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Posts Tagged ‘optimism in a recession’

Global Economy Confidence is Up According to Gen X and Gen Y

Monday, May 17th, 2010

The YPO (Young Presidents Organization) is a well known global leadership group that provides education and resources for entrepreneurs 45 and younger.

The criteria to be a member is a minimum of 50 employees with minimum revenues of a million or more. This group is comprised mainly of Gen X and Gen Y and recent survey results posted in April 2010 show that global economic confidence is up 3.2 points.

This latest information is quite valuable as it applies to global views with specific countries showing slight drops in confidence.

How does this information affect our businesses?

I think if there was ever a time to look at global business the recent recession shows that thinking global with business is the key to future success.

The survey highlights are:

SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
Looking ahead 12 months, nearly 70 percent of CEOs who responded to the April 2010 survey expect future sales to increase with non-E.U. Europe, Latin America, Asia and MENA anticipating the most widespread growth. The majority expects employee counts to remain roughly the same, with the most widespread increases expected in MENA, Africa and Asia.

For the full details of the survey check out the link below:

http://www.ypo.org/globalpulse/

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3 Questions To Ask On The Road to Economic Recovery

Friday, September 4th, 2009

We are on the road to recovery according to American and Canadian media. The global economy is shifting rapidly and we are faced with the ‘rattling of the cage’ that has happened to our businesses and our personal lives.
What has the recession done to you?
Was your job affected?
Was your income affected?
Was your family affected?
How?
I think we can all say that we have been and will be forever impacted by the challenges in the last 18 months.
I personally have re-evaluated my business and re-looked at my personal life and have vowed to not go back to old comfortable patterns but rather to really focus on being pliant, adaptable and willing to go outside my comfort zone in order to live according to my values.
I have in the last 18 months looked at my business model and have added joint venture projects, aligned products to my speaking business and have been able to schedule in 2010 for personal activities I always said I wanted to do but haven’t yet done.
In order to remain relevant for the new economy and the rapidly changing attitudes of our planet I think there are 3 questions we need to continue to ask ourselves as we move forward- I have been asking these questions of myself since last November and will continue to do so moving forward. They are:

#1- Is how I am currently doing my business or leading my team going to help us grow?
#2- Why am I attached to this certain ideal, way of doing things, or status quo?
#3- Am I blaming others or situations when I could be looking at creative solutions for this predicament?

These questions are keeping me honest and my clients as well.
The questions we ask ourselves leads us to our next level of growth.

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Free Stuff and Rewards- Motivate to Participate

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

The well known trend site  http://www.trendwatching.com always has fabulous information but a few things struck me as relatable to leaders and business owners that could make an immediate difference in client perception and in profitability.

#1- Free is the new expectation

Savvy customers today are ‘expecting’ something for free- not because they are entitled or are from a certain generation but because ‘free’ allows them to test your brand, use your brand and then speak your brand. An few examples:

Fed-Ex has been offering free printing of 25 resumes for job seekers

The luxury market is offering sample sizes through vending machines

A new website is rewarding brand ‘communicators’ with Amazon points

#2- What Is Your Motivating Reward?

What does your company offer and how can you leverage free or reward?

The new economy is about sharing resources and sharing in profits. The old model is that if someone gave us referral business we would graciously thank them and that would be it. It used to be enough- not anymore. Now the companies or individuals that are rewarding referrals generously are realizing the power of ‘paid word of mouth’. 

An example is an event we were putting on- my team decided that we would generously pay referrals 20% and we would do it with gratitude. A measly 10% or a token of appreciation would not be enough of a reward and so we wanted to ‘go big’ with our thanks. This worked tremendously and the good will from those who referred business to us was incredible. 

A not so favorable comparison is a recent promotion I received promoting a pretty pricey event which of course offered high value. There was no mention of a referral incentive- I though I would ask- and the answer I got was less than motivating. Now when I believe in a product or a person I will shout it from the rooftops BUT if you want to motivate me to mention or refer you from a top of mind standpoint then a referral reward that speaks to me will definitely help.

I am not alone in this- its no different when motivating sales the higher commission or the sweeter prize will become the sales professionals focus. If we want others to sell for us we need to find out what is important to them, what would be incentive for them and how we can ’share resources’ to increase value. 

Welcome to the new economy!

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Do’s and Don’ts of Running Our Business in Today’s Economy

Friday, June 19th, 2009

In my consulting and coaching work I am being asked a question that is common regardless of industry, business or position.  The question is, “how do I know what action to take in today’s environment?”

We can become immobilized by all of the options available to us- if it is at all helpful I have the following Do’s and Don’ts as a guide:

Do’s

Do -Look At Your Business or Your Leadership through the eyes of another industry to find ways to operate. If you are in retail what can you learn from manufacturing?

Do- Re-connect with your customers about what they want and need. This will help you to re-focus on what your customers truly want rather than what you think they want.

Do- Get people talking. Use the social media tools, twitter, facebook, myspace and linked in are great for creating dialogue.

Do- Reexamine your business model for processes, products, and systems that are no longer working.

Do- Constantly look for ways to add value to your customers, your company, your team and all you connect with. Focus on meaningful and heartfelt interactions.

Don’ts

Don’t-  Stagnate with status quo- sitting back is a ‘wait and see’

Don’t- Stop marketing your product or service. Communicate with your customers now more than ever.

Don’t- Assume your suppliers and vendors are doing fine. Visit in person, pick up the phone, negotiate creative ways to continue doing business.

Don’t- Lose your creativity. Focus now more than ever on new revenue streams, new ways to leverage existing client relationships,

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Are Gen Y’s More Optimistic Than Zoomers?

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

I recently spoke at the MPI Mid America Conference in Lexington, KY and one of my presentations was on working with the generations in the workplace in turbulent times.

I was in the elevator coming down to set up for the presentation and I was  joined by a gentleman who would be considered to be a Zoomer ( a modern Baby Boomer).  I introduced myself and told him I was going to be presenting on the generations. His immediate comment was:

“Those Gen Y are having a reality check right now aren’t they? Now they know what it feels like to be in a recession.”

It got me to thinking and asking myself, “Is it possible that because Gen Y has not had experience with past recessions they do not have a context for this one?” 

That thought then led to the next question to myself which was, “Is it also possible that the fear and cynicism of those of us who have been through previous negative experiences is causing us to ‘project’?”

We simply cannot compare ‘recessions’ and we also cannot ‘project’ our fear of past experiences on to the current generation. First of all they don’t believe the hype. Yes some of them may have lost their jobs and yes that is a wake up call at any age- but their concerns are not about the same things that would concern a Gen X or a Zoomer.

Gen Y’s have  a natural born social structure supported by social media that as quick as they may have lost a job they have a friend who is telling them about another opportunity!

Zoomers who are using social media (FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Plaxo etc.)  at varying levels are recognizing the benefits of being ‘connected’. If as a Zoomer you are choosing to remain a lone wolf or to figure things out for yourself then indeed YOU are in for a harsh reality.

It is easy to be more optimistic when you are connected and socially supported. It is also easier to be pessimistic when you are disconnected, wishing for things to return to the way they were and unwilling to change.

So in the end are Gen Y’s more optimistic than Zoomers?

Well the next time you drive by a high school, college or university take a look at the ‘mood’. You will likely see fist bumping, hugging, laughing, texting, and talking on cell phones.  Youth with attitude

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