Unemployment Is The Beginning, Not The End......................
Recent restructuring in some of the larger companies has resulted in an unusually active rumor-mill. It seems that there is no shortage of people with versions of the company’s internal changes, whether they are ‘in the know’ or not. But then again, isn’t that what the rumor-mill is all about..............unsubstantiated information implied to be factual...................like the internet?
Well, in this case, the restructurings have resulted in a number of people left standing when the restructuring musical chairs ended. On one hand, there are some experienced people that are unemployed and searching for jobs. On the other hand, there are some experienced people that are unemployed and searching for jobs. Confused? You shouldn’t be. It’s all in how you look at it and it has happened before.
To see the true picture, you have to forget about all the frightening unemployment statistics that you are bombarded with on the evening news. You must accept the fact that we are in a global economy, that when somebody in Europe sneezes, someone in Seattle catches a cold. We aren’t in the 1950s living off the fat of the land anymore. Most of those seemingly unlimited opportunities that your fathers and grandfathers saw are long gone. The shopping center industry is a perfect example. In the ‘50s, suburbs were growing and the population wanted ‘stuff’. Today, the growth isn’t as rapid. Sure, the population still wants ‘stuff’ but inflation has pushed much of that ‘stuff’ beyond the reach of many. Growth in our industry is now slowing down. It’s becoming harder and harder every day to do a deal. And costs of doing business are much higher today, and climbing. Today you have to produce or get out of the way for someone that will. Success doesn’t come from just showing up at 9:00 AM. Almost every day, employees have to justify their jobs. If you're a news-junkie that never missed the 6:00 o’clock news, it isn’t a pretty picture. If, however, you have an optimistic gene in your make up, you can take a look around the upcoming conventions and real estate events and even some of the various restaurant and franchise shows that go on.
You’ll find that there are a lot of business men and women out there that are anxious to do business. Sure, they are not billion-dollar companies but they are doing business all the same. A deal is a deal. All you have to do is find it but you won’t find that deal listening to negative news reports. And those people that have found themselves without a position? You can be sure that most will be at these shows and conventions and maybe with new companies....................maybe even their own company. Yup, sometimes all it takes is a little push to do what you’ve always wanted to do. And you know what? Costs and prices and salaries will increase and in a few years we’ll all be sitting here asking ourselves, “What happened?” It’s a never-ending cycle…………WP