Some years ago I was rushing from one business obligation to another, winding my way on icy, winter roads through northwestern Germany. My mind was on the business, the challenges, possible solutions, and, of course, on the road. Suddenly, as I rounded a curve and started down a hill, I saw movement through the snowy woods on my right in the corner of my eye. I couldn’t actually look at it righ…

Its a wonderful week! Imagine—eight senior executive clients landed or received offers in the latest week! Due to our careful attention to client confidentiality, we cannot tell you their names, of course, but we can tell you more about their results. They landed with titles including CEO, Head of Transformation, Vice President (three execs), Senior Director, Transportation and Logistics Mana…

Introduction to Industry Update: Manufacturing At its peak in 1979, manufacturing accounted for 22% of non-farm employment in the US. It now totals about 9%, equating to approximately 11% of GDP. [See source.] Recovery from the pandemic and the resultant surge in consumption helped bring renewed life to this sector. This momentum so far seems to be continuing in 2023. Government subsidies to s…

Remember the childhood game of “telephone” where at one end of a line of kids someone would whisper a message in the next child’s ear? One by one the kids would pass the message down, whispering it each time, until it arrived at the other end. More often than not, the final message was completely different than the initial message, garbled as it was in transmission. That is a good metaphor for…

Introduction – Human Resources In researching this Industry Update, we encountered numerous assertions that now is the time for Human Resource executives and professionals to really shine. One source put it like this: “I’ve worked in the HR industry now for a quarter of a century, and by my estimation this is the most exciting – and the most challenging – time to be in the field. Since the…

The Barrett Group® recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Recruiting and Temporary Staffing Firms 2023 Since 2020, The Barrett Group (TBG) has been nominated by Forbes and Statista’s survey of professionals in the industry, peers, and clients as one of America’s Best Recruiting and Temp Staffing Firms 2023. This year marks the fourth consecutive year, and we are proud to announce this …

In the context of this Industry Update, we recognize a continuous interaction between the real estate and construction markets. We will report on important aspects of each, as well as regional distinctions across our target geography. But overall we regard the construction and real estate executive market as one. They are an intertwined pool of opportunity. Long-Term Gain, Short Term Pain Beg…

We all know the feeling… Hair prickling. Hands and teeth clenched. Clammy palms. Frozen limbs. Staring eyes. Rapid pulse. Helplessness… Yes, it’s our age-old friend FEAR come to visit. The question is, why? Fear is a normal, even helpful reaction we are told, one programmed in by evolution. Blood flows to the limbs, for example, to help prepare us for the fight or flight response. In the face…

In the long run, private equity is inexorably gaining market share: “The number of US public companies has declined by about a third over the last 25 years […] Private market returns, meanwhile, are outpacing public returns over every time horizon […] These advantages explain why private markets continue to grow relative to the public markets.” [See source.] In fact, 85% of employment in the …

Congratulations! You failed! With all due respect to Friedrich “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” Nietzsche, failing may be overrated. Of course, after you failed, you should at least try to take a lesson from your failure if for no other reason than not to repeat it. For example, one of my many failures involved the Botched Interview. In a nutshell, I was interviewing as a managing …