SBT: Wisconsin companies need to prepare for labor shortage

“America’s Corporate Coach” is coming to Milwaukee to provide advice to
Wisconsin employers, who will face the greatest labor shortage in American
history over the next several years. Small Business Times announced today
that author and business consultant Jack Lannom will be the keynote
speaker at the Bravo! Entrepreneur luncheon, which will be held May 3
during the Wisconsin Business & Technology Expo. Lannom will provide
advice for company owners and executives about how they will need to
change their core human resource philosophies to address the labor
shortage that looms just around the corner. Wisconsin will face the
“perfect storm” over the next several years, when baby boomers (born
1946-64) are retiring en masse, to be replaced by a much smaller
Generation X (born 1965-79) and the beginning of the Millennials
generation (1980-1999). According to Lannom, a drastic change is coming to
corporate America. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by
2011, the American workforce will experience the worst shortage of skilled
workers in U.S. history. As the baby boomers retire over the next six
years, the U.S. economy will lose an estimated 10 million skilled workers.
The shortage will create an unprecedented need for organizations to
attract and retain their high-performing and loyal employees. Lannom’s
message is described in detail in his newest book, “People First.” “The
new business model for high profitability and long-term viability will be
a philosophy that puts people first,” Lannom said. “Every human being
needs to know that who they are and what they do in a company has purpose,
meaning, and immense significance. People will work in excellence when
they are treated excellently, and with this excellence will come profits …
If you want your profits to grow, you must grow people first.” Lannom
developed his philosophy after spending 30 years in the industry and
working in the trenches with top executives from various Fortune 500
companies such as Citibank, AT&T and Blockbuster Video. Lannom is the
second high-profile author and consultant booked for the second annual
Wisconsin Business & Technology Expo, which will take place May 3-4 at the
Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park in West Allis. Renee
Mauborgne, co-author of “Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested
Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant,” will share her insights
at a breakfast to kick off the Expo on May 3. Blue Ocean Strategy is the
top-selling book on the 2005 list of business books ranked by
800-CEO-READ, a Milwaukee-based business book distributor. Additional
information about the Wisconsin Business & Technology Expo, which is
presented by Small Business Times, is available at www.biztimes.com/expo.
Southeastern Wisconsin companies and entrepreneurs are encouraged to visit
the Web site and nominate themselves for two business awards programs.