Outsource This!

I read in the paper this morning that they are splitting Eisner's job at Disney into two separate positions! This could signal a trend back to the old, inefficient days - when people only had one job to do. Since the collapse of the economy in late 2000, the trend in business has been to shrink the payroll. The remaining workers have been asked to assume the responsibilities of their former colleagues, often without increased remuneration. This is probably part of the reason that two thirds of the current workforce says they are "dissatisfied" on surveys.

So, maybe some leaders have figured-out that the old model of separating duties and responsibilities is better in the long run.

My observation is that Super Star performers in business do not value the strength of teams, and their ego-driven effectiveness is often short lived. The best quarterbacks in the NFL know that they will not complete a single pass unless the offensive line protects them. They are less prone to think of team members as mere interchangable parts or boxes on an org chart. Maybe more business executives should watch more football.

There was an article in yesterday's WSJ which alluded to cases where certain outsourcing efforts had proved to be a failure. The problem is with outsourcing jobs that cannot be reduced to an assembly line operation or script. They are finding that in areas such as Customer Service and other work that involves relationship management or ad hoc decisions, the offshore outsourcing model fails.

This seems like good news to those of us with softer skills, whose potential value to an organization resides in the accrued experiences, charm and wit.