THE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Your Company’s Opportunities and Risks in the Evolving Business Cycle

WHY THIS PROGRAM?

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, emphasizing those most important to the audience
  • The path of inflation in the coming years
  • Interest rates and Federal Reserve policy

Why This Speaker

Dr. Bill Conerly is an experienced economist with a Ph.D. from Duke University. He developed forecasts for two Fortune 500 corporations and a major bank, where he was a senior vice president integrating economics with strategic planning. His emphasis on business implications of economic changes provides actionable information to both corporate executives and small business owners.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE ECONOMY

Winners, Losers and How Business Will Change

WHY THIS PROGRAM?

AI is on people’s minds. It will make some occupations more productive, add business opportunities in some sectors while curbing sales elsewhere, with impacts on the total economy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • AI will stimulate the overall economy
  • There will be losers as well as winners
  • The industries and occupations with large gains
  • The industries and occupations with small gains
  • Impact on overall economic activity
  • Business challenges of implementing AI programs

WHY THIS SPEAKER?

Dr. Conerly is a professional economist who has studied past technological change and understands current business practices. He has written about AI and the economy for Forbes.com. He knows the math behind neural networks, but he focuses on actionable implications for business leaders.

THE FUTURE OF WORK

Remote work, artificial intelligence and demographic change

Why This Program

Remote work changed employment practices, and artificial intelligence will upend many jobs, while demographics will limit labor force growth. Every manager will have to adjust to massive change in the coming years.

Key Takeaways

  • Recruiting and retaining workers will be difficult for years to come.
  • Artificial intelligence will alter many jobs in large ways, and most jobs in at least small ways.
  • Remote work can be made productive—and must be, for a company to survive.

Why This Speaker

In 2005 Dr. Bill Conerly alerted business leaders to the coming demographic slump in the working age population, and he evaluated best practices for labor retention and recruitment. In the pandemic, he addressed the significance of remote work. In 2023 he began writing a series of articles for Forbes about AI and the economy. Nobody is better prepared to address these three issues in a unified presentation.

SURVIVE THE NEXT RECESSION, THRIVE IN THE NEXT BOOM

Proven Business Strategies to Succeed in any Economy

WHY THIS PROGRAM?

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

WHY THIS SPEAKER?

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.

THE NEXT DECADE

What Businesses Should Do TODAY to Prepare for Tomorrow

WHY THIS PROGRAM?

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

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.

WHY THIS SPEAKER?

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.