CHANGE! This has been the mantra of the interminable political campaigns of the past 24 months. We have been told we need change, that change is critical to moving forward, that change is good for us. Now the time has come to change.
The global transport industry is already dealing with change: unprecedented volatility in fuel prices, falling volumes and rates, burgeoning capacity surpluses and bankruptcies. The U.S. transport industry faces the same challenges. It also faces two additional, significant challenges: rapidly aging and deteriorating infrastructure and a lack of an integrated transport policy. The problems plaguing the U.S. transport infrastructure is well-documented: an obsolete air traffic control system; an interstate highway and bridge network in need of major rehabilitation; a 50-plus-year-old inland waterway system that is technologically obsolete; a port system that faces a growing deferred maintenance dredging issue due because of a lack of federal funding and the need to accommodate the deeper draft ships that will likely transit an expanded Panama Canal in 2014; and the list goes on. Change is clearly required. The question is: Will it come, and will it be effective?
The single greatest success factor to implementing change is probably leadership. Funding is indeed critical, but without top-down direction and sustained commitment, funding, regardless of the amount, will likely not be effective. The theme of the 2008 elections and the incoming administration has been change — in philosophy, approach and leadership. The current environment is the proverbial Charles Dickens’s best of times and worst of times. It is the best of times due to a clear political majority and a sense that change is needed and welcomed. Therein lies the opportunity. It is the worst of times, given a U.S. economy in recession and structural challenges in the U.S. financial system and consumer markets.
Effective leadership can drive clarity of purpose (i.e. policy), focus and prioritization. Effective leadership can communicate the necessity of making hard decisions related to prioritization, an absolute must, given the breadth and depth of challenges and finite resources. Effective leadership can provide the political courage that will be critical to sustaining focus and commitment.
Leadership should be at the top of every transport professional’s wish list.