IN SEARCH OF THE REAL ECONOMY

Investors are always looking for opportunities and vulnerabilities in the economy. They are looking for what is peaking and what is at a low — what is trending and fads that are fading. Building and re-building local economies requires all of that and more.

There are many ways to try to cut through the fog of the market analysis, interest rates, banking troubles, and predictions based on the destiny of demographics. My simple advice: visit the markets, walk the manufacturing plant floor with the manager, visit a brand-new franchisee’s store, spend a day at your local start-up studio, visit the headquarters of your foreign investors, talk to the worker behind the counter.

You may not come to clear-cut conclusions, and you may not even change your strategies. You will come away more convinced about what can be done to help businesses and workers, and in turn, your community. Your determination will be hardened. Your will to find solutions will be stimulated. It will make a difference.

My encouragement this week is to see your customers and your workforce face-to-face. Do it formally and informally. Set appointments with owners, entrepreneurs, and operations managers, or just walk up and talk to the man or woman behind the counter and the customer in line at the grocery store. Over index on first-person perspective, not third-party analysis.

Have a great week, lift each other up, and let’s move forward together.