Karl Marx gets even

I’m going to dub the changing balance of power in the corporate world as “Karl Marx gets even”. The means of production, in the form of computers, are now in the hands of the workers, leading some to conclude that talented people need organisations less than organisations need talented people. Organisations have lost bargaining chips: promises of job security were torn from the corporate contract long ago. In fact, many free agents may actually enjoy better security because they diversify the risk. The result is a steady decline in the number of people willing to toe the company line; those that do have a strong sense of their market value. If companies are to win the talent wars, the most important thing they can do is to boost their workers’ long-term employability: employees no longer want security, they want skills. Few companies make the grade as corporate universities, yet those that do are prized. However, beware!

Talented people may think they walk on water, but in reality many are walking on stones their employers have conveniently placed beneath them.