John Roese’s blog is one that I enjoy checking. There is generally an interesting perspective to be found there.
This week was no exception, with a guest posting from Andrew Lippman of the MIT Media Lab. Of particular note was his comment about the pace of societal evolution.
Disruption is not the disruptor, its rapidity is.
How do companies respond? How do you anticipate change? Create disruptive forces? How do service providers and suppliers learn how to shift their product set and adjust the way they do business?
The post talks about one of Nortel’s approaches:
They are not just listening to kids, they are hiring them — close to 500 new engineers in the last 15 months alone. Inside the company, they call them “new-grads,” and they are simultaneously trained and sincerely listened to.
My kids are just finishing their exams; many of their friends are entering the workforce in the next few weeks.
There are lots of changes underway in the telecom sector these days. Some companies are restructuring while others are preparing to launch new wireless businesses. Hopefully all of the service providers and suppliers have been actively recruiting on campus.
When working with these new grads, be prepared for the training to flow both ways. I suspect we’ll find that we have a lot to learn from them.
Nortel’s President and CEO, Mike Zafirovski will be speaking at The 2008 Canadian Telecom Summit in June. Have you registered yet?
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Nortel, Mike Zafirovski, Andrew Lippman, Canadian Telecom Summit