2010 is 4 weeks away.
It’s been several weeks since I have written a blog entry. Frankly, I had exhausted all my optimism. Unemployment had risen to 10.2% and I knew better – it was more like 17%. I hurt for my peers and fellow Americans. I knew that no serious economic recovery was coming until jobs recovered. I was bummed.
Then, yesterday, came the news: 11,000 filed for new unemployment last month and unemployment was reduced to 10%., the first reduction in two years. That’s still a loss of 11,000 – and terrible for those 11,000 families – but it signals that the job recovery is on. 11,000 is a lot better than the 750,000 that confronted Obama just 10 months ago, when he took office.
What’s more, the President is now focusing on creating jobs. Not the banks – that is done. (Who knows? The bastards — I’m sorry, bankers — may even start lending to small businesses again soon!) Not Middle East wars – that decision has now been made. Not healthcare – the crazy and bitterly divided senate is now fighting over those details, and it is out of the President’s hands. Not climate change – for the sane, that debate has ended.
Jobs.
You can bet that we will be seeing a growth – that’s right, growth – in employment all through 2010, starting in January or February. And living through a comeback is a lot more fun than the opposite!
Marketers – expect an unusual Christmas, with lots of sales and little profit, due to price reductions. But also expect that next year, your efforts will begin to pay off. And for those of you who have been marketing this whole time, congratulations. You now own a larger share of the market, and your comeback will be faster and larger than your competitors.
For those companies who were driven by fear and took the easy way out during the recession, by letting your CFO fire expensive and valuable employees (especially just prior to your CFO going to the bank for loans), you are in deep do-do. You probably don’t even know it, but you bet against America and lost (you always will when you bet against America). You no longer have the trained employees you need to attract and keep new business in 2010. And you have lost market share, as well as the trust of your customers, your industry, and your staff. Best of luck – you listened to right wing politicians and number crunchers, not historians and marketers, and you will now pay the price…if you are still in business. Look into a mirror and say out loud, “A fool and his money are soon parted.”
“Wait,” you are thinking. “Things will get worse soon enough. The recovery will not hold up. Soon, we will see an economic collapse.” Keep reading Forbes and listening to that brilliant economic guru, Sarah Palin. The rest of us need to get back to earth now.
Yes, for the rest of us, 2010 is going to be a great year, and we can look forward to a long period of sustained economic growth. An improving economy helps everyone – like in the stock market, a rising tide lifts all boats. Marketers, start your engines.