Note from Jennifer: Tatum LLC’s monthly Survey of Business Conditions
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Note from Jennifer: Tatum LLC’s monthly Survey of Business Conditions

Note from Jennifer: Tatum LLC’s monthly Survey of Business Conditions

Have you benefitted from your Traveling Light subscription? Spread the wealth by sharing it with your friends and colleagues. I will gift them a free subscription upon request at https://selbygroup.com/news_signup.html and send both of you an advance copy of my new special report: Recession-Proof Your Leadership or Professional Career: How to Avoid the Three Massive Mistakes Made by Talented Professionals.

These days, Traveling Light readers tell me you worry about things you would normally ignore, and today we tackle one of them square on: does it take good looks to get ahead, or even just keep your job, in an era of lay-offs?

I was recently asked by journalist Robert DiGiacomo how to use your looks to get ahead. I didn’t take it as a compliment on my appearance, since he’d never seen any of the experts he queried! In this week’s Traveling Light, I’m sharing his full article.

There’s a bit of good news on the economy this week. Since its inception six years ago, Tatum LLC’s monthly Survey of Business Conditions has proven accurate in predicting business conditions for the coming 30 to 60 days. Although there were several negative indicators as expected in the February survey, there were also several positive or neutral indicators:

  • Backlogs are rising.
  • The Tatum Index rose slightly for the third consecutive month (although it remains in Recession territory). The Service sector showed the most improvement.
  • Continued layoffs, rising unemployment and reduced corporate earnings can reasonably be expected in the near term as a result of the dive in economic activity that started in September 2008, but note that these are backward-looking indicators. (This is a good reminder to not confuse backward-looking indicators with forward-looking indicators.)
  • The fact that the Tatum Index reached its lowest point in November and has been rising slightly since then suggests that the worst of the current slump may now be behind us.

Success and Happiness,

Jennifer