Based on reasonably healthy third-quarter growth in U.S. GDP of 4.1 percent, a stronger housing market, continued steadiness in auto-sales growth, a slowly receding unemployment rate and signs of new bullishness from American manufacturers, many prognosticators are laying bets on a relatively robust economic performance in 2014. There is more confidence that the U.S. economy will sustain any early burst throughout 2014 instead of starting rather strong out of the gate and then faltering as it did each of the last two years.
But there are plenty of reasons for skepticism as well. Many of them are lodged in the stubborn fact that American consumers aren’t going merrily along on the accelerating bandwagon of economic optimism. Christmas-shopping spending was lackluster. The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index fell to a seven-month low in November, but rebounded in December, up 78.1 percent from 72.0 percent.
Some of the reasons for consumers’ reluctance are profoundly rooted in longer-term concerns. Labor-force participation rates remain depressed, meaning that many would-be paycheck earners remain stymied. More consumers reportedly are engaged in “reverse shopping” in which they return unwanted Christmas gifts for cash; McDonald’s has even urged its low-income workers to dig themselves “out of holiday debt” by cashing in their holiday haul. Insurance-policy sticker shock and overall confusion accompanying Obamacare also are bound to confuse and even depress many consumers in the new year.
Thus, McKinsey recently found that “the average American is more price conscious than they were a year ago and … more people are living from paycheck to paycheck. Consequently, many Americans are tightening their wallets and actively changing their shopping behavior in order to save money.” This includes even many upscale American consumers. “As I talk to my peers in other retail categories, they say they are seeing slower same-store sales growth too, so I think we may see less robust growth across all of retail in the coming months,” Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey said recently.
Such is the silent malaise among U.S. consumers that economists note how even a rebounding America is “giving less support to global growth than in the past,” according to Bloomberg Markets Magazine. This situation could be exacerbated by a U.S. population-growth pace that, from mid-July 2012 to mid-July of this year, ranked as the slowest rate of increase since the Great Depression, largely due to various forms of economic discouragement.
At the same time, as some CEOs are observing, emergent economies have become uneven guarantors of their own growth. “China has slowed and is being remade – to what, we’re waiting to see,” said Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris. Brazil’s rapid growth is devolving into a much slower mode in part due to a rising problem of slumping labor productivity.
In fact, Unilever CEO Paul Polman, on the way to announcing a massive cut of about 2,000 jobs yet in December, said that the economic slowdown in emerging markets is here to stay for “a few years” as many countries need to enact structural reforms to adjust to new conditions after the boom of recent years.
Read:https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303345104579282314275286146
Read: https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304361604579290580027824344
Read:https://mckinseyonmarketingandsales.com/one-step-back-the-2013-us-consumer-sentiment-survey
Read:https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303309504579182231604579884
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
