Balance of year worry, reports Blain

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As we approached Q2 2022, leadership specialist  Jeremy Blain  (www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyblain) and author of “The Inner CEO” (www.performanceworks.global/product/theinnerceo) recently polled businesses and leaders on how they were feeling about performance for the balance of year.

“The results of my LinkedIn and Website polls are in, and on the face of it the sentiment is largely positive – until we scratch the surface that is.  In the polls 71% of respondents predicted balance of year growth, while 29% felt uncertain or declining further.  Although this is not unsurprising following two years of pandemic, when seven out of ten businesses are getting back on track.  But let’s delve deeper into the figures.

“Out of the 71% predicting balance of year growth, the majority is made of those predicting single digit growth (almost 40% of all those polled).  When I opened conversations across this group, the reality became more worrying.  Following a very tough two-year business environment calculations for growth have been more bullish coming into 2022.  As a result, double digit growth targets coming into Q1 2022 have been the norm across my polled group.  The poll found that the single figure (percentage) growth at the end of Q1 is not good enough or acceptable for many of those I spoke with; and there is further unpredictability on the horizon.”

“So, while the black-and-white numbers say one thing, the sentiment and reality are perhaps quite different, with almost 70% of all respondents having a more pessimistic balance of year business outlook regardless of whether they are currently in decline, steady or even most of those experiencing single-digit growth.”

“This is reinforced by a majority, citing further uncertainty ahead, especially with the likely impact of a longer the war in Ukraine (and the wider risk); the price of oil remaining high; and specifically, the impact of energy and commodities pricing as supply and demand balances shift.  On top of the added pressure for accelerated progress across business, digital and workforce transformations are currently underway, and with it the need to fund the investment needed to carry these transformations through to completion.”

Jeremy blogs at www.performanceworks.global/blog