Let’s get the bad news over with: To say that the U.S. economy is facing the most challenging economic time since the Great Depression is not an overstatement. Last week, employers shed almost 600,000 jobs. Today, 11.6 million Americans are out of work. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate has officially risen to 7.6%.
“This is the largest 13-month job loss since the payroll employment series began in 1939,” Christina Romer, the head of President Obama’s White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement on February 6, 2009. “These numbers, and the very real suffering of American workers they represent, reinforce the need for bold fiscal action. If we fail to act, we are likely to lose millions more jobs and the unemployment rate could reach double digits.”
So, what’s the good news, you say? Given these data, how do business, political, and nonprofit leaders reignite confidence in their ability to lead? How do they exemplify brand integrity, and any good will their organization may have? Is such a thing even possible, given current levels of consumer confidence and general economic malaise? (more…)
Synergy Blog: Ethical Leadership, Brand Trust, and Marketing Strategy 