DC Velocity - January 2009

thoughtleaders SUSAN RIDER

mother, or what we would traditionally call a housewife. There is a big trend among women executives who are burning out. They want to shift their focus to be a bit more about being a mother and a bit less about being a business professional. They are in their early 30s and they’re saying, “I don’t want to do this anymore. I want to take Johnny and Sally to school every day and then maybe do something in between.” Well,

what’s wrong with that?

A smart company will hire them to come in for three or four hours a day while little Johnny is at school. Companies need to be willing to make those kinds of accommodations if they want to keep the best and bright-est folks working for them.

On the other end of the spectrum, I think one of the things that’s going to be a huge trend for the future is the development and acceptance of jobs that attract folks who are nearing traditional retirement age but don’t want to retire fully. As they approach retirement, the Baby Boomers want to stay active. They still want to be involved, but they don’t necessarily want to go to work every single day. They don’t want to go to work at 8 o’clock every morning, but they still want to work three to four hours a day. That is

going to be a huge labor pool, and companies will need to adjust their policies and their structure if they want to take advantage of it. There’s a lot of talent and expertise that “retires” from the workforce every year. Smart companies will come up with unique and innovative ways to keep those people involved.

QWhat are your thoughts on the future of the logistics profession?

AI think the future is bright for this field. I think there is an abundance of opportunities, and the way you discover those opportunities is by staying involved. One thing that has served me well is that I am a sponge. I am open to almost everything. I do about 10 to 20 different trade shows or conferences a year. I talk to people about how they’re doing things and what they’re doing and what are some of the new concepts. I just soak up what is going on because it is moving so quickly today. Yesterday’s solutions are not going to solve today’s problems. We have to be open. Things are moving so quickly we have to make sure we stay relevant and remain curious about the new solutions, the new concepts, or the new procedures and stay totally open to what’s going on.

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