Published on
October 31, 2004 in
Musings.
I just don’t get these jobs numbers battered about in political ads and speeches. While many parts of the country are booming, Ohio has had many jobs go away and not come back. But how do you blame a single person, ie., the President?
I have several independent contractors work with me who, several years ago were laid off from various positions, but are now working. Unfortunately, because they don’t go to an office every day and are not listed on some company’s payroll, they are not counted in the “official” employment reports. But they are productive, paying taxes, and taking care of business and family.
Did our country have to listen to all this rhetoric when farm payrolls went from 70 percent of our work force to 1 percent? Is it really that bad that we increased our productivity? Remember all that complaining when manufacturers were afraid of assembly lines and robots? Now I guess the computer has increased our productivity and removed personnel from their jobs. But aren’t millions of jobs created because of new inventions?
I think one of the problems is that the “official” job reports are compiled the same as they were 50, even 100 years ago. Jobs have changed, economies have changed, people have changed. We live in a global electronic economy. Why don’t the statisticians revise accordingly so we can read true numbers?
Measuring the Business Benefit of IT, at CFO.com is a synopsis of a report that summarizes the findings of interviews with executives at 11 companies. Some very complex thoughts on measuring value of IT projects:
What does a company really “earn,” after all, by making E-mail available to its employees? Yes, employees are likely to be more productive, but quantifying the increase is bound to be a rough estimate at best. And how do you assign a value to meeting customer expectations that employees be reachable by E-mail?
Some companies are qualifying that value prior to giving a project the go-ahead, while others are a bit relaxed and look to see if what was promised is delivered at the end.
The National Federation of Independent Business warns to watch out if your small business exhibits these six signs of potential trouble:
- Checking and savings balances have dipped below normal averages.
- The sales “pipeline” is slowing and sales staff is reporting fewer productive sales calls than in the past.
- “Bread-and-butter” articles of inventory have remained unsold for longer-than-expected periods.
- Payments to suppliers are continually delayed or put off altogether.
- Upper management retracts set plans for all types of growth and development requiring additional funding.
- Banks and other loan providers ask for additional information on financial statements and loan requests.
Blogs and blogging seem to be getting quite a bit of news and headlines the last month — ever since the Rathergate scandal was launched by a blogger at Powerlineblog. Besides the scandal ramblings and the previous blog entry Blogging for Jobs, there is plenty going on with the business trade press. Here’s one Blogging for Dollars – CFO Magazine
The real promise of blogs, however, lies in their tremendous marketing power. For just a few hundred dollars, companies can start a buzz about new products, tout awards won, and generally blow their own horns.
I blog primarily because I enjoy writing and disseminating information. If this blog happens to snag an extra client or two then even better. But my blogs also become a database of interesting and useful links, ideas for my clients, and a great forum for discussing those ideas. I’m glad to see blogs coming into their own and I’m glad to be blogging. And thanks to you for reading.
A good one at CIO magazine: The No. 1 Challenge: Managing Expectations – Business Relationships
In the end, managing expectations is all about communication.
You need a project manager at the helm.
