I was in London for New Year's Eve, watching the fireworks over the Thames with Big Ben tolling and the London Eye outlined in brilliant colors. There was a palpable "something" that rippled through the crowd as we watched the end of one decade and the dawn of a new one. Maybe it was a sigh of relief or an inhale that signaled expectation. Did you feel it too?I think what I experienced on January 1st was momentum: a sense of drive and energy to leave the past year and embark on the present. When I returned to the States, I did some mind mapping of the Economy, Consumers and Business Response. A great exercise. I recommend it.
So, based on the maps, I came up with quite a few root causes that drove my predictions for businesses in 2010. Here are a few in no particular order:
- Companies will be Bold or Bewildered.
- Customers will extract every penny of value from all purchases, especially discretionary ones.
- Bold companies will make growth decisions but not in a stupid way.
- There are two types of Bewildered companies: those that have many opportunties and/or are on the cusp of making quantum leaps and those that are stuck and don't know which way to go.
- Access to financial capital will continue to be limited.
- People are fed up with what they read and hear about Wall Street, government and less-than-stellar- leadership in both public and private sectors. Their emotions will drive significant changes in the way they think about all institutions.
- The temporary workforce is not just a cover story in BusinessWeek. I talked with a client recently who is already implementing a plan for a temporary workforce in a key functional area.
In future blogs, I'll be exploring these and other trends and how they impact our lives in and out of work.
I'd like to know from you: How are you creating success in 2010? What is your company doing to proactively respond to the shifting mood of the country? Do you have a strategy? What are some of your predictions for 2010?
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As I read your excellent post and yes I am bioased as your business partner, I began to think that employees too can be bold or bewildered in these crazy times. I think many companies are seeeing that.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point, Cat. And, we can't put all of the blame for being bewildered on the employer. Time for employees to be resourceful in a bold way and put their considerable talents to good use for their personal benefit. In the process, I think their employers will benefit as well. Spillover!!
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