More Good News for the Economy

According to today’s New York Times, U.S. factory orders rose in March for the 5th straight month.   This was primarily driven by businesses increasing orders for industrial machinery, computers and autos in March.  The March increase pushed total orders to $462.9 billion, up 31.2% from the recession low hit in March, 2009.

Also, the NYT reported that demand for small cars pushed April vehicle sales up 18% from the April, 2010 level.  Consumers are flocking to smaller cars in response to higher fuel prices and improved models from surging American companies.  With average age of vehicles on the road now over 10 years, pent-up demand is at the highest level ever.  This is great news for the U.S. auto industry.

Thanks!  Brett Blair – Sanford Rose Associates, Brighton - Executive Search.  Specialists in the placement of professionals in the automotive manufacturing world.

About Success In a Changing World

I just re-read “Our Iceberg is Melting,” by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber. Published in 2005, this best-selling book is a great read for anyone interested in how to drive organizational change.

Written as a fable, the book is short and easy to read, and is very effective in bringing to life the steps necessary to actually make change happen within a group of people.

As the book describes in story form, the primary steps to follow are:

1) Create a Sense of Urgency.

2) Pull Together the Guiding Team.

3) Develop the Change Vision and Strategy.

4) Communicate for Understanding and Buy In.

5) Empower Others to Act.

6) Produce Short-Term Wins.

7) Don’t Let Up

8)  Create a New Culture

If you have read this book and have some comments, I’d love to hear them. Also, if you have other suggested readings on change management, please let me know.

Thanks!  Brett Blair – Sanford Rose Associates, Brighton - Executive Search.

Manufacturing is Leading the Way!

According to today’s Wall Street Journal, “global demand is revving up profits at big U.S. manufacturers, and investors are jumping on for the ride, shrugging off high oil prices and concerns about Japan.”

“Manufacturing output, which has bounced back much faster than consumer demand over the past year, grew more than four times as fast in the first quarter as the estimated rate for the overall U.S. economy.”

When the manufacturing sector does well, the rest of the economy generally  follows.

As recruiters specializing in placements of professionals in manufacturing roles, this trend is certainly good news!

Thanks!  Brett Blair – Sanford Rose Associates, Brighton - Executive Search

Good News for Manufacturing Executives

Accorinding to a recent ExecuNet survey, the manufacturing sector is now in the top five industries in the U.S. in terms of growth for executive hiring.  The top five are:

1.  Healthcare

2.  High Technology

3.  Clean / Green Technology

4.  Pharma / Medical / Biotech

5.  Manufacturing

Manufacturing ranked #10 in the 2010 ranking, so this is an incredible change in just one year.

My firm, Sanford Rose Associates, Brighton - specializes in searches for professionals in manufacturing firms, with primary focus in the automotive industry.

It is great to see this part of the American economy recover, and I beleive that the best is yet to come!

Thanks.  Brett Blair

Attracting Tomorrow’s Employees Today

I just finished reading “The 2020 Workplace,” by Meister and Willyerd.  This is a great read for anyone running a firm or in charge of Human Resources.

The book goes into great detail about the massive changes that are taking place in the demographic of our workplaces, and gives advice on how to attract, develop and keep tomorrow’s employees today.

The authors go on to provide 20 predictions for the 2020 workplace.  They are:

1.  You will be hired and promoted based on your “reputation capital.”

2.  Your mobile device will become your office, your classroom, and your concierge.

3.  The global talent shortage will be acute.

4.  Recruiting will start on social networking sites.

5.  Web commuters will force corporate offices to reinvent themselves.

6.  Companies will hire entire teams.

7.  Job requirements for CEOs will include blogging.

8.  The corportate curriculum will use video games, simulations, and alternate reality games as key delivery modes.

9.  A 2020 mind-set will be required to thrive in a networked world.

10.  Human Resources’ focus will move from outsourcing to crowdsourcing.

11.  Corporate social networks will flourish and grow inside companies.

12.  You will elect your leader.

13.  Lifelong learning will be a business requirement.

14.  Work-life flexibility will replace work-life balance.

15.  Companies will disclose their corporate social responsibility programs to attract and retain employees.

16.  Diversity will be a business issue rather than a human resources issue.

17.  The lines among marketing, communications, and learning will blur.

18.  Corporate app stores will offer ways to manage work and personal life better.

19.  Social media literacy will be required for all employees.

20.  Building a portfolio of contract jobs will be the path to obtaining permanent full-time employment.

The time is now to start preparing for these coming changes.  Many are upon us already.

Thanks!  Brett Blair – Sanford Rose Associates, Brighton - Executive Search.  Specialists in placements of professionals in the automotive manufacturing world.

The Hunt is On!

According to the April 11, 2011 Wall Street Journal, the hunt is on for fresh executive talent.

“As the economic recovery gathers speed, big U.S. businesses are coming out of their crouch and hunting for fresh management talent that can help them grow faster.”

