Has the USA Fallen Permanently Behind?

In today’s Wallstreet Journal Opinion, The Folly of Subsidizing Unemployment http://on.wsj.com/d4HruL, Harvard economics professor, Robert Barro, argued that the ranks of unemployed workers would be lowered by 4,000,000 if the unemployment benefits of the 14,000,000 unemployed workers had been eliminated, rather than extended.

Professor Barro said, “Suppose…the share of long-term unemployment had equaled the peak value of 24.5% observed in July, 1983…then, the total number of unemployed would have been 10.4 million, rather than 14.6 million.” Wow! That’s a powerful supposition. Unfortunately professor Barro didn’t also put forth a supposition about what those jobs would be. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all wave a magical multiplier and say, “Ta Da! Look, 4M more jobs!” or, “Ta Da! Look, I just doubled my business!”

Hopefully, everyone can acknowledge there are so many variables in the global economy that it is impossible to predict with certainty the impact of each. Therefore, possible causes and solutions can be argued ad infinitum. Read more

What Drives Change? Three Inescapable Shifts that Will Rock Your World

By Gerhard Gschwandtner
(reposted from http://sellingpower.typepad.com/gg/2010/02/what-drives-change.html)

I just got an interesting book called Selling Change by Brett Clay.

Here is my view on change.

The first question is “what drives change?” Ideas, money and technology. The first two are obvious. Internet technology creates new ways of sharing, communicating, collaborating and conducting business. It’s almost like learning a new language that demands a lot of mental agility from those who want to speak it well.

The second question is “what are the major shifts in the world of selling?”
I see three that are inescapable.

One is the shift from the delay economy to conducting business in real time. Customers want solutions NOW. Salespeople need to have access to all the information they need to answer all customer concerns in one call – without delay. Read more

Can Your Father Learn New Tricks? Can You?

We all know the saying that “old dogs can’t learn new tricks”. As with most sayings, there is an element of truth to it. But, these sayings are like reading your horoscope—they are general statements that can apply to anyone. Let’s explore the myth of the “old dog”.

The “old dog” is most often an owner or employee of a small business that he or she has been in for many years. His business isn’t quite as good as it was in the old days and he is feeling a bit squeezed and left behind by new-fangled trends. S/he has seen every permutation of every situation related to her business and she doesn’t have much patience for people who question her ideas. He feels like he has already put in a lot of work over the years and can feel frustrated, or even bitter, at times if he has to hustle or reprove himself. Read more

Change Leaders Do Not Dance on Graves—Not Even On Barnes and Nobles’

In today’s Wall Street Journal, columnist L. Gordon Crovitz writes about the challenges facing Barnes and Noble, the USA’s biggest bricks-and-mortar retail bookseller. His editorial “hook” for the article is the recent news that the board of Barnes and Noble has authorized the sale of the company.

The comments I posted on his article at WSJonline.com are below. However, Mr. Crovitz’ article raises an important point that applies generally to business and to the discipline of change leadership. That is, dancing on graves is not required to drive change. Effective change leaders evolve their businesses and capture opportunities, rather than watch their business erode as the inevitable tides of change inundate their companies and, on a personal level, their careers. Read more

How to Create an Award-Winning Social Media Marketing System

Change Leadership Group, LLC was honored to receive a 2010 Independent Publisher Book Award for Best Book Marketing for the book, Selling Change.

Brett Clay, CEO of Change Leadership Group, and the author of Selling Change, delivered this presentation at the National Speakers Association national conference in Orlando, FL on July 19, 2010.

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