During a recent lunch, one of my clients asked, "Why haven't you added any new postings to your blog lately?" Realizing that it had been awhile since I felt the creative need to say something, I checked the blog and couldn't believe it had been five months since my last post. I mentioned it to my partner who immediately said, "We've been busy and I feel like we've barely had time to catch our breath." Given the downturn we all just experienced, we smiled and said "thank goodness".
In thinking about the conversations I've had over the last few months, I'd say I'm not alone. There has been a general sense of relief expressed by many in surviving the downturn followed by a summer of decompressing from the battle we all just fought. As we all know, the recovery has stalled and taken a bit of a break as well, and leaders are now preparing to reengage in the battle. Come September, the new battles will be waged and I'd predict the hand-wringing will increase.
"Flat is the new up", said one of my clients. However, my sense is that the worry and fear of the downside scenario and double dip recession is overdone. If anyone thought that we'd have a sustained period of growth in 2010, it could only have been someone inside the Obama administration. This is clearly going to be a long and slow process of recovery, but I'd predict we'll start to be surprised on the upside in early to mid-2011.
As for our business, executive turnover is increasing and senior level hiring is picking up. In spite of a choppy economic climate and slow growth, companies, leaders and investors are repositioning themselves. This is good news for us today and a good sign things will pick up soon. Much like our blogging activity, the activity level is bound to pick up after a summer of catching our breath.
8/26/2010
