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Published on March 5, 2008

Check out the recent IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook. Thai-land's 2007 Overall Ranking fell to a low of 33 (out of 55 nations), with SME Enterprises at 54, Competent Senior Managers 37, and Language Skills at 48. Even with the error margin of 10 ranks, the results are poor. Let us look at a few proposals to improve the situation.

First, the national administration should groom global managers to add new perspectives.

Hong Kong, and later Taiwan, in a bid to build a new, high-fashion industry sent over a hundred promising designers to live and work in Milan.

They learnt of international tastes and branding and came back to pioneer the new movement. Singapore assembled a group of mentors by sponsoring managers to work in China.

Secondly, Thai corporations should promote high mobility in the workforce. Cross training, transfers and rotation can accelerate learning and networking to build up a future crop of leaders.

The firm I was with in the United States reorganised twice a year: everyone on the learning curve, no time to go stale.

Third, at the personal level, we must build a talent pool. Remember the early opportunities that brought you to where you are today. Give people around you opportunity and time, and they will eventually have a lot more to give back.

Recent administration had

tried chief executives, governors and village kids going to foreign schools. Their mixed success could come from under-preparation. When I was selected to work in Japan for a year, I devoted the prior six months to language and negotiation courses. Even that was hardly enough.

Some Thai construction contractors, building material firms, and even oil and gas exploration companies have spread abroad, using their own staff on offshore assignments. These are good signs, and other companies should not wait to follow suit and develop talent now.

Developing a company's own talent pool is self-serving. Talent attracts talent while the lack of it leads to entrenched mediocrity.

For now, never mind IMD. Debate on these points and find your own solutions.

don bhasavanich

e-mail: dbhasa@gmail.com