Commercial Suicide in the Creative Economy
It’s become endemic in corporations desperately trying to navigate their way through the mine-infested waters of these difficult economic times. It’s the default MO of senior leaders who find themselves ill-equipped for the inexorable change that is now upon them. It’s called “short-termism”. The focus is on survival, not growth, and so efficiency takes precedent over effectiveness, execution over creativity, numbers over people, cost management over development.
Tough times demand real leadership, the kind that has the vision to see beyond the event horizon and shape the business for creative growth in the new economy. The effects of poor leadership can be hidden in the prosperous years, it isn’t so easy in tougher climates. As the world emerges from the information to the creative economy, the drive for efficiency, at the detriment of effectiveness, is commercial suicide. Whilst a short-term focus may be a typical and understandable reaction, it doesn’t make for an intelligent response to the unique demands of our times.
