Idea Fest

1. Sheila Wellington

President, Catalyst

A year from now, when we look back on 2003, people will say that this was the year that business finally got it. It was the year when business started to bring new people to the table. When business made the case for diversity and inclusion in the workplace -- and then matched it with action. The goal for the year was all about making companies more open to women and people of color. Finally, people will say, business leaders realized that organizational credibility begins with how an organization looks.

This call for change is hardly a new one. For years, we've known that by 2010, 70% of new entrants into the workforce will be women and/or people of color. We've seen a steady increase in the presence of female corporate officers, but the pace has been incremental at best. We're still talking less than 20%. How can that be, when women are getting more than 50% of BAs and MAs, 43% of PhDs, nearly 50% of law degrees and medical degrees, and slightly more than 33% of business degrees?

There has never been a greater need for fresh air in business -- and if that's what we're really after, then we have to get fresh people.

2. Jeff Taylor

Founder and chairman, Monster.com

We all need to go into the corn-storage business. By that, I mean developing "silo expertise" in emerging business areas -- such as health care, government, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals -- that haven't gotten much attention in the past five years. Those are the places where money is still being spent.

We're using that approach at Monster. For example, 71% of federal-government workers will be eligible to retire over the next eight years. My conclusion: I have to figure out how to do business with the U.S. government. So I put employees in a number of different departments who wear a government-solutions name badge. They represent a silo of expertise that's going to help me win that business.

Call them "silos" or "niches," "business units," "communities," or "channels." I like "silo" because it represents a harvest. The market-place in 2003 is more specialized, competitive, and focused. If you want to harvest revenue, then you'll have to get into the silo business. You'll have to build 20 of them, each with a different expertise. Then, depending on the size of your business, you could make $5 million or $300 million in one of those silos and substantially increase your revenue productivity.

What does this mean for each of us? We can't be generalists anymore. If you want to have a chance, you need to be a specialist. Be bold about your industry or niche expertise. If you've been in pharmaceutical sales, trumpet your expertise in the industry, not just your sales skills. You need to become a silo yourself.

3. Hirotaka Takeuchi

Dean, Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy, Hitotsubashi University

Three of the most innovative companies in Japan -- Honda, NTT DoCoMo, and Sony -- will take a quantum leap in solving the biggest social problem facing Japan and, for that matter, the world's industrialized nations: the drop in the fertility rate, which has resulted in a growing aging population. (In 25 years, one out of four Japanese will be over 60 years old.) Looking ahead, the problem will eventually hit developing nations, since the drop in fertility rates for countries like China and India will pose unheard-of challenges beyond the year 2050.

So what are Honda, NTT DoCoMo, and Sony doing to solve this problem? Right now, they are all working to develop humanlike robots. Honda's robot, named Asimo, is 120 centimeters tall and weighs 43 kilograms. NTT DoCoMo's is much bigger at 160 centimeters, while Sony's is much smaller at 50 centimeters. Honda's humanlike robot can walk down stairs. NTT DoCoMo's can't walk but can move its fingers, and Sony's can dance.

A goal for these robots is to be ready to challenge the winner of the FIFA World Cup to a soccer match in about 50 years. If they can play soccer, then they surely will be able to do a lot of things for you, both at home -- like wash the dishes, vacuum the floor, baby-sit while you are gone -- and at work. We know that robots represent the future -- if not tomorrow, then soon. We need to start preparing for them, however, in 2003. The challenge facing us humans is to make sure that these robots behave morally and ethically -- something that we have a hard time doing ourselves.