The Shrinking Middle

     Went to the Lone Star for dinner tonight for the first time in years. Cost $50 and was good. That seems disappointing to me. Further evidence of something that I read about and that I've really started to notice lately which is that there is no room in the "middle". I can spend $100 at Moxies and have an experience. I know it's going to be great and that I am going to be happy. Going in I know I'm going to spend but I also know it's going to have value. I can go to Harvey's and spend $20 and I get good value for the money. Tonight spending $50 for good just didn't seem worth it to me. This phenomenon seems true everywhere though. I think people buy an expensive TV because they want premium entertainment or they buy a cheap TV because it's cheap. I don't think many people buy a middle of the road TV. I think it's the same with clothes. I think people buy a name brand pair of jeans that's expensive or they buy at Wal-Mart. I don't see a big market anymore for that middle of the road product that we used to buy constantly. I think this is some of the reason we are seeing the end of Eatons, The Bay, Sears etc.
     The way I first became aware of this concept it was described as a "race to the bottom". If you aren't delivering tangible value then someone is always going to do it cheaper. People in the workforce or businesses in the marketplace have to realize you can no longer make an average product or do average work and make money at it. Someone is always going to do it cheaper if it takes no real skill. If you expect to be paid you need to add value. I think this is part of the problem with the way the world of work in our communities is changing and people seem to be struggling to adapt. The days of going to work and doing some unskilled labour and being paid well for 30 years until retirement are quickly ending if you look around. As Seth Godin says it is the end of ABC work. ABC stands for Attendance Based Compensation. Less and less companies are willing to pay you just to show up and put in time. I think the world is changing and you need to have a quick factual answer to how you add value. I saw a comment recently that said if you don't think your job is temporary you just haven't realized it yet. I think there is a lot of truth to that. This concept is being trumpeted by many business leaders like Seth Godin and Tom Peters. These guys got where they are because they have the vision to see what's coming.
     It sounds scary but maybe it isn't......maybe we just need to work harder and make sure we deliver work or a product that's worth the money......isn't that what we were supposed to be doing all along? Or was it really fair that we expected jobs with Attendance Based Compensation?