In 2001 Allen Greenspan announced that we are entering a new age. He called it the “Conceptual Age”. Currently we have a universal agreement that we are indeed in a new age. Some call it the Conceptual Age, while others call it the Talent Age. The underlining reality is the same; there is a change taking place with talent.

“In the New Economy human capital is the foundation of value creation. This presents an interesting dilemma, the asset that is most important is the least understood, least prone to measurement and least susceptible to management”. David Norton

“The ability to make good decisions regarding people presents one of the last reliable sources of competitive advantage-since very few organizations are very good at it”. Peter Drucker

In the future we will not be able to continue to repave old roads. In the 1990’s a generation of computing arose with the simple idea that it’s not the computer anymore that is critical but the network; it’s not the node, it’s the connection that count. Talent management is in the same situation. It’s not the individual practice but how they relate and connect to the business objectives that will separate the successful companies from those that don’t get it in time.

One key element to success is to treat talent management not as simply as  an extension of what is already being done, but as a fundamentally new way to think about attracting, hiring, engaging, developing and retaining top performers.

There is not a doubt that people and organizations are on a new journey from the safe, secure world of their present reality to an uncertain future. This journey will be confusing at times and contradictory as the force and pace of change accelerates. It is difficult to give up our past practices and mindsets that were successful at one time and are now barriers or even inhibitors of future success.  As Ralf Schneider from PricewaterhouseCoopers had said:  “We are living in a time when first generation leaders are working in second generation companies on third generation problems”.

Strategic Human Capital Management is the most powerful lever for innovation and growth in today’s knowledge economy. Corporate market value is increasingly defined as a sum of human intangibles-ranging from the public perception of a company’s intellectual capacity, to its perceived ability to create new solutions, enter new markets and respond to change. In this new world, new leadership models are emerging. 

These models enable executives to tap into previously unknown and untouched value within their existing organization.  These models enable a better hiring plan that is aligned to the companies plan.  And lastly these models enable innovation to happen consistently across organizational boundaries. Talent has entered new age. New leadership models are emerging. The hidden value of human capital is being found. Business value is increasing because of it.

By Ron Kranz, Thought Provoker with Beyond the Benchmark and Founder/Partner for the re-conceptualization business at Advantage Consortium.

The world has changed. The economy has changed. Our business has changed. It always has, always will, and will do so at a faster rate. Thinking has changed.

The thousand years comprising the Agricultural Age, gave way to a few hundreds of years defining the Industrial Age, which over the last five decades has become the Information Age. Defined by globalization, continued advancing technology, and a new talent base, the transformation to a new age has begun. The marketplace has changed.

Businesses are no longer competing among the 300,000 local companies; nor do they compete among 27 million national businesses. Businesses now compete among the 65 million global enterprises. Competition has never been greater, the war for outstanding talent is now global, and customers are demanding more value at less cost. Competition for customers and talent has changed.

 Under the current business models, it is projected that 75% of all privately held businesses will not increase in value over the next five years. Over the last three years, the average annual increase in US business bankruptcy filings is 38%. Bankruptcy statistics do not account for mergers/acquisitions like those needed to save the banking/financial industry. Business has changed.

Welcome to the Conceptual Age. Where the world population grows to 8 billion, with 50% residing in Asia. Where highly educated knowledge workers are a commodity -not a competitive advantage. Where automation advances become equivalent to the compilation power of the human brain. Where the abundance lifestyle is a global desire and is no longer exclusive to western culture. Welcome to the age where the competitive advantage is a new and different way of doing business.

The competitive advantage in the Conceptual Age will belong to those businesses that can re-invent themselves, who can convert tacit knowledge of their employees into tangible assets, who have a razor-sharp focus on what they do best, and develop innovative ways of linking value chain suppliers to customers. Re-conceptualization of business leads to the competitive advantage. The way of doing business has changed.

The world has changed. The time has come to do business differently. The competitive advantage will belong to those who think differently. The thinking -about business- has changed. How are you changing? How are you thinking differently?