I have written and spoke extensively about demolishing silos. You can see one such example in one of my blog posts from January 2010.
A silo of a different type is about to be demolished on Canada’s east coast. The scenic Peggy’s Cove lighthouse is on the chopping block through a combination of:
A) Natural selection –modern steel towers with long life bulbs are cheaper to erect and maintain than houses with lights on them, and
B) Silo mentality on behalf of Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).
DFO owns the lighthouse and maintains it as one of their tools in keeping ships safe on the seas, in this case off the shores of Nova Scotia. The lighthouse needs significant maintenance and there is a stronger business case to be made for demolishing it and replacing it with a steel tower. From that standpoint it makes sense.
Lighthouses are relics from the past and time marches on. In the same way that we no longer need elevator operators, or welders on an automotive assembly line, we no longer need lighthouse keepers or even lighthouse. The work just isn’t there anymore.
The welder, machinists, and many other technical people including corporate information technology (I.T.) workers are no longer in demand for their skills and have or are about to be challenged to develop new skills.
The lighthouse keepers were obsolete many years ago, and now, so are the lighthouses. So, if their old value is now gone, how would you suggest the lighthouse keeper or the lighthouse itself move to work of higher value?
(Please post your response, and then I will share my own.)
Hint: I have provided some clues in the above text. Put your best ideas forward
