Recession or Not?
You can Be Prepared
The word "recession" is in the air: Five O. Clock Clubbers have told us that sales are down, we. re getting lots of dot.commers at the Club, and we hear we should expect to see people in ad sales, the advertising industry in general, communications companies such as Lucent, and other areas.
Our attendance has been up significantly since the beginning of the year. a striking contrast to the past five or six years . and we have a waiting list for the first time since 1991. Our new Virtual Branch is booming.
Leading economic indicators have fallen in recent months (who knows what the situation will be by the time you read this), the retail Christmas season was disappointing, and the Fed dropped interest rates 1/4%. President Bush seems to be having an easier time than expected getting his tax cut passed to stimulate the economy.
What You Should Be Doing
Don't just sit
around waiting and hoping that you. ll be fine. Inventory your situation
and take action:
- If you haven't done it recently, go through the Seven Stories
Exercise and the Forty-Year Vision. Make sure you. re on the right
track.
- Line up assignments that help your resume, and make sure
your resume positions you correctly.
- Get more active in
trade associations, read trade journals, write articles.
- Meet people in your field, or the field you think you want to move into. Have one or two meetings a week. Find out what. s going on in other companies and industries.
You may end up staying where you are. but in a stronger position and ready to move if you need to. It. s called . keeping yourself marketable.. It. s a continual process, and it should be a routine part of your worklife. If you. re not doing it already, the beginning of a recession is the right time to get started.
Kate Wendleton
President and
Editor-in-Chief