New Plans for 2011?

A new year often means new goals, plans and directions. We have a chance to offer products and services at a very logical time (see this new Execunet format -- what a great addition!) and a chance to shift into new markets and do new things.




I know that my practice is undergoing change -- and I totally embrace it.



What plans are you making for 2011 that you can share?

CEOs must be Messge-Ready, Visible and Transparent

IBM's Midmarket CEO Study "...found that many leaders anticipate greater complexities in the future and many feel uncertain of their ability to manage it."  The study continued with this major point about today's CEO requirements:

"Successful companies have found that they must integrate customers into their core processes, adopt new channels to keep customers engaged, and make customer intimacy their top priority.

"The economic climate is drastically different than it was even a few short years ago. Understanding where to seize opportunities can make all the difference between success and failure. "

Implications for executive's today:

1.  Understand we are into new realities with respect to business strategies.  No longer can companies focus on short-term wealth creation at the expense of long-term wealth creation.
2.  The key to success today is closeness with customers with open two-way communications that is intimate, transparent, and connected.
3.  Executives who want to become CEOs must know how to get visibility in these channels, understanding how to connect with customers by being transparent, and be message-ready. 

Everything else is just fluff.

The Worst is Behind Us, Not Ahead!

















Gallup.com, in its online article Recession or Not, U.S. Job Market Woes Persist, published on September 22, stated that the Great Recession may be over but the job market doesn't reflect "Happy Days Are Hear Again."

Although the unemployment rate is down almost 1.5% since its highs in February 2010, it still is too high on any measure.

BUT... the good news is:

1) the worst is behind us, not ahead.  That means, if you've been looking for that next opportunity, time is on your side.
2) executives hiring, although not robust, is happening.  Many of my clients are finding oppportunties and landing.
3) unemployment is the difference between created jobs and discontinued jobs.  That means there are jobs opening up all the time. 
4) summer is always changable in its hiring/layoffs.  Don't look at the past -- it does no good -- but know that unemployment is a lagging indicator with respect to job hiring.

CEO Employment Index Rises Slightly




Chief Executive Employment Index (6 month r=.84 lagged)

 
















The CEO Employment Index and the CEO Confience Index reflect a slow but steady rise since it's bottom in Q2 one year ago. 

Q2 of 2010 shows an uptick, however modest, and with the survey one chief executive stated what I believe is happening under the radar.  He says, "For those that do have strong balance sheets and access to capital and liquidity, the environment is ripe with opportunity for acquisition, organic growth and capturing market share.“


This tracks other data points from the Private Equity industry as well as Challenger, Grey and Christmas in the report from CNBC quoted earlier in this blog.

What does this mean?

There is fog, there is reality, and it is up to you to know the difference.

Helpful hits:

• Don't listen to the media.  They have a vested interest in reporting that which will sell more advertising space.
• Know your industry and its challenges.  Each industry is going to have a bumpy recovery, but knowing the specifics and what you can do to create value is invaluable.
• Get out there and discover the truth.  Do your own personal research and know that those who really do make a difference will find opportunities. 
• Don't wait for things to turn around.  The absolute worst thing you can do is quit until things "get better."  Quitters never win and winners never quit!

Thoughts? Comments?

Job Outlook for Executives Is 'Strong' as Firms Seek Growth

Jobs and the Economy: Job Outlook for Executives Is 'Strong' as Firms Seek Growth - CNBC

The "new, new, new normal" is here to stay.

Boards of Directors want to hire C-Suite Executives who know how to take existing business into new markets. Especially those companies who are sitting on a lot of cash and seeing that new opportunities means getting into position to leverage growth in the next 18 months.

“For a lot of marketing executives and professionals who got stuck in this recession, now opportunities are starting to open up again,” John Challenger said,, the source of the CNBC article and CEO of employment-research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Bottom line for executives:

1. Position yourself as a key executive who knows how to grow a business, not just hunker down hoping things will change.
2. Target small and medium sized companies who have taken the hit with retiring Baby Boomers and need top level leaders.
3. Learn how to use social networking to connect to quality contacts and tap into the hidden executive job market.
4. Do more than your competition when it comes to getting on a hiring executive's radar screen. 

Want to talk about it?  Call me for your free, no obligation Strategy Session.  I'd love to hear from you!

Why A Slow Economy May Be Good for Your Executive Career

I am not an economist.

But I do remember the 1990s (the first half, anyway) where growth was slow, about 2 to 3 percent per year. This was before the Internet took off and before we all got connected online. If we rip out a page from that time frame, we can see overall benefits to slow, steady growth.

1. Opportunities are real and based on true growth.
2. Productivity is based on actual revenues booked.
3. Investment is given to companies that have proven their success.
4. Customer demand is based on value, not hype.
5. Jobs are created when productivity meets capacity.
6. Prices are based on real demand and are competitive.
7. Growth is manageable and predictive. 

What is different today than 20 years ago is how people are to be employed, with lower barriers to enter the world-wide labor pools, and social networking creating interactive work flows rather than static work structures.

Therefore, executives must be willing to move away from the idea of a j-o-b and think in terms of how they can be engaged in the flow of fluid work, ignoring the method in which payment is received (wages versus income).

  

But here lies the rub.

Many of us who are in the executive ranks are so stuck in “…working for an organization…” when that very ideal organization is being re-engineered as we speak. It is being uprooted from within. Beyond the media reporting and government metrics is a whole underworld of opportunities. These opportunities are similar to the current in a river where, at the surface, it looks calm and placid, yet underneath is a ranging torrent of water that creates the real movement of the river itself.

The real economy today is the torrent of opportunities that run under the surface of traditional industrial-age job creation, including the metrics that give us an idea of what’s going on. In my opinion, these metrics are so out-of-date no wonder consumer confidence is at an all time low!

So…what’s the answer?

  

It lies in understanding how to be engaged in the flow of fluid work. Here are a few insights that I’ve gained:

• Work is being reorganized around essential tasks, not roles
• Tasks are viewed in terms of impact and return on investment, not functional expertise
• Labor is being hired based upon contractual outcomes, not job descriptions
• Hiring is based upon co-creation, not individualized responsibilities
• Money is flowing to value creation entities, not high-priced candidates

This fundamental restructuring of work and what work is valuable is moving away from what an individual can do and is looking for network pools of labor flows that can assist an organization to meet customer demand, keep overhead costs constant, and receive increased value for each essential task performed.

What does this mean for the “traditional executive”?

Let me know what you think and I’ll share your thoughts

Industrial Manufacturing M&A's Take Off, Rebounding Sector

Mergers & Acquisitions Daily, a daily eZine from the Association of Corporate Growth, stated in it's August 13, 2010 publication that:

"Industrial manufacturing saw M&A's take off thus far this year, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report tracking dealmaking in recent years....Hiring seems to be moving toward a rebound for the sector." (written by Jonathan Marino)

This is something that I've been seeing for the last 18 months.  Particularly in the Atlantic South of the U.S.

What have you found?