“The number of North American executive searches rose by 27% last year, after plunging 24% in 2009, according to the Association of Executive Search Consultants.”

“The hottest prospects are team players who created value at big companies that held their value during the downturn.  Star executives innovate and move quickly.”

Is your firm looking for this type of leader?  Are you currently this type of leader?  Are you becoming this person?  The business world needs more and more leaders with innovation and agility to thrive in the global economy.

Thanks!  Brett Blair – Sanford Rose Associates, Brighton - Executive Search.

The Economy Continues to Improve…

As is being reported regularly in the national news, the overall US employment situation is improving in more significant amounts.  The unemployment rate is now down to 8.6%, and is projected to continue to decline. This is great news for those who’s jobs were lost during the prolonged recession.

What hasn’t changed is the acute shortage of qualified workers for many technical and managerial positions.  I see this every day in my recruiting business.  In Detroit, for example, the recovery of the automotive segment has revealed a shortage in qualified automotive engineers.

My continuing advice for leaders of companies across the country…..pay attention to the War for Talent.  It is still going on.  Pay attention to your superstars, develop their replacements, and recruit the best of the best in the market to feed your bench with only A players.   People make all the difference in company performance.

Thanks.  Brett Blair – Sanford Rose Associates, Brighton - Executive Search.  Specialists in placements of professionals in the automotive manufacturing world.

Global Manufacturing Picks Up!

From today’s Wall Street Journal (March 2, 2011), there is strong evidence of a sustained increase in manufacturing activity.

“Manufacturing activity picked up steam in the U.S. and Europe in February, suggesting that the global recovery is gaining momentum.  Indexes of manufacturing output hit their highest levels in seven years in the U.S. and more than 10 years in Europe.”

“Since the recession ended, manufacturing has grown much, much faster than the rest of the economy.”

This is GREAT news for those of us tied so closely to the manufacturing sector.  While we are still at the early stages of the employment recovery, I believe that the stage is set for a dramatic, multi-year boom in hiring actitivy.

Thanks!  Brett Blair – Sanford Rose Associates, Brighton - Executive Search.  Experts in recruiting of professionals in the automotive manufacturing world.

More Hiring Expected

U.S. companies optimistic about the economy plan to hire more workers in coming months, a quarterly survey released Monday found, another signal that the jobs market is turning up.

The fourth-quarter poll of 84 companies by the National Association for Business Economics found 42% expected to increase jobs in the next six months. That is up from 29% in the first quarter of 2010. Only 7% of companies in the latest survey predict they will shed jobs in the coming six months, down from 23% at the start of last year.

“It looks like the opening melody of a true recovery in the labor market,” said Shawn DuBravac, economist at the Consumer Electronics Association, a trade group, and chairman of the NABE committee that conducts the survey.

The U.S. economy has been growing for a year and a half but companies have been slow to ramp up hiring. That may change soon as the economy is widely expected to pick up steam. To meet higher demand, many businesses have relied mainly on existing workers to increase output. But there is a limit to how much they can boost productivity.

“The economy is potentially at a turning point in job creation,” said Randall Kroszner, a professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a former Fed governor.

NABE surveyed companies in various industries including manufacturing and finance. The poll, conducted from Dec. 17 to Jan. 5, found the gap between companies planning to hire workers over the next six months and those that expect to shed jobs widened to the highest level since 1998.

To be sure, the 2007-2009 recession was so deep that a lot more jobs need to be created to make a dent in the high unemployment rate, now at 9.4%. The U.S. government’s jobs report for December shows hiring remains weak.

But the recent drop in weekly jobless claims points to a stronger labor market, and the tax-cut package approved at the end of 2010 is seen as likely to help the economy this year.

More than half the companies surveyed—especially those in manufacturing, mining and agriculture–expect to see a favorable impact on sales from the tax-cut deal. Companies generally have raised their expectations for growth this year.

All of the survey’s four major industry sectors—goods-producing; services; finance, insurance and real estate; and transportation, utilities, information and communications—registered stronger demand in the final three months of 2010.

Economists in the private sector and government are increasingly optimistic about the pace of the recovery.

Strong U.S. consumer spending during the holiday season has raised expectations for growth, despite a persistently poor outlook for housing.

The economy expanded by a 2.6% annual rate in the third quarter and is expected to have grown by more than 3.0% in the final three months of 2010, as well as in each quarter this year, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of economists published this month. When Federal Reserve officials meet this week, they are expected to raise their growth forecasts for 2011 slightly.

Article courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, Jan. 24, 2011

World Class Employees

“In a study done in New York some years ago, researchers found that people who ranked in the top three percent in every field had a special attitude that set them apart from average performers in their industries.  It was this:  they viewed themselves as self-employed throughout their careers, no matter who signed their paychecks.  The saw themselves as responsible for their companies, exactly as if they owned the companies personally.”

~ Brian Tracy