The Outsource Edge

How far will one go to survive in business? There are simply not many places you can go domestically where you can mention the word “outsourcing” without a tirade of how it is hurting America. For most, the reaction is about the loss of jobs and that outsourcing is the catalyst for company closures. I feel that a bit of this reaction is because people feel victimized, and some even like being the victim (I expect a few comments on that remark!). Yet for many companies that utilize outsource services in a responsible fashion, it offers a chance for continued corporate and employment viability for the workforce that remains.

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When will the monies that are flowing out of the West return to the West, or will they? To a very limited extent the East has been slow to invest outside of their immediate areas. In turn they are opting to self invest in infrastructure and general growth development. While this is great for the region, it is of little value to the Western consumer of their services - and certainly that of global economic recovery. One might consider this a form of social responsibility. Don't all of us have to return a little to those that have made it possible for us to flourish.

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Those that know me understand that I love the freshness of change. Especially when change involves new ideas. I was thinking the other day about how we write our blogs and how we struggle with the too much/too little balance. It came to me that maybe we should have something that can nest inside a blog that can flexibly accommodate the big and small without having to worry about right sizing. Tada… the birth of the GLOP (Got to Love Our Passions) and as the pneumonic suggest a solution alternative for the social media challenged. In the spirit of the GLOP this will be kept brief and we will roll on to some GLOP topics pertinent to outsourcing.

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I have already been a strong advocate for the little guy. Maybe it’s my small town upbringing in rural New Hampshire or possibly it’s the continual injustice that I see happening regularly. Almost every newsletter, monthly report or research study highlights something about the Tier 1 big guys. I suspect that some of their recognition is fueled by their ability to pay for exposure.

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In our quest for uniformity we are drawn to categorizing things. People, social groups and even work gets tied into neat little bundles to simplify our lives and reduce the number of things we must contend with. As is so often the case our bundling process causes us to go to the other extreme by developing gross/broad conclusions. We further substantiate our conclusions using statistics that are apt to be assembled across a varied mass of further amalgamated elements.

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For the last month I have been in Southeast Asia trying to better understand how regional and supplier selection can be improved. Despite an inordinate number of evaluative frameworks we continue to form engagements that struggle with culturally related issues. Having been through a number of selection processes with client buyers I have come to realize that a consistent thread is that buyers remain Western in their foreign evaluation visits. We stay in Western Hotels, eat Western meals except for the ceremonial welcome dinner, and enjoy the comforts of private transportation within the urban area. On occasion there might be some local recreation that gives a brief glimpse of life outside of the Western cocoon. At first I thought that this added emersion would be interesting but contribute little value. What I have since learned that an extended, in-depth stay brings out the real world for the people, their beliefs, and lives within the country.

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My dear friend John (aka Snake Oil) took an early retirement. He had spent several illustrious years as a trainer then decided to give it all up and venture into other arenas. This included several small real estate investments, a storage facility and a coffee shop. I have known John for over 30 years and no matter how big the gap of time we usually pick up where we left off and always have some great laughs. John contacted me a while back, soon after an amiable divorce, and said he was considering going back into training. Even though he is at the top of his game I encouraged him to reinvent himself and the services that he would provide. I’m sure it came as a bit of a shock to receive such a suggestion but the economic downturn has forced us to re-examine everything we do in business. This goes way beyond the logistics of marketing programs and filling seats it also profoundly targeted at the very topics that are being offered. Even programs that have been considered foundation based courses are challenged to be recast to fit the new operating model (which by the way is still a work in process).

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As each day ticks by we all wonder when will this economic downturn end and what will that end look like? It makes little difference whether you are sitting in the heartland of the US or the jungles of Borneo, everyone is wondering. Maybe those outside of the West (North America and Europe) are at a decisive advantage because they live in regions that understand and have endured hardship. But even for them the question of getting work, operating in a global economy and establishing credibility remains a continual challenge.

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As I sat listening to the nightly news and the troubles for Toyota, I thought about social responsibility as new far flung accusations were being hurled in towards them. Without passing judgment on Toyota, I couldn’t help but feel that some of the accusations were getting a bit out of hand. Fueled by our legal system to bring justice, it is claimed that Toyota chose to make safety second to monetary gain. Yet as we all know, we as a capitalist society have forsaken many things in the name of money. Have we not seen similar situations amongst our own auto manufactures? Yet the idea of social responsibility is not simply a responsibility of business, but every member of society. Whether it is the consumer, the share holder, the investment banker or the manufacturer, each and every person has a responsibility to do what is right for society and not just for them. Maybe this fervor would excite our economy into a turnaround. Instead we see the endless string of up and down movements in the stock market and each time being manipulated by opportunists.

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If there is anything that this turn of the economy combined with the social unrest in our world has made us realize is that business as usual is no longer the case. Some would prefer to be cliché by referring to it as “change” or possibly even “innovation”. I can assure you that thoughtless change or innovation will only further compound issues that we were attempting to overcome. This doesn’t mean no modification of behavior, rather it really forces us to ask some very hard questions. In today’s environment the questions themselves are more controversial than possibly some of the conclusions that may reached. When I first started composing this blog entry I was quite tempted to entitle it as “Really Hard Controversial Questions”. Maybe I will save that title and use it later…. just to give you the opportunity to think about these possible questions.

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