Access Economy: The Spotify of the C-Suite

The access economy is a relatively new phenomenon taking the world by storm.

You may not realise it but if you listen to your music through Apply Music or Spotify, catch a film on Netflix, enjoy a stay with Airbnb, take a ride with Uber, or hire a car through Zipcar – you are participating in the Access Economy.

Instead of buying the goods outright and owning them e.g., a CD, a DVD, a holiday home, or a car …

… we access use of these goods only when we need them.

Access rather than ownership has many attractions.

We don’t have to find somewhere to keep our asset e.g., have a garage, driveway, or regular parking space for our car, or storage space for all our CDs or DVDs.

Nor do we have to spend money on maintaining the asset e.g., making sure our car is insured and roadworthy, ready to go when we need it.

It is also very flexible and easy to engage with. It’s a way to try out something before committing for the long term and doesn’t involve locking up our capital.

We avoid the burden of ownership

This is important because if we take a step back and think about the burden of owning assets, it is considerable.

We need to look after them 100 per cent of the time, but we probably only use them a fraction of that time. We are paying handsomely for the luxury of having them handy when we need them. We need plenty of space to keep them too. Then when we have finished using them, or we want to upgrade to the latest model, we sell the asset. Equally, if the asset is worn out, we might give it away, donate it to charity, or even throw it away.

We’ve got used to this way of living.

And then there’s another reason why we want to own assets. Probably the biggest reason …

There’s something about them belonging to us that we really like. Owning an asset feels good!

It says something to the outside world about us.

It forms part of our identity, the image we want others to see.

We think that the latest model of car sitting proudly outside our house shouts “We are successful, we’ve made it!”

In contrast, accessing goods or services doesn’t quite look the same …

Zipcar has its logo on the car, everyone knows the driver doesn’t own it.

Music lovers using a streaming service don’t have a carefully curated CD collection on view in their homes, instead they access by logging on and scrolling down.

In the access economy others will use the asset when we don’t need it, reducing idle time and wastage. It’s more efficient and means we need less stuff, but … we are still in the early stages of its development and not everyone has caught on or thinks access can be used more widely.

It’s different and it’s new.

When the benefits outweigh the costs, society will change.

For now, we have the early adopters, those who like to try anything new. Then there are those whose identity is perhaps less materialistic and more caring of our planet; they will be drawn to access. Finally, there are those who don’t have any choice; they can only access because they will never be able to afford to own.

What about accessing the C-suite?

Well, it’s certainly new and different. It also fills a gap.

Those business leaders of SMEs who can’t afford full-time C-suite skills welcome being able to access this vitally important service.

The challenge comes in seeing this approach as a way forward for organisations as they scale further, even when they can afford to employ.

This is where the access economy for the C-suite comes into its own. There are further benefits to access at this point.

We are mistaken if we think a fixed group of C-suite individuals can meet all the challenges thrown at them today. It’s impossible, and by using access, employed C-suite individuals can dynamically and flexibly bring in the skills they need, as and when, to supplement their employed resources. Covering the bases like this, will de-risk initiatives, as the expert will be on hand through the access economy to advise when needed.

Yet most importantly we need to consider what the C-suite individuals themselves want, the supply side of the equation.

They are looking for alternative ways of working which give them a different life, one with balance and flexibility, not the 24/7 relentless corporate agenda. In addition, the younger generations coming through are already showing signs of embracing portfolio working compared to employment.

It may be that it is the movement of talent towards access, that is the tipping point for this economy, making it the Spotify of the C-suite.

If you want to learn more, have a read of "Strategy and Leadership as Service” which you can find out more about here.