Leaks, Matches and Traps

Have you ever wondered why there are so many doctors from India who reside in developed countries such as the US and Europe? Why has that one country exported so many of their very smart people when that country so desperately needs those smart individuals to stay at home? This is the concept of matches.

The basic principle here is that workers of similar skill tend to clump together, to match their skill with others of similar skill level. The economic principle becomes apparent when you consider our Indian doctors. Once they have acquired their certification, they face a tough choice; they can stay in their country and make a relatively small amount of money or they can put their skills to use making a lot more money in a country that is set up to better support them. Doctors in the western world typically have a better office infrastructure, supporting personnel (nurses, office managers, accountants, etc) and technological advances (billing systems, electronic records, etc) that make it possible for a highly-valued individual to better use their resources.

Taking this further, because places like Silicon Valley have so many motivated, like-minded people, knowledge there leaks even faster than it does elsewhere. The internet is a phenomenal tool for moving and acquiring data, but being able to turn that information into knowledge and skills requires more than just an efficient means of communication. It requires people to intentionally put themselves in a place where they have the most opportunity for knowledge to leak and for those leaks to add the most value.

For projects, we see this same concept. My very first project was a collection of the best and brightest individuals from all over an entire division of a fortune 500 company. We were brought together with the intent of creating world class processes and systems for the company. Those of us brought in were all highly motivated, knowledgeable and talented individuals (if I do speak for myself). Its no coincidence that we generally got along really well as we all had generally the same goals and desires. As Easterly would say, we matched.

Probably the most difficult to stomach, for me anyway, section of this book was the few short pages on traps. While the concept isn’t all that difficult, as it is essentially the opposite of a match, the example provided by Easterly hits uncomfortably close to home. While you can point to many places around the world that are trapped economically, its not just third world countries. Even the US has several regions with large traps and I happen to live adjacent to the largest one, Eastern Kentucky.

There are two ways for an individual to escape a trap: flee it or rely on outside assistance. Fleeing sounds great, but there are often many things outside of work that make people fearful or reluctant to leave the trap. Outside assistance is good, but only if it is sustained and correct for the trap. Regardless, it is highly unlikely that anyone can escape a trap without some type of external influence.

Corporations often get trapped, just like people get trapped. Think about what happens when a new CEO, with different policies and business plans takes over an established business. Often times the top talent flees due to the uncertainty brought about by such a change in the direction of the company. Unless that new CEO can attract and retain talent, they are on a path down a vicious cycle from which they will have a great deal of difficulty exiting.

Closer to home, we see this in projects. It is never enjoyable to be on a project with resources who don’t have the skills and abilities to be successful. Those projects, if they do reach completion without being put out of their misery first, have for me always been over budget, late and under-delivered nightmares.