Reinvention

  Reinvention "Be prepared to reinvent yourself. Be prepared to go out on a limb occasionally, and be prepared to do the things that you feel strongly about.”Hillman Curtis It is said that we are living through a second industrial (digital) revolution which is changing work patterns and productivity just as much the original one. Great people are as important as ever – but finding talent is arguably as hard as ever and may get harder yet. Therefore it is important that we make the most of existing talent and help the talent that sometimes loses it’s way or becomes stale to reinvent themselves, to adjust, change and to renew their sense of purpose. We all need to change as we travel along the career road.  Careers today are journeys and there needs to be a focus on the development of the mind, thought processes and creativity. Too many boards today are arguing that their people are too narrow in the focus and not helping creating change agendas. We argue it is not the people but business process that is the barrier. There needs to be greater innovation in terms of freeing up talent and supporting skills to change and adjust to conditions. We are beginning to measure food waste and we measure the cost of recruitment, maybe even the cost of losing a good person. However we never measure how much could be gained by redeveloping existing talent. Now is the time and the irony is that often it is not the complex skills that need redevelopment – not the real detail – but the simple social skills:

• Social competence
• How to build strong professional relationships of value
• The art of conversation and how to communicate effectively
• How to network and open doors
• How to present oneself
• How to make others feel reassured and good
• How to think laterally and creatively
• How to be proactive and add value
• How to be problem solvers

It is all these traditional skills that can make a difference in a career and a life but not enough time is spent on these skills or invested in them. We may talk Hospitality but we need our people breathing it too. Innovation is important but nothing is more important that freeing up talent so that it can express itself well and be effective. We have created barriers to new leadership and new solutions. We possess great people but now is the time to invest in their innovation and yes their reinvention. EP has pulled together an experienced team of professionals that can work with those that need to change and find new direction. We believe that the talent exists for the Industry to thrive and prosper; there is just greater need to focus on development of skills sets and broaden thinking.