Dear Friends,

"Flat" became the new "up" in the first half of 2009. If your company's revenues were off less than 5%, congratulations; you were one of the winners.

With unemployment hovering at 10% and at least that many executives feeling stuck in financially impaired companies, this is the time for executives to be keenly aware of how to proactively manage their personal brands.

The good news is that we are seeing signs the bloodletting is over. We are seeing several companies, including troubled financial services companies, using incentives and retention bonuses to assure they retain their best talent. We are also seeing signs, and hearing from CEOs, that there is a pent-up employment demand building that will lead to new hiring by Q2 of 2010.

We've been spending the past few months innovating to address the stampede of needs that arise during times like these. Because it's clear that our resources and support are needed by many, we decided to ramp up our services and provide more programs to a wider audience. Click here to learn about the 12 services we offer, including Career Transition, Leadership Transition, Blended Solutions, Entrepreneurial Coaching, Power Circles and our most recent launch, the Now What® support program for executives in career transition.

Over the next three months, we also will be offering complimentary one-hour group sessions to accommodate an even greater number of people. Save these dates (all Wednesdays): October 28, November 19 and December 17. We'll send more info by email.

We've also been busy fielding dozens of career advice questions personally, one-to-one and through our "Ask Our Coach" hotline. Some recent questions: What approach should I take to begin a job search if I have recently been laid off from my company? How should I respond if my company offers me a transfer to a lower paying position; should I accept this just to keep a paycheck coming in during this recession? What do I do to reposition and repackage myself if I want to change to a different industry sector?

As we are discovering ourselves, a down economy is a great opportunity for innovative thinking. Our feature article this month -- by Naras Eechambadi, a client of ours -- confirms that "Hard Times are a Spur for Innovation." We trust this article will serve as a catalyst for you to bring forward innovative ideas for your business and personal brand.

As your organization finalizes its 2010 strategic plans, budgets and tactical plans, this is clearly a time for each of you to review your personal career strategies and plans. In what will be an improving global economy by mid-year 2010, you want to be positioned to respond not react to new opportunities as they emerge. By preparing early, and getting a head start prior to the end of 2009, you will be prepared to seize personal career opportunities at the front-end of the next hiring wave. Please let us know how we can help.

As the fall season begins and momentum picks up, how are you capturing opportunities? What are you doing differently that would not be happening had we not gone through this wave? What innovative approaches are you developing during these times?

We want to hear from you!

Best,

Jeff Gundersen, CEO jgundersen@executiveconnectionsllc.com
and Lorraine White, Chief Coaching Officer lwhite@executiveconnects.com
Executive Connections, LLC
Executive Search, Executive Coaching & Consulting for Top-Level Executives
Direct: 941-323-8300 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              941-323-8300      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
http://www.executiveconnectionsllc.com

 

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Hard Times are a Spur for Innovation
by Naras Eechambadi, PhD, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Quaero

Based on what I observe with many of our clients these days, particularly the ones that are hurting the most, I wonder if, "Hard times bring forth innovation." Clients in multiple industries seem more open to considering new ways of doing things, perhaps because the same old same old is simply not working anymore. Is it perhaps because they are so desperate, they will try anything? Having spent some time with senior marketing executives as well as general managers, I think the smart ones see an opportunity to actually use these hard times to implement ideas they have had for some time – so it may be a case of not letting a crisis go to waste. I have been very impressed by the fortitude and foresight displayed by some of our clients during these hard times.

What is the nature of this innovation? Not necessarily new ideas but, sometimes, it means executing old ideas that may have met organizational resistance in good times and gone nowhere. Earlier this week, I was with the CEO, CFO and CMO of a hospitality company, a luxury marketer that has been having a hard time this past year. Instead of cowering with fear, they are thinking boldly. This is a company that has traditionally taken a very traditional direct marketing approach with their guests - with little tie in to web strategy, the call center and other channels. Now, in a drive for ambitious growth, they are developing a whole new approach to the guest experience and letting customer insights drive this experience. Direct marketing is just one part of it. Building brand, better relationships with property owners, personalized experiences, better data that is designed to yield superior insights, are all fruits of the effort.

Such change would have been unthinkable in this company...

Read full article.

Have an article on a topic you think our readers need to know about? Send it to us.

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Top leaders often face challenging and unexpected business and personal issues and need expect counsel on short notice. Ask Our Coach is a 24/7/365 hotline that clients and prospective clients alike can use to obtain coaching advice from one of EC's senior coach-consultants. EC's commitment is to respond to all Ask Our Coach inquiries within 24 hours, which makes us always accessible and available to our clients when you need us.

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"I honestly believe Executive Connections has the ability to take individuals who are determined and coachable to levels and places far beyond their wildest professional dreams. Simply stated, Jeff & Lorraine make the people they work with better. They raise your aspirations, get the best out of you and then a little more. Through Jeff & Lorraine's actions, not their words, they taught me what the word dynamic really means. Some people say it, they live it. I'm truly fortunate to call Jeff & Lorraine mentors and friends."

--Jimmy Duffy, Director of Business Development & Sales Fulco, Inc.

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7th Annual Financial Services Marketing Symposium
October 14 - 15, 2009

Mobile Banking: How Will It Change the Face of Bank Marketing?
Moderator: Jeff Gundersen, CEO, Executive Connections LLC

Mobile banking is definitely on the move. All the major banks offer some type of mobile service for bill payment, funds transfer, checking balances and receiving alerts. This panel discussion will explore growth trends in mobile banking and how the mobile web will change the face of bank marketing over the course of the next decade. The issues to be explored in this session include:

• How is the mobile web impacting overall bank customer acquisition?
  
  
• How will the mobile web enhance customer experience and loyalty?
  
  
• How long will the mobile channel take to scale until a majority of consumers are utilizing this channel?
  
  
• What are the other bank marketing implications (i.e., cross-sell, marketing) related to mobile banking, and how quickly can we expect these to rollout?
  
  
• How has the current global recession impacted mobile banking investments?

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BAI Retail Delivery Conference & Expo 2009
November 3 - 5, 2009

As a global retail banking community, we must take a critical look at ourselves, expand our knowledge and employ resources to change our business approach. At BAI Retail Delivery 2009, we'll give you the tools to help your organization emerge from our challenged economy as a stronger, more resilient, forward-thinking financial institution.

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ad:tech New York
November 4 - 6, 2009