Book Review: Things To Do…Before Your Career Disappears (i)

Author: Tope Fasua, FCA

Date: May 2013

Price: N3000 ( Hard back – N5000)

Available on Amazon

Offline purchase: Wale (0703 327 9034)

Reviewed for Jarushub by:

Omotola Hakeem Abimbola

(Works with an Investment banking institution in Nigeria; abimbolatola@yahoo.com or abimstols@gmail.com)

“One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protector of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change”– Martin Luther King

I am starting this review with these words from the leader of the American Civil Rights Movements, Martin Luther King, mainly because it captures the basic message of the book I am reviewing; change, and how individuals, households, businesses, pressure groups governments and the society as a whole fail to respond when at the time they should.

THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOUR CAREER DISAPPEARS is a well crafted and bold attempt to awaken the world, especially Africans to new realities of the global economy brought about by technological efficiency and globalization, which is fast changing the way goods are being produced and manner services are being rendered. Fasua, in the book examined how technological development is going to impact the global workplace and render many professions useless in the medium to long term since business managers and technology developers in the advanced world are constantly seeking for innovative cost efficient and labour saving techniques of production. It is just the way the capitalist system works, the goal is always to continually look for cost saving solutions and seek new markets for products in a bid to grow profit. This he noted has however given rise to “globalization, computerization, robotization, and deadly competition among companies and countries” which is bound to render individuals unprepared jobless, force companies that can’t keep up with innovation to shut down and keep countries that aren’t evolving with time in their perpetual state of underdevelopment, with unemployment and poverty being the key indicator.

Even with good infrastructures, working institutions and better governance in the advanced world, Fasua didn’t remotely suggest American and European economies are shielded from the threat of careers disappearing. Infact, he suggested they are already showing early signs, judging by some of the things he observed on his trips to Europe. He mentioned of a music and video company he normally visits in UK which had to shut down as the business became unprofitable since people now easily download on the internet. He also mentioned of a popular camera retailer which had to shut down as sales went down, mainly because phone now come with sophisticated cameras. Long and short, Fasua is telling us that more jobs will disappear in the advanced world and even though new ones will also be created, they will not be enough to fill the void left due to increasing efficiency. But if gold can rust, should not the fate that awaits dross be expected to be more severe?

Part 2

Part 3