CIO Mind

This week “The McKinsey’s Quarterly” published an interview with Paolo Scaroni, CEO of ENI.

Among other issues Paolo Scaroni shares it’s views on workforce in Europe:

The Quarterly: That raises a question about more widespread change, which many people think is needed by business systems in continental Europe. What’s your experience after working in France, Italy, and the United Kingdom?

 
Paolo Scaroni: In this context, I believe that some concepts are exactly the opposite of what they seem. When, for example, you read the European press, the talk—notably in France—is about people fighting to hold on to their precarious jobs. Well, personally, I think precarious jobs are fantastic, but the reality is that all jobs have to be precarious. Without the current labor legislation, companies in Europe would be able to create millions more jobs, as they have done in the UK. To me it is unbelievable that the boss of a company in France, Germany, or Italy devotes a lot of effort to the task of how not to hire new people, when we should be devoting our time to thinking how we can hire them.

 
In continental Europe, we have developed a mentality which says that if you were born in, say, Lyon, you deserve to live all your life in Lyon, with nobody ever firing you for any reason, every year making 5 percent more than the year before, and retiring when you are 58. In my view, that’s a pretty boring prospect, but apart from anything else, in a global world it’s an impossible dream. All politicians understand as much, but every time they try to explain it they are no longer elected. From the employee’s point of view, so-called freedom means doing dull and stupid tasks, working on when your boss is nasty and undermining your career—all because your job is “safe.” Stability, in reality, fires back, and in this respect Belgium, France, and even Spain are worse than Italy. In a world in which everyone is changing, by contrast, you can quit when you are unhappy, find a better job, and compete.

I emphasis the last sentence. The world is no longer a comfortable place. There aren’t many places left to hide from competition. All successful companies are now eliminating any warm places. You are competing on a global basis.