- Another indicator of the fragile state of our economy.
Normally, when you want to analyze the state of our economy, you examine such things as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is currently at a paltry annual rate of 0.7%. Or you might consider unemployment which, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics is at 5%. This, of course, does not include people who have stopped looking for work over the past four weeks, thereby bringing the real unemployment rate up to 9.9% (according to Gallup).
However, the Gallup organization recently produced a new report about corporate acquisitions corporate acquisitions which reveals some unsettling numbers affecting the economy. In a nutshell, Gallup discovered companies are frustrated by an economy inhibiting them from growing from within, preferring instead to acquire competitive companies.
In studying the Forbes Global 2000 (G2000) companies, Gallup discovered the number of publicly traded companies have been cut in half over the past twenty years, going from approximately 7,300 to 3,700. As the company correctly points out, "In a perfect world, the market would have doubled the number of big public companies instead of halving it."
However, getting companies to improve internally has become a serious challenge. As Gallup explains it, 71% of workers have become indifferent about their companies and have actively disengaged from them. This means only a handful of employees find meaning in their work and are industrious.
The question is, why have so many people become disengaged at work? In large part, blame can be placed on management's inclination to micromanage everything in an office, thereby creating a master/slave mentality which is hardly conducive for encouraging workers to assume responsibility, take charge, and become engaged in the business of the company. As I've mentioned on many occasions, I am more of a believer in managing from the bottom-up, meaning you should train your people properly, empower them to execute project assignments on their own, and get out of their way. Of course, managers should monitor project status and run interference on problems as required, thereby allowing the workers to focus on their responsibilities. Such an approach encourages workers to take ownership of their projects and create an esprit de corps. In other words, managers should manage more and supervise less.
By simply "managing from the bottom-up," companies can engage their workers, thereby providing them with the ability to improve from within, and deter the need to acquire other companies. Besides, how do we know these other companies are any better than our own?
Also published with News Talk Florida.
Keep the Faith!
Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.
Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
For Tim's columns, see: timbryce.com
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Copyright © 2016 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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LAST TIME: GREETINGS FROM PLANET NINE - The new Hollywood.
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Last month, scientists at the California Institute of Technology claim to have discovered a new planet, temporarily named, 
If you think the physical infrastructure of our country is bad, its bridges and highways, you should see its systems. Like it or not, we are a nation run by systems developed as far back as the 1960's. No wonder COBOL programmers are still in demand. Over the years I have heard one horror story after another, be it in banking, insurance, manufacturing, or government. I have also written about such snafus, such as at the 
I recently received in e-mail from my credit card company notifying me of the rewards I earned last year. It's not necessary to mention their name as I believe they are all basically the same. In my case, I have two separate credit cards administered through the same rewards program. This hasn't been a problem until I was asked to check my points. In doing so, I discovered the company was moving away from their old login routine to a new one, meaning I had to re-register my account. Fine. After dutifully registering my first card, I was shown my balance and reward points, but this was a card I seldom used and had few points associated with it.
On the cover of his new book, 
It's Presidents' Day again, a day when the schools and banks are closed, the local, state and federal bureaucracies leave us alone, and everyone else is busy working to pay for it all. The holiday goes back as far as 1879 and was originally intended to honor our first president, George Washington. This was later amended to include Abraham Lincoln, widely considered the savior of the Union. Interestingly, it is celebrated on the third Monday of February, which doesn't coincide with either president's birthday. Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky. In other words, the third Monday was selected as a compromise between the two birthdays. Because of the selection of the third Monday of February, the day never lands on either president's exact birthday.
Most of us are familiar with the expression, "He who dies with the most toys wins," meaning people crave recognition for owning the biggest house, the fastest car, a huge yacht, the most expensive watch, or an impressive title. Although such people should be congratulated on their success, to me, this is rather shallow thinking as I believe it is the little things that make life worthwhile. For example:
Recently, a friend brought to my attention a web page produced by USA Today containing a data base of 
As we enter the workforce, it is natural to be ambitious and make a name for ourselves thereby establishing credibility. This is certainly not new. However, as the Baby Boomers begin to retire, they are rapidly being replaced by Millennials, and frankly, many are not prepared.
I was making a sandwich the other day, and as I opened a loaf of bread I observed the heel customarily unclaimed by other members of the family. I, of course, took it to build my sandwich. Only then did I stop to think how many times I had done this over the years as my family seems to have an aversion to eating the heel and, consequently, it was always earmarked for my consumption exclusively. It's not that I relish eating the heel, I just don't want to see it go to waste. I then started to think about the other attributes that distinguish fathers. For example:
As you probably know, I am not an advocate of micromanagement, a Theory X form of management featuring autocratic rule. I tend to subscribe to Theory Y where you "manage from the bottom up," meaning a manager should train and empower his/her people to perform project tasks, and get out of their way. However, the manager should run interference for his people to overcome problem areas, real or potential. From the sound of this scenario, the manager spends little time with their people. Not quite. It is true they will manage more and supervise less, but they should always be cognizant of the needs of their people.
A rite of passage we must all experience is becoming a "senior." It can be used to denote the final year of high school or college, or graduation from some other institution, such as a tour of duty in the military. It denotes we are growing older which we commonly overlook.