Does the ASX top 10 need a shake-up?
Where is Australia's innovation? If you think I am being harsh just read on for some interesting facts and observations.
An article by Alan Kohler in the Weekend Australian talked about "Australia's lost decade: The world has moved on but our politicians are stuck in the past". Maybe our business environment is too!
If you look at the top 10 companies in Australia and the United States and compare what that looked like in 2007 to what that looks like now in 2017, the story is very different.
Australia's top 10 has not changed. There has been some change in ranking, but essentially our top 10 are still banks, retail, telecommunications, mining and health. The only exits were insurance companies that were replaced with yet another bank and a health related company. And all of these companies are many decades old.
However, the United States' top 10 has changed quite significantly. In 2007, 3 of their top 4 were banks. Now they are IT/tech companies with the likes of Apple, Google (Alphabet), Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon leading the list with most less than 30 years young.
Why is this? Is the U.S. the place to go if you're a young Aussie tech start-up to source capital (a la Atlassian). And is that the only reason? Or do they also support their human capital more? The truth is, it is as per my by-line - "human capital and innovation are the source of all long term economic success". And maybe, just maybe, U.S. businesses and politicians have recognised this long before we in Australia have done so?
Innovation! Investing in your people. Your human capital. How revolutionary!
Now, I am not advocating that the U.S. is the gold standard in how to do business, but they have provided the impetus and opportunity for people to grow their ideas and innovate. They have invested in their human capital. Maybe they realised that their people, the human capital, not just the shareholders, are stakeholders too.
Digital disruption came about because people invested in their own human capital and innovation happened. Australian business and government need to reload, rethink and re-evaluate their priorities and realise that human capital is the starting and finishing point and everything else in between. Without it, we all go nowhere. If we want to progress and contribute, we need to support our people so that they can create and innovate. We need to take our human capital on the journey. Oh, and let's think about investing in our planet while we're at it! After all our human capital needs a healthy planet on which to live. They go hand in hand. It's axiomatic!
Invest and build the human capital in the economy and the innovation will follow. If people are given the incentive and motivation to innovate, the economy will flourish and grow.
I can help. Give me a call Malcolm or Bill or anyone who wants a better path to business and economic success.
Ros O'Connor
Thinking DNA www.thinkingdna.com.au
human capital and innovation are the source of all long term economic success





No one person has all the answers. A collective of ideas will always have a better chance of success





