I have been asked several times today about our reaction – from a Business Acumen perspective – to the surprising jobs report that came out this morning so I figured I would write a quick blog for your weekend reading.

If you didn’t see it, the United States economy added more than 216,000 jobs in December 2023, which is a very strong showing that exceeded many forecasts and emphasized that the labor market remains smoking white hot.

If you are following these job reports, this is not the first time everyone has been surprised. It feels like for the past 6 months at least every client we work with – from pharmaceuticals to industrial chemicals – has been gearing up for a recession that is never going to come. Unless there is a recession driven by a self-fulfilling prophecy of cuts and more cuts, which quite honestly is going to put those companies at an extreme disadvantage, we have nothing to worry about and as a matter of opinion, better prompt decision-makers to make more investments in people and the business.

As we come to the end of 2023, the Advantexe team is taking a few moments to reflect and think about the year from a business acumen perspective. The followinginfographic highlights some of the amazing accomplishments that our team completed in collaborating with over 10,000 learners globally to help build a better awareness of the systems of business and help them develop the business skills needed to drive performance.

Here it comes. It’s time to sit down with your manager to go over your annual review. Hopefully, your organization has adopted a more progressive methodology of performance reviews such as quarterly reviews, weekly one-on-ones, and a culture of in-the-moment feedback so that the dialogue contained in the year-end review is not a big surprise.

Regardless of the approach your company takes, receiving feedback is always uncomfortable and stressful. Not exactly what anyone needs right now as you are trying to wrap up the year on a positive note and get ready to hit the ground running in 2024.

Last week during an intense leadership development program, we focused on developing the skills of giving Coaching and feedback. We used a digital business leadership simulation to provide participants with the chance to practice and learn by doing. Toward the end of the session, one of our participants who was very pleased with the session asked about skills related to receiving feedback, especially this time of year. We spent some really good time talking about practical best practices so I wanted to share with the readers of this blog the interesting work we came up with.

As we race to the end of the year, business leaders are busy trying to close up 2023 with a flourish as they prepare for what feels like a very bumpy beginning to 2024.

The Advantexe research team has been busy surveying industry leaders, conducting research, and leveraging our daily global interactions with participants of our Business Acumen learning programs to cull three big macro business trends that are about to hit.

This blog is meant to share ideas, insights, and a unique point of view as you face the volatile and uncertain days ahead.

What actually happened with Sam Altman of OpenAI is just a crazy story and a wild turn of events.

Obviously, none of us will know what really happened behind the scenes but Sam Altman is back as the CEO, the employees of OpenAI are happy again, and everyone else in the ecosystem is bewildered by what happened, and what the implications for the future of AI really are.

In the middle of all this chaos, one voice stood out above and beyond everything and everyone else, and that is the voice of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. As I was reading his official statement about the situation, and his reaction to the surprise reaction that Sam Altman was going back to his role as CEO, I was struck by the humanness of his statement and the reality that AI could never replicate it. How ironic…

“At the end of the day, the greatest privilege of my job is working with people who are driven by mission. These last 5 days, I saw people across OpenAI remaining calm and resolute in driving their mission despite all that was happening around them. And I saw people across Microsoft remain focused on our mission and serving our customers and partners, stepping up to help in every way. This is what I’m especially thankful for going into the Thanksgiving holiday. Thank you for your resolve and for the work you do each day to advance AI safely and responsibly and distribute its benefits to all of humanity.”