WANTED: DISRUPTIVE MAVERICKS 

Ten years ago most corporate executives were chanting the praises of Tom Peters, the author of the then best seller "In Search of Excellence". In that book he praised IBM and other Fortune 500 companies who at that time, in his opinion, had the "right stuff."

Today, his new book "Thriving on Chaos: A Handbook for a Management Revolution", is searching for a different type of executive, the "disruptive maverick(s) bent on destruction of conventional wisdom." It's about time. Forty percent of the companies on the Fortune 500 list when his first book was published aren't there anymore. What/Who is taking their place?

I recently returned from the pastoral land of Prince Edward Island, the smallest Canadian province. I was a speaker there at the convention of Rural Municipalities, where delegates from all over the world wanted to know what innovative ideas could stop the bleeding of the populations of their small communities. In most cases delegates realized that if they didn't do something, and fast, the "homes" that they knew and loved so much simply wouldn't be there in the years to come. Even though they knew change was essential to success, they were, generally reluctant to accept change in the manner that would, almost certainly, alter their village dramatically. In many cases, they hadn't considered what was going on in other parts of the world. They had such little access to the river of information now spewing out around the planet that they never thought, for instance, about:

1. The fact that Prince Edward Island (the perfect example since that is where the convention was held) banned the automobile until 1922, so naturally in the Industrial Age, no car manufacturer even let the thought of P.E.I. cross his mind. It was Terra No. Even now 70 years after the first car was allowed into P.E.I., they are still arguing whether they want automobiles to be able to drive directly to their land over a fixed-link (bridge or tunnel)! During those seven decades, although that island province maintained an envied laid-back lifestyle the populace never really enjoyed the higher standard of material living of several other Canadian provinces. Most P.E.I. young people, left home to find success elsewhere.

2. Many convention delegates were shocked to learn that P.E.I., with a population of 125,000 and a land mass of 2,185 square miles, had a gross domestic product of only two billion dollars. Meanwhile another island, Singapore, with only 224 square miles (an area smaller than New York City and one-tenth that of P.E.I.), increased its GNP from $1 billion in 1965 to $35 billion in 1989. Although their population (2.7 million) is 20 times the size of P.E.I.'s (127,000), their GNP is 20 times larger too. And Singapore's arable land is but 11 percent of its total land mass. How have they grown so rapidly? By creating a high level of literacy (85 percent) and technological awareness. They know where they are going. That's why they now have the second highest standard of living in Asia, second only to Japan. 3. After such knowledge, as shown above, is absorbed it becomes easier for residents of small communities to face the really tough questions. Do they really want to change? Can they change to the required extent? Are they aware of further questions yet to come if they do change? These are all sociological questions that many never considered. Technology can do wonders to change an area, but is that what people really want? It appears that people aren't sure what they want!

4. Would you like several high-paying, clean, prosperous companies in your town? Before you consider how to make this happen, you better think about some other points first. The average family income in small communities is about $25,000 to $30,000 ... among the workers. What about that ten to 20 percent unemployed? With the new age company in town, the income of their workers, especially for a two-worker family in that plant, would probably exceed $100,000 a year. Would that generate envy? Wouldn't these new workers very quickly be able to buy the best available land sites? And obtain the best of anything in the area? And hire one of your family members as an "economic slave?" Wouldn't the new company have far greater clout than all other companies in the community combined? This kind of change most people never thought of, or considered.

(Remember, in a global economy increasingly based on knowledge, what you or those in your community know determines your future.)

Who would get jobs in such a "knowledge industry" company? In most instances with such companies, very few in rural communities today have either the skills to operate in the new environment or the understanding, initiative and global view required to operate in a "crystal lane" corporation. So in most cases, no local people, or very few, would get any jobs the company could offer. The company could, and probably would, set up a training program for bright young locals, but they would be going in at a low level and again, in most cases haven't the attitude for the study, hard work and willingness to spend a long time learning what imported workers already know.

Once in the company, local workers would be operating on a plane that would lead away from family, friends and community because of an increasing global view. That, at times, is like being on another planet.

Once the town population can understand conditions and risks involved, next comes the strategy to get such companies to select your village from the planets FIVE MILLION competing villages. All are looking for such fast-moving, innovative entrepreneurial companies. How to snare one or more of these rising stars is the subject of the next column. And that is why "disruptive mavericks" are required.

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