Blog Entries for Change Maker

The Year of the Snake brings a sting or five in its tail

cbenjamin@smartcompany.com.au — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 21:55:55 +0100

Having just come back from a visit to China, it is very clear that expectations for the New Year (February 10) are more subdued than last year.

The shift from the fifth to the sixth Zodiac sign represents a slide from the optimism of the Year of the Dragon to the caution associated with the Year of the Snake – one of the most desirable birth years in the zodiac.

People born in this sign are said to be very intelligent and often a wellspring of creative ideas. They are expe [...]

Why job cuts and gender equality matter to the economy

cbenjamin@smartcompany.com.au — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:00:00 +0100

In virtually all sectors of the paid workforce women are underrepresented in leadership positions, at a time when both the Government and the Opposition are foreshadowing cuts in public service positions without reference to increasing gender equality.

At June 2011, women comprised 57.5% of all Commonwealth Public Service employees. As at June 30, 2011, women held 35.3% of government board appointments, with four government portfolios meeting the gender balance target.

The [...]

'Tis the season for economic forecasts

cbenjamin@smartcompany.com.au — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 21:42:06 +0100

Look back to a year ago and compare the gloom and doom merchants' predictions against the reality of the slow but steady recovery.

Take a close look at Dr. Ed's Economic Chart – what does Professor Ed Siegfried of the Stonier Graduate School tell you about the country that defied pollsters with a massive 323 to 206 win for President Obama:

Housing starts are up
GDP is increasing
Unemployment is decreasing
Rates are stable at all-time lows
Inflation is very low

Des [...]

Make the most of it

cbenjamin@smartcompany.com.au — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:07:48 +0100

We now enter the peak of the retail season and the wind down for many small and medium enterprises.

We have to thank Glenn for giving us a break and the labour market for continuing to create thousands of part time jobs.

Consumer confidence rising

Consumer confidence is again on the rise, at 117.4 points. This is a very significant 6.2 points than last year. Australians are more confident about Australia’s economy over the next twelve months with 32% (up 2%) of A [...]

Hey Glenn, give us a break!

cbenjamin@smartcompany.com.au — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 22:00:00 +0100

This week represents the last chance this year for Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens to give us all a break. Retailers and real estate agents are urging the RBA to deliver a Christmas plum pudding.

The nation needs a shot of confidence and a surge of customers letting the moths out of their wallets.

It would not require more than a .25 rate cut to get the Eastern states cash registers going “CA-CHING”. Gary Morgan says: “Consumer confidence is clearly stronger (now at 115 [...]

Making it to a Merry Christmas

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 23:40:39 +0100

The fiscal cliff in the USA, financial crises in Europe and the political reconstruction of the Arab Spring provide the bulk of business concerns for small businesses. This leads to sluggish demand, late payment and restricted access to credit with adverse consequences for sales, investment, financial well-being and business confidence.

Smart companies have weathered the storm by cutting costs to maintain survival in the short-run at the risk of reducing capacity to maintain moment [...]

The three-week forecast: Heavy bouts of 'madmiration' and 'electionitus'

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 22:27:49 +0100

As the US election results and the gender bending agenda of old media warriors show, there are millions of customers out there with their own agendas and aspirations.

Now that we have Obama back where he started at the edge of that fiscal cliff, new China leader Xi Jinping is confronting slower economic growth and Tony Abbott is chasing a positive reason to support his job application.

Investors drew little hope for a quick compromise in US budget talks after President Bara [...]

Yesterday's gender agenda...again or still?

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:42:03 +0100

This week sees a "more of the same" scene replay of last year's results with the same men's top teams firmly locked into yesterday's agenda. Currently, just 14.6% of board positions in ASX top 200 companies are held by women, leading to yesterday's efforts by PM Julia Gillard to change the course of "his story" (sic).

Yesterday, the latest Minister for the Status of Women, Julie Collins, and Finance Minister Penny Wong launched BoardLinks, a proactive initiative to support more Aus [...]

The finance ministers' spring carnival

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 21:29:20 +0100

On the day before that race, there will be a very different race being run in Mexico City. This will be the pre-US election meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors deciding how fast to keep their printing presses running.

The Mexican President Felipe Calderon says, "If I had to sum up the mood, the attitude that prevailed would be that the Europeans, and we supporting them, want more Europe, not less Europe. More integration, not less integration. More collaboratio [...]

Suspended animation in banking and finance is freezing growth for SMEs

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:52:46 +0100

With increasing numbers of households looking for work, and two million people saying that they are unemployed or underemployed, we are now in a state of suspended animation.

