“The problems of victory are more agreeable than those of defeat but no less difficult.”
–Winston Churchill
Q2 2019 Vistage-Chicago Confidence Index – Chicago More Pessimistic
Chicago Area Survey Highlights are below. Click here for more detail by industry and for a comparison to 2018.
| Economy |
| 17%of CEOs thought the national economy had improved in the past year (vs. 31% nationally) |
| 10% of CEOs expect the economy to improve in the year ahead (vs. 13% nationally) |
| Prospects |
| 53% of CEOs expect to increase revenue in the year ahead (vs. 64% nationally) |
| 45% of CEOs expect rising profits in the year ahead (vs. 54% nationally) |
| Expansion |
| 31% of CEOs expect to increase investments in the year ahead (vs. 40% nationally) |
| 40%of CEOs plan to expand their workforce in the next year (vs. 56% nationally) |
© 2019 Vistage Worldwide, Inc.
Elisa K Spain http://elisaspain.com/leadershipcoach/
Are You a CEO or President of a Privately Held Business? If you are also a lifetime learner and want to learn more about my Vistage Group, click http://elisaspain.com/impact/
Friction
Friction slows things down and makes motion difficult — it’s basic physics. We also know less friction eases movement and increases speed. When things are faster and easier to use, commerce happens.
And, when friction is present, movement slows or worse yet, simply stops.
We see this all the time with technology adoption. Have you found yourself abandoning a website, because you forgot your password and the reset didn’t work? Or the website was slow and you were busy? Or, the app on your phone crashed? Or? Or? Or?
Recently a friend abandoned attending a show with us because try as she might she couldn’t get into the website to buy a ticket. I have been thinking about friction ever since.
Wondering what each of us may be inadvertently doing to create friction for our customers, or even for ourselves? None of us sets out to create friction and yet it happens all the time.
As the economy tightens, perhaps now is the time to hunt down friction everywhere it occurs – with customers, employees, vendors – and seek to eliminate it, so that we can maintain or grow our slice of a perhaps more challenging pie.
Elisa K Spain http://elisaspain.com/leadershipcoach/
Are You a CEO or President of a Privately Held Business? If you are also a lifetime learner and want to learn more about my Vistage Group, click http://elisaspain.com/impact/
Q2 2019 Vistage Confidence Index: Optimism Tumbles
Since 2003, the Vistage CEO Confidence Index has provided a quarterly comprehensive report of the opinions and projections of more than 1,400 CEOs of small- to mid-sized companies about the economy, their hiring and investment plans, and prospects for their revenues and profitability.
The Vistage CEO Confidence Index has been a proven predictor of GDP, two quarters in advance.
Confidence among CEOs tumbled to the lowest level since late 2016 according to analysis of the Q2 2019 Vistage CEO Confidence Index survey. The CEO Confidence Index was 88.4 in Q2 2019, down from 91.6 in the prior quarter and last year’s 104.1. This represents the lowest CEO confidence level in the past three years since the 87.9 recorded in Q4 2009. However, one of the components measured in the Index – CEO sentiment about future economic conditions – is at the lowest in 10 years. The falloff was driven by much less favorable assessments of the national economy, which tumbled by about 30% from last year’s readings. All other components of the Confidence Index also declined:
- 13% of CEOs expected improved economic conditions while 35% expected the national economy to worsen in the year ahead.
- 64% of CEOs expected increased revenues in the year ahead, while 9% expected a decrease, driving the Revenue Index to 155, the lowest in nearly seven years.
- Just 54% of CEOs expected increased profits in the year ahead, down from last year’s 62%.
- 56% of CEOs plan to expand their workforce in the year ahead, while 7% indicate they will decrease the size of their workforce, the lowest proportion in nearly three years.
- Small declines in CEOs planning increased investments are signs of an expected slowdown rather than a downturn in the economy.
For the complete report, click here
Elisa K Spain http://elisaspain.com/leadershipcoach/
Are You a CEO or President of a Privately Held Business? If you are also a lifetime learner and want to learn more about my Vistage Group, click http://elisaspain.com/impact/
The initial results of my Pivot are excellent. I feel I have much greater clarity regarding the next 3-5 years.. 