Crossing the Street in 2015

Relying on the past to predict the future is like studying yesterday’s traffic patterns and believing you can cross a street blindfolded without fear of being hit by a car. That’s not how it works – in business or in life. Developing effective action plans for tomorrow requires studying key economic indicators specific to your needs. We’ve been surveying our members (CEOs and owners of small to mid-sized companies) for more than a decade. In addition, for more than two years now, in a collaborative effort with The Wall Street Journal, we’ve been asking CEOs and small business owners of companies with $1 million to $20 million in annual revenues what they’re experiencing and what they see.

Both surveys, just released within the last week or so, indicate that CEOs and business owners are not only optimistic about the economy in general, but they also believe that the outlook for their own businesses is the best it’s been since the financial crisis. Nearly 80% of respondents believe revenues will increase, more than 60% expect profits to go up as well as to hire more employees over the next 12 months. While this is a positive indicator when it comes to lowering unemployment, a shrinking workforce and the need to fill highly skilled jobs will create the fiercest battle for talent we’ve seen in a decade.  This will challenge CEOs to retain their top employees and redouble their efforts to attract the best and brightest to fill open positions in 2015.

For more on the Vistage CEO Confidence Index and WSJ/Vistage Small Business CEO Survey results, click on the links to the surveys and watch my video which includes thoughts for how CEOs can meet the hiring and retention challenges that lay ahead. When it comes to predicting the future, we’re all wearing a metaphorical blindfold, but the Vistage community provides the proverbial “hand to hold” while crossing the street. From the confidence we see from our members, this is going to be an exciting year.

Tell us what you think and let’s enjoy the ride together.

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