I was listening to a song in Tamil (a South Indian Language) and remembered the movie in which the song is actually sung by the hero of the film. This movie was released in the 1970s and I didn't quite follow it or realize the depth of it then. It is about a set of people who are drama artistes. They would perform on stage and do musicals. They typically had stories or messages to convey through their plays. These people became artistes by watching their parents/relatives/friends do the same thing. They were patronized by the kings initially and then by very rich landlords (or zamindars as they were called in India). With an independent India in 1947 and the subsequent transformation of society, we saw the disappearance of these Zamindars and Kings. This resulted in the patrons for these artistes disappearing all of a sudden and they lost their livelihoods. This movie is about one such very well known artiste who is struggling to keep his drama troupe in existence. In that movie, he talks of how his art is dying and that he is not skilled to do anything else.
We are faced with the same situation in many parts of the world even today. With more and more administrative jobs and manufacturing jobs moving to lower cost locations, people in higher cost countries are being forced to re-skill themselves. The skills that got them a job 15-20 years ago are no longer relevant in the high cost countries that they live in. Universities are struggling to keep pace to see if they can now create programs that are relevant for the new skill sets that are needed. Similarly, in lower cost locations costs are increasing and businesses need to look to different locations now. So, people in these locations are also struggling. Add to this, disruptive technology.
What we need is a good view of how the world is changing and then acquiring skill sets that are needed to meet the changing world. This is easier said than done. Many a time, we are so troubled that we are not in a mood to acquire new skill sets. However, if we do not do this, we make ourselves vulnerable to the relentless globalization of this world and the change that societies bring upon themselves. As Charles Darwin said, "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."
As I drove towards the city of Pontiac in the US, I was surprised to see the state of the roads. They were very poorly maintained. I heard that the State was declared bankrupt. There were many people living on pavements. The sight of the impact of globalization was disturbing. Someone told me that Labour Unions had negotiated minimum salaries of US$40,000 for the lowest paid in the factories of General Motors and Ford. They had, over the years, shifted their manufacturing to lower cost locations. Unfortunate situation...anything taken to the extreme - whether it is capitalism or labour unionism, ends up causing distress.
Many years ago, the same situation prevailed in a city in South India called Coimbatore. Many cotton mills were shut down and following that many companies that manufactured machinery for such mills had to also cut back. People had to re-skill themselves to survive.
I met two very enterprising men in both Pontiac and Coimbatore. The person in Pontiac had been laid off from a factory. He was a senior official at the factory. He took the money, bought 4 vehicles and now runs a fantastic taxi service. He drove me to the airport and talked to me all the way. Told me what he had to face in life but took a brave call of doing something on his own with his other skill set. I heard a similar story in Coimbatore. This man was a mechanic in the factory and when he was laid off, he could buy a 3 wheeler (called an Auto rickshaw in India). He coaxed 3 others to buy auto rickshaws and together they now run an auto rickshaw on demand service. I heard this rickshaw man's story also on my way from the railway station where he picked me.
Both these are fantastic stories of men (who live half a way across the world from each other) but actually did similar things. They re-skilled themselves, did not lose heart and now run an absolutely professional transport service. They make an honest day's living and are able to support their families well. Their families had to undergo an adjustment to their life styles, but they live with their heads held high.
I have heard many such stories in various countries as brave people look to different ways to combat this relentless chase for maximizing profits by companies that results in them losing jobs. In combating this relentless change brought by disruptive technologies. In combating greed. The trick is not to lose heart but to continuously re-skill ourselves so that we can make a living. It is fine to lose a job. It is fine to adjust our life style based on our incomes. However, it is not fine to let change get the better of us. The need to keep refreshing ourselves, the need to understand that we are born with multiple skill sets and that we can use them to make a decent living at any point in time, are key to living in this ever changing world. It is indeed the species that is able to adapt that will survive on this earth.
