This month’s leadership quote:
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”
-C.S. Lewis
Enough said. When we focus outwardly on others, especially our team and their success, we simply become more successful ourselves. I’ve watched this time and time again with the leaders I work with. Those who are simply enjoying the ride, asking themselves and others, how they can be of service, and not thinking about themselves, show up as humble and attract people to them.
The quarterly Vistage Confidence Index is now available.
A Look Back and 4 Musts for Business Leaders in 2016:
CEOs expressed somewhat greater concerns about the outlook
for the domestic economy but remained upbeat about their own
firm’s prospects in the Q4 2015 Vistage CEO Confidence Index
Survey. Overall, the data does not indicate that confidence is on
a downward slide but is simply moving sideways at high levels.
The well-worn pattern of uneven economic growth has produced
periods of growing optimism followed by the realization that the
economy will not deviate from the more modest growth rates
established since the Great Recession.
The Vistage CEO Confidence Index was 95.5 in the Q4 2015 survey,
just below last quarter’s 96.3 and well below last year’s 107.5.
Importantly, firms were slightly more optimistic about revenue and
profit growth over the past few quarters, and more than half of all
firms planned to expand their payrolls. These data indicate that
firms still anticipate continued growth in their businesses. Indeed,
the most significant challenge now faced by firms is finding, hiring,
training, and retaining staff, reported by 35% of all firms, mentioned
more than twice as frequently as any other issue facing their firms.
With a tighter labor market, these concerns will inevitably mean
higher wages and benefits to secure key personnel.
Below are some key highlights from the Q4 2015 Vistage CEO Confidence Index (all members surveyed):
36% of CEOs said the economy has improved compared to a year ago, down from 63% in last year’s 4th quarter and the worst assessment
of current economic conditions in three years.
25% of CEOs expected gains in the pace of economic growth during the year ahead, the worst outlook in four years.
55% of CEOs planned to expand their workforce in the year ahead.
71% of CEOs expected increased revenue gains in the year ahead. 58% of CEOs expect increased profits.
This month’s leadership quote:
“We should try to be the parents of our future, rather than the offspring of our past.”
-Miguel de Unamuno
The best way I know to live Miguel’s quote is by being intentional. For some of us, it is setting goals and deciding what we want for the future. For others, it is opening ourselves to discovering the opportunities that await us and how we can best apply our geniuses and contribute to the world. Which way works best for each of us depends on who were are, and where we are, in our lives and our careers. Either way, it is up to us to be the parents of our future, rather than the offspring of our past.
P.S. One way to contribute to the world is to support social purpose organizations. With that in mind, the four of us have extended our Cara challenge grant through the end of the year. Click here, if you want to learn more and perhaps join the match.
Today on Giving Tuesday nonprofits, families, businesses and students around the world come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.
I also wanted to share…my matching gift opportunity.
Many of you know about my passion for The CARA Program, a true social innovator. I am proud to count Maria Kim, CEO as a member of Vistage 3361. Cara was the only social purpose organization to win the Chicago Innovation Award and for the first time in 2015, Cara was listed in Chicago Magazine’s “Best 20 Charities in Chicago” .
This year, I have joined with Maria’s fellow Vistage member, Kevin Krak of Gallant Building Solutions, and Jim and Kay Mabie in offering a $20,000 Challenge Grant. We will match every dollar up to $20,000! Click Here to give today and your gift will go twice as far.
Thank you in advance for joining me on Giving Tuesday with a donation to the Cara Program, or to the social purpose organization of your choice.
If you’ve walked through the doors, you know there’s something special about Cara. It’s a place where people in need get help so they can find and keep a good job. And it’s so much more.
What does Cara mean to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
This month’s leadership quote:
“Today you will get something that was not guaranteed.
One more day. Out of which to create the ‘you’ that works for you.
And to decide what that day will be, and who you will be.
You can write one more blank check, and let others fill in the amount;
or, you can decide on the payees in your life, and what and how you chose to give.
No magic. We all get this choice every day.”
-Larry M. Cassidy, Vistage Master Chair
The quarterly Vistage Confidence Index is now available.
Vistage CEOs expressed somewhat greater concerns about the outlook for the domestic economy largely due to uncertainties about international conditions, volatile and declining stock prices and the much debated Fed liftoff in interest rates. Despite these concerns, CEOs continued to be more optimistic about prospects for their own firms. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index was 96.3 in the 3rd quarter 2015 survey, down from 99.0 in the 2nd quarter and last year’s 103.4. The cumulative gains that could have been anticipated during long expansions have not occurred.
While the recent slide in confidence is of concern, the data thus far indicate that most firms now expect a continued slow pace of economic growth. Revenue and profit growth were judged slightly better than last quarter, and firms still plan to expand their payrolls as well as increase their planned fixed business investments to be better able to profit from sales growth in the future.
Below are some key highlights from the Q3 2015 Vistage CEO Confidence Index (all members surveyed):
This month’s leadership quote:
“One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.”
-Gilbert K. Chesterton
Another way to say this, the higher we rise in an organization, the less we see. The challenge for leaders, therefore, is to spend time in the valley. Easy to say; harder to do. And, the great leaders I know spend most of their time in only three ways: strategic thinking/strategic conversations; visiting and listening to customers and potential customers; and siting down with and listening to employees.
What Our Vistage Members Want You to Know
This month’s leadership quote:
“Discovery is seeing what everybody else has seen, and thinking what nobody else has thought.”
— Albert Szent-Györgyi
Albert Szent-Györgyi lived from September 16, 1893 – October 22, 1986 and was a Hungarian physiologist. He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1937. He is credited with discovering vitamin C and the components and reactions of the citric acid cycle.
Like all inventors, Mr. Szent-Györgyi lived this quote. The questions this brings to mind are:
This month’s leadership quote:
“If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near.”
-Jack Welch
When things are going well, it’s easy to become complacent, even arrogant. We become married to a point of view. After all, we built our business based on these beliefs and it has worked. Often it is our own people who tell us that the old way may not be appropriate today. Their message, as Jack reminds us, is the rate of change outside might dictate the need for more change inside.
The question is, “are we listening?”
The quarterly Vistage Confidence Index is now available.
CEOs concerned by slowdown in economic growth.
The 1,434 U.S. CEOs surveyed from June 8-17, 2015 in the Q2 2015 Vistage CEO Confidence Index expressed greater concern about the dismal pace of 1st quarter growth in the economy, and more importantly, did not anticipate the same strong rebound as occurred last year. The Vistage Confidence Index was 99.0 in the 2nd quarter of 2015, below the 1st quarter’s 105.8 and last year’s 101.0. The recent economic weakness was due to temporary factors, including a harsh winter, a port strike, and a surging dollar.
Even though most CEOs anticipate continued economic growth, there is a widespread sense that the economy is still vulnerable. The recent decision by the Fed to hold interest rates near zero also reflected that same potential vulnerability. As a result, firms anticipated slightly less growth in their sales revenues and profits, and planned on adding slightly fewer workers to their payrolls and marginally reducing the pace of their capital investments. CEOs can be best described as cautiously optimistic.
Below are some key highlights from the Q2 2015 Vistage CEO Confidence Index (all members surveyed):
The initial results of my Pivot are excellent. I feel I have much greater clarity regarding the next 3-5 years.. more
