved the current problem on its own. Now it will need much more in know-how, resources, and collaboration to solve the problem. Market forces and government resources working together can and should be used.

Who knows? Maybe this is the lesson we learn better this time around to keep us performing long term at lower cost. Isn’t that a market ideal we all strive for?

Time to get to work.

June 8, 2018