Bottom-up or top-down in times of severe crisis.
What is a truly innovative approach? Launching the idea of a war cabinet in which you, not so secretely, dream of being part of? Or do you prefer the idea of a company that collectively decides to cut back 20% of their wages (and labour time) in order to avoid staff-reduction?
Both are hot items in the Belgian press. The war-cabinet (launched by Geert Noels for-the-time-being-but-looking-for-a–new-job head-economist of Petercam) wants to assist the governement in managing the crisis by defining actions, which the government and its hundreds of advisors is apparantly uncapable of finding themselves.
I agree, we need to think out-of-the-box, sure we need creative actions, BUT, I sincerely doubt that yet another counsel brings the answer.
It is as if all the advisors, the economic cabinets, the centrale bank have been fast asleep and we are now waken up by the white knight and his war-cabinet. I do not believe in directive top-down actions. Why would the war cabinet be able to do something different in a top-down manner that all the others have not been able to accomplish? Stop the discussions about who should be in the war cabinet. We do NOT need a war cabinet.
What we need is more Jaga’s, a medium sized company that collectively decided, from the CEO to the janitor to take a 20% pay-cut until the crisis is over. All work 4 out of 5 days a week. All earn 80% of their salary. A great way to avoid, cuts in jobs and be sure that once the crisis is gone they can head full steam ahead in the shortest period of time.
That is what we need. Let the companies be creative about their own solutions. Give them the freedom to operate and implement creative solutions that adopt to the slow-down but avoid a break-down.
My personal preference: let’s reward the bottom-up approach.
No comments:
Post a Comment