Lesson Learnt from FIFA World Cup – “No one is indispensable”.
The term “No one is indispensable” is probably one of the most misused terms in the corporate world. Although, what it says is correct most of the time term has been used by bosses/employers to threaten high-performing long-standing employees.
A recent incident at the FIFA World Cup match between Portugal Vs Switzerland where the most important player of Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo was kept on the bench by the coach reaffirmed the term “No one is indispensable”. Portugal won the match without Ronaldo by 6-1 and 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos who replaced Ronaldo scored a hat trick.
In the very next match between Portugal & Morocco, the same game plan was launched by Portugal by keeping Ronaldo on the bench. The coach was adamant, that the corporate world had started using the term “No one is indispensable” in their boardrooms thinking that high-performing & highly demanding long-standing employees will learn a lesson from this.
Morocco won the match by 1-0. Morocco has launched a different game plan, which Ramos could not adjust himself quickly as he had little experience in different game plans.
Some long-standing employees have contributed to the success of the organizations in many ways. We see in our organizations that some long-standing employees have laid the platform by introducing new products, continuously improving the processes, etc., where any newcomer can come and perform from day one. Most of the time newcomers are highly ambitious & energetic & will be able to show impressive performance on a solid platform. Long-standing important players of an organization may not be as highly energetic as they used to be but their presence is crucial to facing challenges imposed by changes in Political, Social, Economic, and technological factors.
Let us look at the Argentina Vs Croatia match. Argentina won it by 3-0. Experience & the knowledge of Lionel Messi steered the game nicely. He is not the most energetic or fastest, but he has laid the platform nicely, which paved the way for energetic new players to convert the goals & win the match.
The most important thing is to win the game or when it comes to the corporate world to make the organization more profitable. You can get rid of important players of your team or put them down by saying, “No one is indispensable”, but always remember that in a highly volatile environment, experiences matter a lot.
Terence Kaushalya
