inside this issue
Politics in the Park: Community gathers for evening of fun and politics. Page 3
Small Business of the Month: Find out who is this month’s winner. Page 5
Business After Hours: Event a showcase of Chamber members. Page 14
FORUM FOR BUSINESS monthly Buy Lakeland. It makes good cents! • visit LakelandChamber.com
LAKELAND AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
NEW NORMAL
December 2010 Vol. XX, No. 12
WHAT DOES IT MEAN? By Dr. Larry Ross
Florida Southern College
In early October, the Chamber’s board of directors convened their annual board planning retreat on the beautiful campus of Southeastern University. The goal of the retreat was to build consensus on a direction for the Chamber to pursue, within the context of the existing strategic plan. One important agenda item was to address the realities of what has come to be called, “the new normal.” In preparation for the retreat, it became obvious that the Chamber board would need to define the “new normal” as it relates to the Lakeland regional economy and to the member businesses that make up the Chamber. Almost every business owner, politician, and pundit is using the term “new normal,” but almost no one has taken the time to define what it means. The current use of the term, “new normal,” came into popular usage in the summer of 2009. A senior executive at the PIMCO bond trading firm used it to describe the expectations in the financial markets following the melt-down and subsequent credit crisis that occurred in late
2007 and continued through most of 2008. It was originally intended to caution investors that the robust credit markets were gone for the foreseeable future. This, in turn, was an indicator that the use of leverage to fuel above-average economic growth was no longer an option. The term is now so commonly used that I imagine most companies preparing for a budget or plan are probably lamenting the loss of the “good old days” in this “new normal.” Stepping back from the term as used by politicians and economists, several questions come to mind. What does “new normal” mean to us in Central Florida? When can we expect the “old normal” to return? Is the “new normal” similar to a “nuclear winter” that was predicted during the dark days of the cold war? I hope not. . . and I don’t expect the old normal to ever come back. Anyone out there using rotary phones or typewriters anymore? With that in mind, here is what I think the “new normal” means to a typical member of the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce. See New Normal, Page 2
A look at the year ahead with national and local economic forecasts.
January 13, 2011 The Lakeland Center 7:00 – 9:00 a.m. $25 per person Register today at LakelandChamber.com
PLEASE SEE THIS MONTH'S INSERT FOR MORE INFORMATION!
ALSO INSIDE: Upcoming Events • EMERGE Lakeland • Ribbon Cuttings • Members on the Move