I wish I were an economist. Actually, I wish I were a good economist, then I could have seen better signs of this ‘[tag]new economy[/tag]‘ we’re under. Don’t you?
However, if I were an economist I’d be getting a lot of negative press right now. I mean those poor guys took about a full year to officially proclaim a [tag]recession[/tag] when most businesses, and individuals, had been feeling the effects of the difficult economy for many months. Then, they said the downturn would only last a few months (maybe 9-12). Now, the news is that it will likely last into 2010.
It’s tough to predict the future – it’s better to plan for the future and manage the present.
I did see some additional predictions in the EE Times that probably will turn out to be fairly accurate based on what we have seen this past year.
“Executives are clearly telling us that the negative [tag]industry trends[/tag] we began to see in September are expected to deteriorate further, and these companies will need to become more efficient in managing costs—especially with tight credit markets,” said Gary Matuszak, leader of KPMG’s global Information, Communications, and Entertainment practice. (EE Times)
I thought this was an important comment because you can probably pick it up from the electronics industry and drop it into any other industry and it would apply just as well. Here’s another one:
Seventy percent of executives surveyed in November expect their companies to decrease their global workforce in the next 12 months, including 40 percent who see a decrease of more than six percent, according to KPMG. In October, only 38 percent said they see [tag]workforce contraction[/tag] at their companies, the firm said.
Wow! A change in expected workforce contraction from 38% to 70% in only one month.
These two comments likely apply to your industry as you look at your order pipeline and your sales revenues. Have they both fallen off? If not, you’re one of the few (and tell us your secrets!).
But here is the real kicker about this whole ‘new economy’ and ‘deteriorating market’ and ‘workforce contraction’ situation:
“Despite expecting workforce contraction, 76 percent of respondents said the availability of a [tag]skilled workforce[/tag] was very important in determining the allocation of capex spending, KPMG said. Over the next three years [tag]critical workforce skills[/tag] are expected to be hired from several key markets, including 28 percent from the U.S., 23 percent from China, 12 percent from Korea and 11 percent from Taiwan, the firm said.”
Understanding the following three points is core to coming out of these challenges winning:
- there are critical workforce skills that are and will be needed,
- those critical skills are worthy of spending or investing in, and
- where and how to get those critical skills.
Have you thought about these three questions: which skills truly drive revenue and profit, how will you invest in getting, developing, and multiplying those skills so you get the maximum ROI, and how can you get those skills in the best, most efficient, and most cost-effective manner possible?
Recent Comments