Screen-Shot-2017-02-28-at-3.55.32-PM

Trump’s First Address to Congress: What He Could Say About Jobs

-

As you get ready to listen to President Trump’s first address to a Joint Session of Congress, there are a few things to look for if you are hoping to hear about jobs. After all, Trump campaigned on fighting for the American worker. Regardless of how you feel about him, Trump is very good at drawing attention to issues he wants to seize upon, and jobs are at the top of his list.

Bring The Jobs Back

Trump is promising he will create 25 million new jobs in the next decade. It would be the most jobs created under any U.S. president ever, topping even the nearly 23 million jobs added under President Bill Clinton during the boom years of the 1990s.

In his inaugural address, he drew the greatest applause with this line, “We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth, and we will bring back our dreams.” Look for a refrain of his speech a few weeks ago in Florida where he exclaimed, “Jobs are already starting to pour back in.”

Who’s Hiring These Workers?

Trump has tweeted and spoken directly to numerous CEOs. Since his election, various companies have announced that somewhere between 20,000-25,000 positions either will be created or remain in the U.S. Most of those are in the manufacturing sector.

Trump has taken credit for these jobs although there is no direct evidence he had anything to do with the moves. A job’s a job, and for those hired, this is good news. But a much more robust policy is needed.

Speaking of Policy

Expect a shout-out to newly confirmed Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross who will take a leading role in implementing plans to foster growth and create good-paying jobs for Americans. There also should be a mention of Labor Secretary nominee Alex Acosta.

Taxes and Regulations

Trump regularly points out that corporate taxes and government regulations are hindering businesses from succeeding. This speech should be no different.

Putting People to Work Directly

Look for Trump to repeat his pledge to spend $1 trillion to rebuild our country’s bridges and roads and public transit. That actually may draw some tepid support from Democrats as opposed to budget conscious Republicans.

Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.