In China, the land of big numbers, 70,000 would not normally rate a mention, except that it represents a chasm in talent where it counts.
According to Gerry Davis and Steve Langton, authors of Redefining Leadership - Competing in Asia in the 21st Century, the figure is the estimated shortfall in 'globally capable' mainland executives. The imbalance in home-grown supply and demand at the top looks set to persist for at least the next decade and will confront each company seeking to establish or expand their mainland operations. In short, they say, it is the biggest problem that multinationals will face in China.
The conventional corporate response would be to adopt the Jack Welch approach of pouring resources into the top 20 per cent of employees and sacking the bottom 10 per cent on an annual basis. But while the model may have worked well in other markets, Davis and Langton suggest that companies will have to dig a little deeper to groom, retain and promote suitable future business leaders in China.
Executives matter in the Asia-Pacific because it is the fastest-growing business area in the world. While economies elsewhere have shuddered, expectations are still high that China will continue to register long-term annual growth of at least 5 per cent. The mainland is also making the shift from being a low-cost supplier to a consumer of goods and services.
The tendency in the past has been to fill senior leadership posts in mainland operations with offshore talent, but today the trend is to look for local potential to fill strategic gaps. The relatively small candidate pool means that the best applicants had the upper hand. They know what they are worth and are not waiting around.
Often, too, these managers have risen through the ranks in a series of 'battlefield promotions', advancing by spending shorter periods in jobs across a range of sectors and succeeding in an 'ambiguous market ... [with] inconsistent infrastructure and consumer data points'. They do not want for job offers and are not averse to job-hopping.