Changes in technology boosts owner's impact on exec recruitment

Spending a large amount of CEO time on this may come as a surprise to those who think that it is a job for Human Resources, which does it through recruitment agencies and advertising positions, but I view it as one of the key things I do that determines the performance of the entire company.
It’s no secret that in Thailand recruiting highly skilled executive talent is difficult. As well as the frequently discussed issues with the education system not producing enough people with the right kinds or levels of skills, there is the very entrepreneurial Thai culture that tends to lead to the highly skilled wanting to be their own boss rather than working for someone like me!
While having highly skilled executives has always been important for a business, I believe that changes in technology have led to changes in the way executives have an impact, which has made this issue even more important today than it has ever been before.
Up until as recently as about 15 years ago, the way an executive influenced matters was restricted by the means of communication available. He could send a letter, which would take one or more days to be delivered, and then take at least an equal amount of time to receive a response.
Or he could send a fax, which required typing, sending, being collected and delivered to the recipient, who would then have to have a reply typed and sent and delivered back again. So everyone had secretaries to take dictation and do the typing of all these letters and faxes, and the speed of communication was an interaction every day or two, or more.
Or you could make a phone call, but in the days before mobile phones that meant that you had to hope that the person you were calling was next to their phone, not talking to anyone else and not busy with anything else at the exact moment you called.
Or you left a message and hoped when they got it and called back you were right next to your phone, not talking on it and not otherwise busy. This is where “phone tag” got its name – calling and leaving messages to call back, back and forth, potentially over days.
Compare that with today. Executives can reach all their points of contact instantly and simultaneously with an e-mail they can type themselves as soon as they have a thought, and they expect close to instant responses. Any form of document can also be shared and even collaboratively worked on simultaneously.
An executive expects to be able reach his points of contact instantly by mobile phone wherever he or they are at any time.
And instant messaging means exactly what it says – instant, and everywhere.
So the technology of modern communications has acted as a “force multiplier” on the influence and impact of a modern executive. Whereas previously the interactions with their points of contact was slow, infrequent and limited, now it is instant, constant and ubiquitous.
So this means the impact of an executive is far greater than it has ever been in the past.
The impact for good or bad will be felt faster and be greater than it would have been even 15 years ago.
This clearly makes the selection of the key top people in any organisation even more critical than it was in the past, and is why I devote so much time to it.
Chanond Ruangkritya is president & CEO of Ananda Development Plc.