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About
Dr. Bill Conerly is a Senior Contributor to Forbes, a Duke University Ph.D., and the consultant who connects the dots between the economy and business. He guides business leaders in building resilient plans adaptable to any economy, drawing upon extensive experience with agribusiness, banks, manufacturers, mining companies, real estate firms, and utilities. He shares with one industry best practices from the other industries he has worked with.
Companies have used Dr. Conerly’s expertise to help with decisions regarding capital expenditures, inventory levels, expansion into new markets, pricing, business models and financial structure.
Bill Conerly has spoken to over 1300 business audiences in five countries and 31 states, both in person and virtually.
Dr. Conerly’s articles are at Forbes.com. He is also the author of The Flexible Stance: Thriving in a Boom/Bust Economy (2017) as well as Businomics (2007). He has been interviewed on the PBS, CNN and CNBC, and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, and USA Today.
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Video Clips
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Topics
THE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: YOUR COMPANY’S OPPORTUNITIES AND RISKS IN THE EVOLVING BUSINESS CYCLE
Why this program: Every business is impacted by the economy; it’s always top of mind for small business owners and corporate executives. From the risk of recession to interest rates to the key sectors of the economy, Dr. Conerly emphasizes the issues of greatest importance to the particular audience.
Key takeaways:
” Outlook for major sectors of the economy, with emphasis on those most important to the audience. (For example, lumber companies hear more about housing starts, while credit unions hear more about consumer spending and borrowing.)
” How the global economy will evolve, and what that means for audience members.
” Forecast for inflation and major commodity prices. (Again, with emphasis on those costs most important to the audience.)
” The risk of recession and how businesses can protect themselves.
” Politics? Dr. Conerly never uses the platform to push his own party, but he discusses critical political issues from the perspective of “What does this mean for the economy?”
Why this speaker: Dr. Bill Conerly studies the statistics so that you don’t have to, then puts what you need to know into common-sense language. He always focuses on upcoming business decisions.
LEADERSHIP IN TODAY’S TIGHT LABOR MARKET: RETAINING AND RECRUITING HIGH PRODUCTIVITY EMPLOYEES
Why this program: The tight labor market is the greatest business challenge today, and the challenge will continue for a decade.
Key takeaways:
” The secret of employee retention-and it’s not money.
” Finding new employees: where the fish are biting.
” Hiring, retaining and motivating millennials.
Why this speaker: In 2006, before the recession, Dr. Bill Conerly predicted a labor shortage was 10 years away. He began collecting research on the most successful practices for employee retention and recruitment. He presents the lessons from the research with humorous stories illustrating best practices.
SURVIVE THE NEXT RECESSION, THRIVE IN THE NEXT BOOM: PROVEN BUSINESS STRATEGIES TO SUCCEED IN ANY ECONOMY
Why this program: Some companies, even in highly cyclical industries, come out of recession smelling like a rose, ready to grasp upside opportunities as the economy recovers. The same strategies also work for unexpected changes in technology, social attitudes, government regulation and competition. This presentation will have your audience taking notes-when they’re not laughing.
Key takeaways
” Cheap and easy steps to take now, before the recession comes
” Vital items for a recession contingency plan
” How to look for upside possibilities
” Checklist for expansion constraints
Why this speaker: As an experienced forecaster, Dr. Bill Conerly has seen projections go awry, so he collected success stories from businesses large and small to understand how some companies thrive in recessions. He also found that some companies could not take advantage of good times, because they were not flexible enough to expand on short-notice-and he learned what top companies do about this.
THE NEXT DECADE: WHAT BUSINESSES SHOULD DO TODAY TO PREPARE FOR TOMORROW
Why this program: Most business leaders spend time on urgent matters, but not much time on the big picture of how the world is changing. Having some key trends in mind helps executives make better day-to-day decisions.
Key takeaways depend on the audience; here are some possibilities:
” Demographics and worker availability: what to do now to prepare for when the Baby Boomers retire.
” Computers and machine learning will dominate some fields-but not others. How to figure out which activities will be taken over by robots, and which ones will never be.
” Borrowing will be very cheap for those with great financials, but unavailable for others. How to protect your business’s access to credit.
” Your future taxes will be higher due to upcoming growth of the federal deficit; how to incorporate this into your business and personal financial planning.
” Globalization: Will changing political attitudes about foreign trade take us back to less globalized business? What you should do now to protect your overseas sales or supply chain.
Why this speaker: Dr. Conerly is the economic futurist who emphasizes the most likely economic changes, avoiding excessive speculation and uncertainty. He provides action steps that business leaders can take today to prepare for the coming decade.
YOUR GRANDCHILDREN’S ECONOMY: BETTER THAN YOU THINK
Why this program: Doom and gloom about the future permeate news reports, but the hard data is much more positive. This factual yet uplifting program will give the audience a refreshing perspective.
Key takeaways:
” Average incomes are rising around the world, poverty is declining, and these trends are likely to continue.
” Crime is trending down, and likely to continue that direction.
” The environment is getting cleaner, and global warming will be a manageable challenge.
” Robots will make us richer, not poorer.
Why this speaker: Dr. Conerly is the economic futurist who emphasizes the most likely economic changes, avoiding excessive speculation and uncertainty. He’s also a student of ancient history, who uses surprising facts about our past to provide insight about our future.
CUSTOM SPEECHES
Dr. Conerly creates specialized content upon request. Some past presentations were:
” Log Exports to the Far East
” Foodservice and the Economy
” Adapting Your Consulting Expertise to an Uncertain Future
” The Future of Manufacturing
Call to discuss your needs.
Audience Interaction: Dr. Conerly enjoys leading interaction among audience members. These activities can be dialed up or dialed down to meet the meeting organizer’s preferences.
Keynote or Workshop? Most of these topics can be conducted either as a keynote to a large audience or as a workshop for a smaller group.
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Testimonials
4 people have recommended this speaker
“Bill did a great job of creating a simple understanding of the forces of change that affect the general economy, as well as the agricultural economy.”
“Thank you for a wonderful presentation. Everyone who heard your presentation was impressed with your analysis, and strong command of facts and theory. More importantly, your ability to weave together substance with humor, in a very dynamic way, meant our attendees learned and retained more information than we would have typically expected. You made economics fun and you left our members with powerful insights on trends and issues to consider as they prepare for the future.”
“One of the better financial speakers…lively…energetic”
“AgFirst Farm Credit Bank has benefitted from Bill Conerly’s unique insights and perspectives several times over the past five years…his materials consistently cover the points that we agree on…he has been very well-received by our groups, and we look forward to having Bill with us again in the future.”
“Thank you for a wonderful presentation. Everyone who heard your presentation was impressed with your analysis, and strong command of facts and theory. More importantly, your ability to weave together substance with humor, in a very dynamic way, meant our attendees learned and retained more information than we would have typically expected. You made economics fun and you left our members with powerful insights on trends and issues to consider as they prepare for the future.”