Bill Conerly
Business and Economic Speaker
Dr. Bill Conerly is a Senior Contributor to Forbes, a Duke University Ph.D., and the consultant who connects the dots between the economy and business. He has worked in economics and corporate planning at two Fortune 500 corporations and at a major bank, where he was senior vice president. He is also the author of The Flexible Stance: Thriving in a Boom/Bust Economy (2017) as well as Businomics (2007). He has been interviewed on PBS, CNN and CNBC, and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, and USA Today.
Dr. Bill Conerly is a Senior Contributor to Forbes, a Duke University Ph.D., and the consultant who connects the dots between the economy and business. He has worked in economics and corporate planning at two Fortune 500 corporations and at a major bank, where he was senior vice president.
Companies have used Dr. Conerly’s expertise to help with decisions regarding capital expenditures, inventory levels, expansion into new markets, pricing, business models and financial structure.
Bill Conerly has spoken to over 1300 business audiences in five countries and 31 states.
Dr. Conerly’s articles are at Forbes.com. He is also the author of The Flexible Stance: Thriving in a Boom/Bust Economy (2017) as well as Businomics (2007). He has been interviewed on PBS, CNN and CNBC, and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, and USA Today.
Companies have used Dr. Conerly’s expertise to help with decisions regarding capital expenditures, inventory levels, expansion into new markets, pricing, business models and financial structure.
Bill Conerly has spoken to over 1300 business audiences in five countries and 31 states.
Dr. Conerly’s articles are at Forbes.com. He is also the author of The Flexible Stance: Thriving in a Boom/Bust Economy (2017) as well as Businomics (2007). He has been interviewed on PBS, CNN and CNBC, and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, and USA Today.
- Survive In The Next Recession, Thrive In The Next Boom
Some companies, even in highly cyclical industries, come out of recession smelling like a rose, ready to grasp upside opportunities as the economy recovers. The same strategies also work for unexpected changes in technology, social attitudes, government regulation and competition. This presentation will have your audience taking notes while laughing.
Key Takeaways
· Cheap and easy steps to take now, before the recession comes
· Vital items for a recession contingency plan
· How to look for upside possibilities
· Checklist for expansion constraints
As an experienced forecaster, Dr. Bill Conerly has seen projections go awry, so he collected success stories from businesses large and small to understand how some companies thrive in recessions. He also found that some companies could not take advantage of good times, because they were not flexible enough to expand on short-notice—and he learned what top companies do about this. - Leadership in Today’s Tight Labor Market: Retaining and Recruiting High Productivity Employees
The tight labor market is the greatest business challenge today, and it will continue for a decade.
Key takeaways:
· The secret of employee retention—and it’s not money.
· Finding new employees: where the fish are biting.
· Hiring, retaining and motivating millennials.
In 2006, before the recession, Dr. Bill Conerly predicted a labor shortage was 10 years away. He began collecting research on the most successful practices for employee retention and recruitment. He presents the lessons from the research with humorous stories illustrating best practices. - The Next Decade: What Businesses Should Do TODAY to Prepare for Tomorrow
Most business leaders spend time on urgent matters, but not much time on the big picture of how the world is changing. Having some key trends in mind helps executives make better day-to-day decisions.
Key takeaways depend on the audience; here are some possibilities:
· Demographics and worker availability: what to do now to prepare for when the Baby Boomers retire.
· Borrowing will be very cheap for those with great financials, but unavailable for others. How to protect your business’s access to credit.
· Your future taxes will be higher due to upcoming growth of the federal deficit; how to incorporate this into your business and personal financial planning.
· Business cycles will be more extreme than in recent years; how to protect your company from recessions, and how to gain all you can in booms.
· Technology, costs and customers: how new capabilities will allow you to clean your competitors’ clocks—or risk having your own clock cleaned.
· Globalization: Will changing political attitudes about foreign trade take us back to less globalized business? What you should do now to protect your overseas sales or supply chain.
Dr. Conerly is a futurist who avoids excessive speculation and uncertainty. Emphasizing the most likely paths, he provides action steps that business leaders can take today to prepare for the coming decade. Specifics are adjusted for the particular audience. This topic can include some audience interaction. - Prepare for Perpetual Change—Capture Opportunities and Avoid Risk in an Uncertain World
Companies are beset by continual changes in the economy, technology, social attitudes, government regulation and competition. Top leaders help their team members adjust smoothly to enable the organization to seize opportunities and avoid risks.
Key takeaways:
· How a leader prepares the organization for change.
· Action steps to develop a culture that changes smoothly.
· Best business practices to thrive in an ever-changing environment.
· Developing employees who succeed in a changing world.
The audience hears examples from Dr. Conerly’s latest book, The Flexible Stance: Thriving in a Boom/Bust Economy. These illustrations come from companies large and small, in a variety of industries. The presentation works well with substantial audience interaction; activities are adjusted to fit audience size. - The Economic Outlook: Your Company’s Opportunities and Risks in the Evolving Business Cycle
Business rises or falls with the economy. Business leaders want to know what the future holds, and they also need to be ready for the unexpected.
Key takeaways:
· Outlook for major sectors of the economy, inflation and interest rates.
· How to keep your business ready for expansion while protecting against recession.
· The role of contingency plans, both upside and downside, in a thriving business.
Dr. Bill Conerly has been forecasting the economy since 1980—he’s seen it all. He’s also been showing business leaders how the economy will impact their companies—and guiding them to develop plans that will be resilient in any economy. Normal customization emphasizes those sectors of the economy of greatest impact on the audience. Regional audiences hear “an outsider’s perspective” on the local economy. Audience interaction is flexible; discuss your preferences with Dr. Conerly.
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