Star Wars – The Inter-galactic Talent Search

The road not taken in HR corridors

Let me put it this way - our forefathers were closer to the future than we are now. Counterintuitive? Not at all. Here is a simple truth; life on Earth began as a basic microbe about 4 billion years ago, and over time snowballed into a mass of complexity. Was that really the genesis of life or was it just the beginning of life on Earth, while life was similarly sprouting in another planet perhaps or maybe even a parallel universe? Several theories have evolved over centuries – each more intriguing than the other. 

The NASA now believes that of the several hundred planets similar to Earth that might potentially be out there, some are inhabitable and may certainly already be inhabited. This means that there is a possible pool of humans (or humanoids) out there. Think Star Wars. Imagine a galaxy of inhabited planets and with a single central galactic government (control system). We can’t even begin to comprehend the talent we would have at our disposal – that’s our probable future. The concepts of diversity and inclusion are set to blow up disproportionately – to a magnitude no one has yet quite grasped. Talent will be borderless, beyond the boundaries of country, region…and even the world!

But why do I say that our forefathers were closer to this future? Because Adam and Eve (or Manu, progenitor of the human race according to Hindu tradition) lived in a borderless world. As hunter-gatherers, people had little reason to be territorial. Nature was abundant and people very few. As the population grew, trade began. With partisanship came partitions – lines were drawn, kingdoms created and much blood shed in the process. The eventuality was the creation of 196 countries and a mire of complexity with each country living by their own laws and ways of functioning. The talent story runs parallel to this. Businesses and industry started getting territorial and talent started developing in industrial communities. The entire pool of talent considered businesses was restricted to their narrow sphere of reference.

Taken up in the whirlwind of life, humanity didn’t realise when they went from living in an open jungle to living in a restricted zoo – a concrete jungle decorated with boundaries and straightjackets. Development in the modern world happened in territories – we had the India story, The American dream and so on…not a world vision. The movement of talent was restricted with Visas and work permits adding bureaucratic layers to cross-border mobility. As we made our lives more and more complex, we became increasingly short-sighted and our thoughts restrictive. Gradually industrial growth became intrinsically tied to talent and that led to talent being traded. But, this is not going to be sustainable in the long term. We need room to grow, otherwise frustration, stagnation and mediocrity will be inevitable.

 I envisage a future where our talent canvas will be the Milky Way. Im talking of a ‘Star Wars’ of a different kind; a fight to get star talent from across the galaxy. Aliens and humans may just be direct talent competitors – or alternatively, pair up to make the perfect team. There will be mutants, and humans with special powers will be commonplace. This may seem far-fetched now, like a theory out of a blockbuster sci-fi film, but it is more accessible than you might think. Here is how – soon, in the course of evolution, the human mind will develop. Technology will also move forward and ensure we can access opportunities ‘inter-galactically’ (perhaps even in real time). Work timings, work space, lifestyle, communication etc. will all become fluid concepts and HR will have a whole new set of parameters to run businesses by.

 Popular holiday destinations in eastern Europe or the Bahamas will be replaced by trips to the moon or other planets. The beginning is near – and will be upon us sooner than you think. But to kick start it all, we must first take up the role of enablers. We must begin by going back to the borderless era. We have to think beyond boundaries. Are we mentally prepared for the change? If we are, the time is now, change is near. Globalisation is passé; let’s talk ‘galaxisation’. Instead of a world-view, let’s have a universal view.  

Galaxisation has immense ramifications on talent and talent scouts. To begin with, capabilities will undergo a sea change – skills will look very different from those we have now. The array of new capabilities available will likely give rise to a whole new system of working. Monochromatic full-time jobs will make way for project/assignment based jobs, part-time assignments, remote jobs etc. As a first step however, we need to look at a collective global development plan with unrestricted movement of talent. The immediate task is to open opportunities to the globe, develop talent and prepare them for the challenges of the future and make this Earth the way it was intended to be – a borderless ball.

As conscious innovators and HR leaders, the question we need to ask ourselves is that in a world of diametrically different capabilities, super powers, technologies that redefine business processes, and ideologies that shatter current notions; are we prepared to take on the world?? And when that is not enough, are we ready to take on the universe?

*This video is taken from YouTube purely for reference purposes.  

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Kaustubh Sonalkar is the most unlikely hero you’d expect to find in serious HR corridors. Disruption runs through his veins, and ideas come to him at the speed of light. Keep up with Kaustubh as he shares his thoughts through this un-blog.