Smart CEOs aren’t sweating the search for workers; they’re focused on productivity

When the unemployment rate was reported to have hit a new low-low of 3.8 percent for May, the usual expectation by some media folks is that employers will have a hard time finding employees to fill all those jobs that are being created. That’s true for some, but smart business people also start looking for productivity improvements in their operations. Technology upgrades, organizational restructuring, realigning responsibilities, streamlining operations and alternative marketing tactics are just some of the ideas a CEO will focus on first, instead of whining about finding more employees. That’s not to say that hiring more people is not on the list of things to focus on, but it’s not usually their first priority.

As an example, hiring more people when I became CEO of Godfather’s Pizza in 1986 was not my first priority. We focused on all of the things mentioned above, and a successful turnaround strategy emerged to save the company from bankruptcy, which we did. Reporters, journalists and some politicians have never been in a CEO’s or business leader’s shoes. This is why they will draw narrow and incomplete conclusions from ever-changing business and economic metrics in an ever-changing dynamic business environment. Maybe this is why my radio show, our website commentaries and Facebook Live videos are so popular with an ever-increasing number of engaged patriots. I’m able to offer a CEO perspective beyond what appears on the surface of a metric. Low-low unemployment of 3.8 percent is a good thing for true CEOs and business leaders, because it forces them to be in a productivity frame of mind. It’s a good thing for this country that we finally have a president who understands productivity and problem-solving. We just need more members of Congress, and that means Republicans, who understand productivity instead of just throwing more money at problems. We are headed in the right direction! Bring on more good news!

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