In the time it takes most of you to read this article – about a minute or two, here’s what will change around the world and inside our bodies.
There were 5 earthquakes around the world
Lightning struck the earth 6000 times
250 babies were born
144 people moved to a new home
116 people got married
107 people died
On a more personal level…
30,000 skin cells were shed
6 million chemical reactions took place inside every single cell in your body
120 million new red blood cells were created
86 billion electrical signals were sent out by your brain
4 people applied for a job at Google
36 people were interviewed at Amazon
3 people were fired from jobs
6 people quit their jobs
Baby Boomers turned 60 years old
8 Millennials turned 30 years old
And Bill Gates made about $23,000!
That’s just mindboggling when you think about how our world and lives can change in just 60 seconds. What is more remarkable is that most of it happens without us noticing. But it’s not nearly as crazy as when you multiply that 1 minute by 60 and ponder how much we change every hour. And then multiply that again by 24 hours and you get an even better picture of how our world changes each and every day. And then multiply again by 365 days and WOW! The world has changed more in the last year than it did in a lifetime for many of our ancestors.
And guess what? Despite this incredible pace of change, many businesses still recruit and hire employees like it was 1990!
Still not convinced? The change we are experiencing today is not slow, linear, or incremental. It’s what we call exponential. Here’s an example.
It took 75 years for 50 million people to adopt the telephone, 38 years for 50 million people to listen to the radio but only 13 years for 50 million people to watch the television. Then the Internet came along and it only took 5 years to get 50 million users.
The pace of adoption hit new records recently when Angry Birds took only 35 days to do what it took 75 years for the telephone to do. And Pokemon GO left all these in the dust when it reached nearly 20 million people in the US alone in less than a week.
Exponential change is why 90 to 95 million jobs will be replaced by robots and 20% more people will be permanently unemployed in the next few years. It is why hot careers like data scientist, information security analyst, and android and iOS developer didn’t exist before 2010, just 6 years ago. Exponential change is why companies like Eastman Kodak, Bethlehem Steel, and Blockbuster disappeared. It’s why start-ups like Lyft and Snapchat valued at billions of dollars didn’t exist 5 years ago.
What’s my point?
In speaking to a young worker in his late 30s the other day, someone whose life and career stands in the crosshairs of automation, I couldn’t be more astonished at the cavalier attitude he takes regarding change. It’s not unlike many of the business leaders and thousands of people I meet who believe they are smart enough and agile enough to jump out of the way of the oncoming train of change just seconds before it is ready to hit. That might have worked in the past but with exponential change…you often don’t see or hear the approaching train until it’s too late. Complacency and arrogance is just a lethal combination when it comes to adapting to change.
And that my friends is exactly what is happening in the world of talent acquisition and management. Shortages of skilled workers are growing. Tired recruiting and HR practices are crumbling fast. Recruiters are working harder and longer but coming up empty-handed more often. Management often believes change will just run its course and they will hop on when they are good and ready.
But that’s just not how it will work this time. It’s time to face reality and pay the piper if you plan to grow and thrive moving forward. Talent acquisition and talent management needs a make-over and fast. In other words… It’s Time to SHIFT or get off the pot!
