Revisting a great 'business prophecy' book.
By Thomas R. Schori, Ph.D., and Michael L. Garee,
Principals, Millennium Marketing Research, 808 E. Ironwood, Normal, IL 61761-5239.
Over the years (not unlike you, we’re sure) we’ve encountered many
"business prophecy" books. Some were pretty good and we at least skimmed through
them. Some were even darned good and we read those thoroughly. A few were simply great and
we devoured them, and have revisited them many times since the first reading (or, in this
case, first devouring!)
One particular book that falls into this last category is entitled, Workplace 2000: The
revolution reshaping American business, by consultants Joseph H. Boyett and Henry P. Conn
(Penguin Group). Although this book was originally published in 1991, it is proving to be
more prophetic today perhaps than even the authors may have imagined nearly six years ago.
That is, a great deal of what the authors predicted would occur in American business by
the year 2000 has either already come to pass or appears certainly to be on the horizon.
Here, in their own words, is the essence of Workplace 2000:
"The company that employs the average American in the future will be flatter, leaner,
and more aggressive than the company he or she works for today. It will have to be that
way in order to have the flexibility to respond to rapidly changing customer demands.
Downsizing has made this flatter workplace a reality in most companies. . .and this trend
toward flattening the organization will continue. The layers of management, supervision,
and support that were eliminated during the 1980s will not (our emphasis)
return."
Does any of this sound familiar? Ring true? You bet!
Still, this message obviously hasn’t gotten through to every business, or arguably,
even to most businesses. There are still plenty of companies that think "the good old
days" will soon return, and that the upheaval that has taken place over the last
decade or so in American business is simply an aberration.
Here is what the authors have to say about these companies:
"The new American workplace is emerging because it has to emerge. To remain
competitive, the leaders of most American companies recognize that fundamental changes are
required. In the next ten years, these leaders will shepherd their companies through the
changes we have described. . .Still, some companies will resist these changes. These few
will desperately cling to traditional structures and culture. They will try to operate
like companies of the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. For a time they may even succeed.
But not for long. Before the decade of the 1990s is out, they too will change or. . .they
will fail."
One important key to businesses thriving in Workplace 2000, the authors say, is
implementing and maintaining effective communications with employees. No longer will
employees receive crucial or "sensitive" information strictly on a "need to
know" basis. For instance, instead of the "fluff" so typical of
"in-house" publications and communiqués, in Workplace 2000 those companies that
intend not only to survive but to prevail will focus on providing information to help
employees gauge their own and the company’s performance.
Another important distinction between those companies that will "make it" in
Workplace 2000 and those that probably won’t is in the crucial area of management.
Today, and in years past, of course, American business has had an ample supply of
"managers." What has been sorely lacking in many cases, however, are leaders.
(In fairness, the authors readily acknowledge that managers can of course also be leaders.
It’s just that most aren’t.) The era of "managing" people (read:
controlling their every move and eyeing them with continual suspicion and, in some cases,
even borderline contempt), like many archaic business practices still clinging tenaciously
in many businesses today, is fast coming to an end.
The leader in Workplace 2000 will differ markedly from the career "manager," the
authors say. The leader will have a vision, but more important, the followers will also
believe in that vision and trust in the leader’s ability to turn the vision into a
reality—for the ultimate benefit of ALL.
As we all know, many—if not most—companies today boast that "employees are
our most important asset." These words ring hollow, however, when actions by the
companies’ "managers" give lie to the statement by their self-serving
actions. In the successful companies of Workplace 2000, though, human capital will indeed
be highly and genuinely valued, if for no other reason that it has to be that way if the
company is ultimately to succeed, the authors say. This does not mean that employees will
get a "free ride" in Workplace 2000. Quite the contrary, those employees who
manage to survive will indeed also prevail because they will have proved themselves to be,
like the companies for whom they will work, "lean and mean."
Other key areas of Workplace 2000 that the authors consider extensively are compensation
design, education in the workplace, and achieving World-Class performance in quality,
service and innovation. But rather than our categorically reviewing each of these sub
topics, let’s leave it at this: If you have somehow missed this book, go out and get
it or order it. It makes for great business reading and seems to be so much "on the
mark" with what’s happening in the workplace today that it’s sometimes
chilling.
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