DC Velocity - June 2016

action, with time on their hands, limited skills, less knowledge of what it takes to be a part of a functioning society—and no money to do much with, save stock up on Kools or cannabis, try to keep up with Anheuser-Busch’s production, and some vague notion that their plight is all the fault of Carlos Slim or an Ethiopian cab driver working two jobs to feed his family.

We stand at the precipice of a gap of our own collective making, a gap that deepens and widens with every failure to address root causes of our talent woes. A merit-based class system is nearing open class warfare, made increasingly more possible as the divide between haves, have nots, don’t wants, and can’t dos grows without much serious effort to realign those who might be salvageable, re-educate those without the most basic tools, and retrain those who have a usable foundation.

Those robots are going to be needing programming, maintenance, and repair. We all have a lot at stake in restoring balance within the economic ecosystem of the nation.

imum wage is trending—fast—toward $15 per hour.

Time to get real. A capable lift truck operator or a speedy, versatile order selector is worth more—lots more—than someone asking “Would you like fries with that?” But the industry has been paying execution staff at fast-food levels for a long time, with increases coming in response to competition for a diminished labor pool. The result? Rapidly rising wages in supply chain execution will make it even

more attractive to pursue robotic and automated material handling solutions, pushing more experienced employees out on the street.

A GLIMPSE INTO A BRIEFLY ILLUMINATED DARK FUTURE

So, where does all this lead us? So few leaders that they can’t spare themselves to lead the country for a while. Managers who have yet to master managing but are persuaded that they are leaders, to the detriment of people and enterprises. Highly rewarded and prized technogeek employees.

Well-compensated staff, who have developed and maintain relevant skills. A few functionaries who excite their leaders by seeking, adopting, embracing, and even creating change as (or before) environments and requirements evolve— or erupt.