Apr 14

When I told a few friends recently that I was discussing a partnership with the founder of a top-notch offshore software development house in Romania, I was generally greeted with disgust and/or glib patriotic remarks. Their statements generally went like this, “I hate offshoring because it takes away American jobs. There are so many people who need jobs now, and I think it is unfair to send them overseas … “

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What’s frustrating about this blanket statement, aside from the fact that it doesn’t consider the fact that there are certain job sectors (like nursing and software development) that currently do not meet the demand for qualified applicants, is that it completely ignores what it means to run efficient, effective teams.

The purpose of running teams and projects is to be involved with the best; with high-quality people who you respect to not only help accomplish your goal, but to push the bar forward. Yes, of course there are advantages with cheaper labor, but it’s not wise to conclude that just because a person lives in another country, they should be excluded from your team. And, since technology has advanced to a point where communication is seamless, it’s really only time-differences that make it difficult to converse overseas.

Take the guy I met in Romania, for example. He is a great guy – a guy that, if he lived in the US, I’d be excited to work with on a day-to-day basis. If I didn’t accept the fact that it’s okay to work with outsourcing companies, I’d never have had the chance to meet him, or be able to work with him in the future.

If you look at the whole picture, it’s really about working with great people. Don’t penalize potential top-notch team members just because they don’t live in the US.  If you really want to tackle the US job issue look at creating the best educational system possible.  This will ensure that our children have the tools and leadership capabilities to create the industries and markets that will create the jobs of the future.  Also, it will enable us to easily retrain existing workers to new roles and functions.  Having a protectionist attitude will not keep us on the forefront of innovation.

Think otherwise? I would love to hear your comments.

Best,

Josh

Jan 14

After a little delay in getting things organized, “Minding the Plan” is open for postings. At this point in my life I have never been more excited about where I am and the opportunities that await, and the purpose of this blog is to express some of my thoughts and experiences. Not only will I talk about my career as a project manager and how I have transitioned into the world of consulting, but I will also attempt to explain interesting situations of human behavior that I have been involved with. More importantly my main goal (albeit probably the most difficult) is to create a community where people freely post comments and engage in discussions. I will do my best to facilitate that.

Now on to a few disclaimers. All of the opinions expressed in this blog are my own, and any references to people in my articles are personas that I have created. While past acquaintances and situations may have helped shaped that creation there is not a direct relationship to specific people. In the cases where I have specific consent to reference real people then I will make sure that it is clearly stated.  Lastly, I do encourage people to post and email me comments, but I do reserve the write to delete posts as I see fit.  While I will always err on the side of freedom of speech, if a comment is obscene, spam or infringes on the rights of others it will be removed.

Lastly, before I wrap up this first post I have yet to finalize a design and layout for this site, and as such things may change. I felt it was more important to start posting and getting in the flow then have an catchy site established. Thus, please forgive me if it looks a bit bland.

Best,

Josh