From time to time, I like to call out bad behavior in the business community. I don't particularly appreciate doing it, but when people behave poorly or say things that need challenging, it is the responsibility of people like me to call attention to it. This week, billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin gave a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago and said young people are hurting their careers by not returning to the office. I respectfully disagree and want to point out that a net worth of 21 Billion dollars does not equal wisdom.
Mr. Griffin is hugely successful, and he has offices in Chicago, New York, and across the globe. He has one of the most significant hedge funds in the United States, so when you have that level of wealth and power, people like the Chicago Economic Club are going to give you a forum to speak. According to Bloomberg News, he said, "So for our youngest members of our workforce, I'm gravely concerned that the loss of early career development opportunities is going to cost us dearly over the decades to come." I disagree; if we work in the global economy, we need to think differently about asking people to work at a corporate office.
Workers are going to time-shift working with teams in India and Asia. Thanks to tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Slack, they do not need to come into the office to have those meetings. In addition, people who work at home can avoid commuting expenses, and the savings in both time and money tends to increase productivity from the workforce. Finally, the last 18-moths of work have proven that professional workers can do what they do from anywhere in the world.
I suspect that Mr. Grifin is more interested in exercising control over his workforce than the personal development of younger people in his organization. Why? Because he runs a multi-billion dollar hedge fund and thinks it gives him absolute power over the people who are delivering value to his organization. It is a common form of arrogance that the wealthy have regarding the people who work for them.
Griffin can run his business, however, he chooses, but it is clear that it is a conformist place that stifles innovation and creativity. I am confident he enforces a dress code in the office and likes to keep up appearances for his clients or competitors. The offices he is eager to populate with his workforce are a stage to show off his wealth and power to future investors.
Mr. Griffin then chides other CEOs for being soft because they are not mandating their workers to return to the office. The reality is companies are struggling to retain workers because they want to work from home. The great resignation is a reaction to businesses that will not allow them to work from home. Workers are voting with their feet, and CEOs are not being scared; they are smart. The global talent competition is such that if you do not offer a hybrid model for working, your competition will poach talent from you.
I have repeatedly said that workers are not resources, and treating people like machine tools who can be used up and thrown away is a recipe for failure in the 21st century. Mr. Griffin's wealth insulates him from that reality, but that does not mean people like myself cannot call out his lack of vision. It will only be a matter of time before that reality catches up with him or his descendants.
Until next time.
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