The New Challenge

I’ve been handling marketing and sales consulting for 18 years, and in that time, since the late 1980's, the world has changed. Yeah, we all knew that that would happen, but I don't think many of us could have guessed the ways in which it would.

I won't get into the whole 9/11 discussion, even though that one would fit into any entry, whether on business or personal happiness or world peace or whatever. But I will get into the one that I still find most amazing -- the shortage of skilled people.

I grew up in eastern Canada, and my heritage as much as the fresh air and salt water and sense of humour (that's "humor" for my American readers) is the expectation that good work will be hard to find. We all grew up thinking we'd have to put in 120 resumes to have any hope of getting a job, and if you did find something you'd better hang on to it, because the next job might be a long way off.

Today, we have a world where, even in some of the most remote communities in this area, jobs are going unfilled and businesses are turning down projects because they don't have the skilled workers they need.

For many companies, that turnaround has had disastrous results. They may have created a great business model and carefully researched their marketplaces, but suddenly find they cannot get the workers they thought they'd have. Whether its for a production line or a senior marketing position, companies are suddenly finding that good help is hard to find, and more expensive than it ever used to be.

How about you? Are you feeling the pinch of not having the skill sets you need? How is it affecting your marketing plans? Your growth curve? What are your creative solutions? I've heard some interesting stories, and will share them in an upcoming entry But for now, email me if you have a challenge -- or a solution -- to share. Let's see what we can learn from each other.