January 23, 2013
Code of (Low) Confidence: CEOs Less Optimistic About Global Market
Bring on the doom and gloom. Experts have said optimists live longer and lead more successful lives, whether it’s in love, career or business. But with today’s shaky economic climate, global CEOs have been feeling less optimistic about prospects for their companies’ success. According CNBC, chief officers are leaning a bit more pessimistic in their thinking, concerned that the global economy will decline further in 2013.
A new survey by PwC, which included results from 1,330 interviews conducted in 68 countries, found that only 36% of CEOs worldwide were “very confident” of their company’s growth prospects in the next 12 months. The figure was down from last year and the year before, but still above low percentages recorded in 2010 and 2009.
“We would say confidence levels are actually down this year going into the next 12 months…Most are saying that they don’t expect a lot of change this year about the same as the past year,” Dennis Nally, Chairman of PwC told CNBC.
A whopping 28% say the global economy will decline further in 2013, and only 18% predict economic improvement; 52% say it will stay the same.
“I think certainly the No. 1 issue is just the whole global picture around uncertainty and so you’ve got pockets of growth, positive as well as negative,” Nally added.
True many global markets are having more than major issues, from China’s deflating real estate bubble to the U.S. fiscal cliff challenges. But, all doesn’t have to be lost. Inc. writer Minda Zetlin offers a few quick tips to offset the feelings of pessimism for those in executive leadership positions—all who will need a combination of positive reinforcement and innovative solutions to face today’s global economic dificulties:
1. Switch your thinking from problem to solution.
2. Give yourself a mental coach.
3. Take 30 seconds each day to visualize success.
4. Give yourself pats on the back.