Is it a good thing that our economy (especially our tech sector) continues to churn its workers over and over again?
I’m in this predicament right now: My company, Maxtor, is being purchased by Seagate. It is all but expected that I will be losing my job in the next 6 months. While I think the transaction makes sense from a business standpoint (there really needs to be more consolidation in our industry), it’s hard for continuity. How can we build good solid companies if the ground keeps moving from underneath us?
As a professional project manager, I know that it takes time for people to learn how to work together. I’ve learned the process as the four "orms":
- Form – The creation of the team
- Storm – The chaos that ensues as the team figures out how to work with one another. It is at this step that the sum of the parts is much less than the indivdual pieces.
- Norm – People start figuring out how to work together and things become less hectic.
- Perform – Here’s where the sum is greater than the parts. This is what makes a team truly a "team."
It seems to me that companies in the 21st century have forgotten the true meaning of allowing people to congeal and truly learn how to work together. How can we make strong, everlasting institutions if there isn’t the "gestation" period?
None of this is meant to imply that what Segate/Maxtor are doing isn’t the right thing. At this point in time, it is the best logical next step for both companies.
I just feel a little disheartened right now that we are at the end of the great institutions,