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RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS

be insufficient in a world of unpredictability, constant preciating technologies, human talent thankfully stays
change, and disruption.” appreciative.
Moving away from CV superficialities to questions like
The future corner advantage goes to businesses that ‘What world crisis keeps you up at night?’ in the inter-
invest in risk takers and self-driven learners who ex- view process can filter out the passionate. Broadening
pand beyond their job descriptions, often to rewrite the hiring criteria to include a passion for art, as an exam-
job entirely. Their commitment to excel builds resilience, ple, encourages cultures of integrated engineering and
so that when disruption knocks on a company’s door, its design.
workforce is already well acquainted.
In addition to recruitment, organizations need to learn
Engaged but dispassionate employees thrive on pre- how to tap and amplify passion from within their ranks.
dictable profit margins and ‘free pizza Fridays’. Passion- Business leaders need to ask the hard questions like:
ate employees, on the other hand, can let the peppero- Does the organizational culture punish or reward fail-
ni go cold. They’re too busy being ‘engaged’. ure? Do current systems foster or hinder collaboration?
Is it lip service or actual opportunities that employees
Laying new platforms for passion to thrive are given to impact their domain? As companies make
the adjustments to foster fresh passion and motivation,
Sadly, 87% of America’s workforce is falling short of its they will redefine their workforce and lock down solid
potential because these workers lack the passion to sustained performance in increasingly tumultuous
pioneer and innovate. And companies are certainly not times.
making it any easier, with CEOs and top managers in-
centivized to manage shareholders’ expectation more Tony Robbins says, “It’s not the lack of resources, it’s
than run the actual company and invest in their own your lack of resourcefulness that stops you.” Passion is
people (an idea former General Electric CEO Jack an unstoppable force that tips problems over to solu-
Welsh has incidentally termed ‘the dumbest idea in the tions. It operates on the assumption that challenge is
world’.) the breeding ground for betterment and failure makes
you stronger.
Greater attention should be given to passion and overall
disposition than to mere technical skills and academic And when the resources are not there, it will simply re-
credentials. So how can organizations re-shape and re- define the resources and carry on. Unlike the economy
think their environments to secure the talent they so of immediate gratification in which we operate, passion
desperately need? Firstly, they need to redefine whom cannot be franchised or fast-tracked. It’s bred over time
they’re looking for. While trends and innovations come in failure and grit and daily grind. And the companies
and go, the one indispensable attribute of the work who do more than tip their hat to it will reap the rewards
world is disposition. Against the backdrop of vastly de- in time. ◊ By Scott Tatom

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