I recently heard Gary Burnison, CEO of Korn/Ferry, as a conference keynote speaker. In his role, he consults with Fortune 500 CEO’s regularly. His aggregation and analysis of these CEO conversations includes:FOUR CORPORATE PRIORITIES1. Fight for growth and relevancy in a tough economy2. Hoard cash and reduce capital expenditures3. Innovate4. Ask more of the company, with less people and resourcesTHREE EMPLOYEE OBSERVATIONS1. Employees are suffering from moral and fatigue issues – from work environment, as well as overall environment (stock market at the same level as 1999; unemployment increasing impacts friends and recent college graduates; 1/4 of homes worth less than their mortgages)2. Workforce development needs: learning agility, cultural dexterity (across map’s artificial lines), trust and engagement3. C level minus 2-3 levels are the critical blockers…or enablers. Companies need this VP level to be effective.Do Gary’s observations align with your company…how, or how do they not?
