Investing in our Human Capital
Written by: Martin X. Shields
As part of our firm’s philosophy of investing in our human capital, we try attending several conferences each year where we complete due diligence and research on investments, global economic trends, best business practices and methods to better utilize our technology. This week several members of our team attended a conference in Chicago that was primarily focused on the technology we use for our portfolio trading, performance reporting and business management.
During our time in Chicago, we identified ways to leverage our technology to continue to improve the productivity of our team and improve the service levels for our clients. In addition, we attended sessions where the speakers highlighted interesting U.S. & global economic trends.
In one of the presentations, Zachary Karabell, the author of “The Leading Indicators” discussed the fact that many of our economic indicators were created in the 1930s after the Great Depression and they don’t accurately capture all the elements of our current global economy. He highlighted country GDP metrics as having limitations. For example, all of the goods and services that are produced and sold in foreign counties by U.S. companies do not increase U.S. GDP but do increase revenue and profits for U.S. companies. Therefore, U.S. corporate profits can grow at a rate that is greater than U.S. GDP growth rates. Also, GDP measurements are best at capturing the creation of physical capital assets such as cars and computers but they do not accurately account for the creation of intellectual capital.
In another session, Chris Anderson, Founder of 3D Robotics discussed how manufacturing will continue to grow in the U.S. but it will require less labor and will utilize machines and technology as the primary production source. This increased manufacturing will continue to require employees to be better educated. It will also be possible for individuals to form their own manufacturing companies using 3D printing capabilities.
At yesterday’s final session, Super Bowl Champion and Five time MVP quarterback Peyton Manning discussed the characteristics of what it means as an individual and an organization to become a “Game Changer”. From his experience, winning a Super Bowl as the Quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts and recovering from four neck surgeries to lead the Broncos to this year’s Super Bowl, if you want to bring about true change you must be open to taking the time to observe your environment and always be willing to learn and adjust as factors change. Personal and organizational improvements will not occur if there is complacency or if you are comfortable with the status quo.
As we constantly look for ways to improve our business and better serve our clients, we utilize these trips to provide insight, education and perspective to drive these positive changes.