Gordon Report: Skills and Jobs in America: Past – Present – Future

First the good news: Over the past decade (2011-2020) investment in corporate training has grown by about 30 percent. The caveat is that professionals and executives received the lion’s share of these programs. (Development Dimensions International, 2023). The current skills-jobs picture paints a different reality. Seventy-five percent of U.S. employers now struggle to find skilled talent (worldwide it is 77 percent). This is the...

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Warehouse automation market to return to growth in 2024

Following a slowdown in revenues in 2023, the global warehouse automation market will experience some growth in 2024 and return to high growth in 2025. Brownfield sites and upstream vertical markets are driving the market for warehouse automation. Interest rates are having a significant impact on vendor’s investment decisions for warehouse automation. According to the latest research by market intelligence firm Interact Analysis,...

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You are a leader: Whether you know it or not. Whether you want to be one or not

You inspire people–whether you know it or not.  You empower people, sometimes even if you’re not trying to. You guide people–whether you want to or not.  What is your definition of “leader?” Before you go any further, let’s see if you’re singing in harmony. If not––there’s no point in pursuing this venture any further. Here’s the definition adopted for this article. Let’s see if you fundamentally agree. A leader is simply someone with...

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What IS NOT strategy and What IS

Recruit and retain top talent. Increase market share. Improve customer satisfaction. Expand into new geographic markets. Diversity product offerings. Reduce operating costs. Improve employee satisfaction. Develop and launch new technologies. Improve supply chain management. Increase revenue and profitability. Implement sustainability practices. Improve efficiency and productivity. Develop and maintain strong partnerships. Enhance...

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Industrial Manufacturing Planned Projects held steady in Q3, October 2023 increases by 7%

Industrial SalesLeads has announced the October 2023 results for the new planned capital project spending report for the Industrial Manufacturing industry. The Firm tracks North American planned industrial capital project activity; including facility expansions, new plant construction and significant equipment modernization projects. Research confirms 161 new projects in October as compared to 150 in September. The following are...

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Manufacturers and Dealers will have to make hard decisions in 2024

December has arrived and as we close the books on another great year, there is again uncertainty for what is to come in 2024.  At the end of last year, I wrote that most likely your business strategies for 2023 might have included contemplating aspects such as consolidation and engaging in merger and acquisition endeavors as this was indeed a noteworthy trend highlighted by MHEDA for 2023.  The growing significance of business...

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What is your biggest fear? Speaking, Rejection, or Failing?

It is said that speaking in public is a bigger fear than death. I don’t buy it. I think if someone put a gun to your head and said speak in public or die — you’d find that lost William Jennings Bryan oration within you. By far the biggest fear of salespeople is fear of failure. It has a cousin — fear of rejection. Rejection is the pathway to failure — if you fear it. While failure itself is real, the fear of it is a condition of the...

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