There is an avalanche of money sitting in the industrial sector waiting for the signal to spend and the re-emergence of real live bankers willing to visit small business rather than tapping their keyboard.

While more than half of all households tell Morgan Research that "now is a good time to buy", onl [...]

Small business scores an unlikely win in the first presidential debate

cbenjamin@smartcompany.com.au — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 22:33:30 +0100

Mitt Romney talked about his five points to a stronger economy: energy independence, bolstering international trade, training for American workers and building the skill sets they need to succeed, balancing the budget, and championing small business.

Within the first two segments, Romney did reference food stamps as he discussed his priority for putting people back to work:

"We've got 23 million people out of work or stopped looking for work in this country...when the pr [...]

The canary is shrilling out a warning

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 23:47:44 +0100

Two trains are heading through the tunnel towards a potential global meltdown in the next month. Combine these global strategic events with worrying signs in regard to debt and solvency issues for business and the global - and, by extension, national and local - economy starts to look shaky.

The first train in the tunnel is the Pentagon reports of an Iranian cyber-attack on US installations. The second is the Obama commitment at the UN this week to support an all-out attack on Iran [...]

Obama, Romney and the question of small business job creation

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 22:46:46 +0100

Is it any wonder that Jennifer Westacott, chief executive at the Business Council of Australia, called for a 50% cull in ministerial advisors yesterday? The gap between their salaries and those on the dole is becoming as wide as the gap between presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the US electorate.

There is a growing divide between treasury and economic rationalists who want to cut budgets and force more people onto the dole and small business and community leaders seeking genui [...]

Breakout of new realities

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 23:04:08 +0100

This week has seen a breakout of reality testing on the part of the world's fiscal functionaries.

The German high court has given its parliament the authority to restore the eurozone and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has committed funds to address the crisis in US employment.

Last month at the Jackson Hole conference, the Bernanke told the audience: "The stagnation of the labour market is a grave concern not only because of the enormous suffering and waste of human t [...]

Printing money for the coming crises or asking some better questions

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 22:47:32 +0100

Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens should give us a piece of his mind on the chances of central banks printing money for the coming crises. That's what every smart company director needs to know before betting their company's future after the running of the Melbourne Cup.

It's worrying that Marc Faber, the author of the Gloom, Boom, and Doom Report, says that a global recession is all but a certainty later this year or in early 2013. When he was asked what sort of odds he put on a [...]

10 steps towards becoming a smarter company

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 23:18:37 +0100

The recent report by the Prime Minister's manufacturing taskforce on smarter manufacturing for a smarter Australia calls for a lift in the capacity of SMEs to absorb new knowledge, to introduce and embed a greater focus on design, and to examine the potential for improving access to finance for SMEs.

The report proposes a new national partnership for smarter workplaces. This involves a sustained commitment from industry, unions and government to build the managerial and workforce s [...]

Consumer vs business confidence

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 00:26:38 +0100

Around the world there is a growing gap between customer expectations and management capacity to respond to a more wary, value conscious consumer. Smart companies will adopt a combination of management and leadership to establish effective demand for their products and services in this emerging era.

There is a marked contrast between the way that large companies are sitting on piles of cash and reporting low levels of business confidence and the world of consumers.

Gary Mor [...]

10 mission critical changes

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:41:32 +0100

Around the world, smart companies will forgo the pleasure of waiting for regime change to generate a more business-friendly environment and labour market flexibility and begin investing in higher productivity and new market potential.

Optimistic and forward-looking companies are already reconfiguring their business and marketing plans to address 10 mission critical changes:

1. Governments are no longer regarded as the source of solutions. The answer to market failure has be [...]

Ten strategies for growth

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:53:29 +0100

Now that end of year financial returns have been lodged and the economy is on the mend, it's time to plan ahead to get ahead.

Many smart companies need to commit some time to bring together their friends, key team members and their accountant to redirect their business development efforts. Renewal replaces recovery.

Smart companies do not attempt to predict the future but rather prepare the business to hold the right level of inventory and stay close to key suppliers and the [...]

Drivers of entrepreneurial change

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 23:00:39 +0100

The next few months present smart companies with the chance to drive entrepreneurial change in a recovering domestic market. More significantly, it represents a challenge to entrepreneurial leadership to revitalise their internal business directions.

According to Professor Vipin Gupta of Fordham University and Professor Ian C. MacMillan of Wharton University, companies that act entrepreneurially and adjust to changing circumstances are able to gain first-mover advantage, provide a [...]