As I sat in my local coffee shop early this morning reading today’s press I thought how easy it would be to think the economy is coming to a screaming halt again.
There were headlines about redundancies at Toyota, the banks, financial institutions, credit card debt, carbon tax, OHS legislation and reports of factory closures. Everyone seems to be offering short term solutions and very little forecasting of what we will can do in the longer term.
The debate around manufacturing is hot and unfortunately will become a political football between government and the unions. I belive we have to take a pragmatic approach and face the reality that manufacturing in 2012 is never going to return to the past.
Those who are calling for protection and millions of tax payers dollars need to stop breathing their own fumes and get their head out of the sand. It a short term solution.
As a school boy I remember the 1950′s and 1960s in Geelong the great activity in all sorts of manufacturing including our own family soft drink facility supplying the majority of home delivered soft drink in Melbourne from a new factory in North Geelong. However that is all in the past and we need to be looking for what the changes and trends will be in leading the future.
Ten years ago we did not have IPhones, IPads, Facebook, Linkedin, social media and the change is happening faster by the week and the same is happening in consumer buying habits.
I have no doubt that manufacturing in Australia will have to morph into much smaller units and be always looking for innovative and niche segments. Gone are the days of factories employing hundreds of people in a single site. The large sites have moved to the mining industry and even that will not last forever. Mining is more about digging holes, moving product and building infrastucture.
The closure of large factories will cause great distress for families and communities and unless we address our future and prepare for change many will be caught. I know its hard to lift your head above the daily grind of living, I was in that position in my own business in the past.
The future starts in our schools where the skills being taught are not addressing workplace needs nor are we reskilling existing workforces for future change.
Business owners and managers have to start thinking in a new way and stop the short term strategy that is driven by short term incentives and month by month KPIs.
Take some time out and ask yourself what will your business look like in five years ? What changes will you need to make to get to that future place ?
