Vistage | Elisa K. Spain

CEOs expressed record increases in optimism about economic prospects following the election. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index jumped to 105.2 in the Q4 survey, up from 91.4 in the 3rd quarter, and the second-largest increase since 2003.

The expected upsurge in business prospects have given a new urgency to finding, hiring, training, and retaining employees. This was the most significant and challenging issue voiced by CEOs in the latest survey. More than one-third of all firms expressed staffing and talent management as both their most significant current issue as well as their biggest challenge for 2017. Increases in investments and hiring represent a degree of confidence in the new president’s economic policies.

Q4 2016 Vistage CEO Confidence Index highlights include:

58% of CEOs expected the economy to improve during the year ahead, more than twice the 22% recorded in the 3rd quarter.
47% of CEOs plan to increase investments in the year ahead, reaching the highest level since the start of 2015.
60% of CEOs plan to expand their workforce in the year ahead, the most positive net employment intentions in ten years.
78% of CEOs expect revenue gains in the year ahead, up from 64% last quarter, and the most positive revenue expectation in the past ten years.

Leadership Quote: You Control Your Future…

January 1, 2017December 20, 2016 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

This month’s leadership quote:

“You control your future, your destiny. What you think about comes about. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands – your own.”

-Mark Victor Hansen

If you haven’t tried this, perhaps 2017 is the time to start. Write down one goal or aspiration. Put it away somewhere and then remind yourself to look at it in June and again in December.

Leadership Quote: Progress Lies Not In Enhancing What Is…

November 27, 2016November 17, 2016 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

This month’s leadership quote:

“Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.”

–Khalil Gibran

Leadership Quote: Strive Not To Be A Success

October 30, 2016October 20, 2016 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

This month’s leadership quote:

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”

–Albert Einstein

As a Vistage Chair for over 10 years, I have been fortunate to work with many successful people. And to a person, the most successful by their nature, follow Mr. Einstein’s advice. It is part of who we are as human beings to want to add value. Those of us who make this our focus are destined to become successful.

Do I Always Have To Negotiate?

October 16, 2016October 19, 2016 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

This week’s blog post appears on Executive Street Blog. Please click this link to view it.

Every now and then, I have a conversation with one of the leaders I work with who is frustrated with a lack of compliance and accountability in their company. The leader will say something like this: “I told them exactly what I wanted. I explained the reason we needed to do it that way and I am still not seeing the results I want. What is the problem?”

When I point out that perhaps they need to allow folks to weigh in so that they can buy in, I frequently hear a sigh and expressions of more frustration. “Well, that’s just a waste of time,” they might say. Or, “Sometimes I am open to feedback. But sometimes there is a reason I want it done a certain way. I don’t want to waste time in meetings trying to convince everyone to just do it.”

At the other end of the spectrum is the leader who constantly strives for consensus. What I hear from this leader goes something like this: “When I want to implement a change, I ask everyone to weigh in. Then, if there is disagreement, we all meet and discuss it until we agree. If we don’t agree, we don’t do it.”

While there is certainly a place for each of these approaches, there is also a third option: negotiate. The leader who chooses to negotiate begins by understanding where “they” are coming from and what is important to “them,” so that they can turn the discussion into a “we.”

While all three approaches lead to a “yes,” the meaning of that yes can fall anywhere within the following five levels of agreement:

1. Acknowledge the idea
2. See value
3. Buy in
4. Qualified yes
5. Commitment

In my experience, except in an emergency, the first leader I described — the “dictator” — frequently gets only to level 1; thus, the reason for non-compliance. The second leader described — the “consensus builder” — may get to level 2 and 3 occasionally. More often, they either get to the point of watered-down action or no action at all. On the other hand, the third leader — a “true negotiator” — is likely to reach level 5 most often. This approach, like that of the consensus builder, admittedly takes more time at the front end.

Therefore, the questions to ask in each situation are: Is this an emergency? If so, dictate. If this is not an emergency, how important is it to reach true commitment?

Vistage CEO Confidence Index Q3: Optimism Inches Upward

October 9, 2016October 6, 2016 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Following six consecutive quarterly declines in confidence, CEOs finally recorded a small uptick in how they viewed prospects for the domestic economy as well as their own firm’s prospects. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index stood at 91.4 in the 3rd quarter 2016 survey, up from the three year low of 88.0 in the 2nd quarter, but still shy of the 96.3 recorded in last year’s 3rd quarter survey.

Robust gains in consumer expenditures were reflected in improved sales revenues and profits as well as planned increases in hiring. Uncertainty about future economic policies has made firms more cautious about investment expenditures, although they have not hesitated to add employees to take advantage of relatively strong consumer spending. Indeed, one-third of CEOs reported that finding, hiring, and training employees was their most significant challenge, mentioned twice as frequently as any other issue.

Below are some key highlights from the Q3 2016 Vistage CEO Confidence Index (all members surveyed):

25% of CEOs thought that the economy had improved during the past year, well below the 10-year peak of 63% recorded at the close of 2014.
39% of CEOs plan to increase their investment expenditures in the next year, the fewest firms in more than 3 years.
54% of CEOs plan to expand their workforce in the next year.
69% of CEOs expect increased revenues in the year ahead, and 54% expect increased profits.
47% of CEOs say the new overtime pay rules that take effect at the start of December will impact their employees.
70% of employees work remotely, although most of them for less than 25% of their work time.

For more details Vistage Confidence Index.