Good morning.
These are strange economic times. In the US, recent government statistics said GDP shrank for two quarters in a row—traditionally, a sign of recession. However, Friday’s labor report showed that employment grew by more than half a million—signaling a boom.
So what’s going on? I have no answer. But I believe that the so-called “battle for talent” is a long-term trend that will outlast the business cycle. In Fortunewe’ve seen it perform over the 25 years we’ve published our 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Every year, the competition to make the list gets tougher. In Capitalist of Tomorrow (order here), I cite a statistic that helped me understand the change: 50 years ago, more than 80% of the value found on the balance sheets of Fortune 500 companies was physical things—plants, equipment, oil in the ground , inventory on the shelves. Today, more than 85% of the value on the balance sheets of Fortune 500 companies is “intangible”—intellectual property, brand value, and many things more closely related to human capital than physical and financial capital. People are value drivers today.
but Fortune last week launched a new newsletter, CHRO Daily, sponsored by ServiceNow and written by Amber Burton. In yesterday’s newsletter, Amber wrote about the elevation of Chief Learning Officers in corporations. L&D departments used to be purveyors “of onboarding and mandatory compliance exercises,” he wrote. But today, “talent cultivation and development” is becoming central to business strategy.
Interested? You can get a taste of the topics here and sign up here. Let me say that again: you must sign up here. Anyone who thinks the much-predicted recession will end the talent wars is missing the big picture.
News below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
[email protected]
TOP NEWS
Dreamliner deliveries
Boeing will continue deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner. The Federal Aviation Administration greenlighted the move following changes made by Boeing to meet certification standards, and American Airlines hopes to take delivery of the long-haul plane as soon as tomorrow. Deliveries of the Dreamliner have largely been paused since the fall of 2020, when production defects were discovered. Wall Street Journal
Novavax disappointment
Novavax, which took in $1.6 billion in Operation Warp Speed funding, is handling all 7,300 COVID jabs in the US The Maryland-based company badly disappointed Wall Street with its quarterly results yesterday ($186 million more than expected $1 billion) and its shares fell 30% in after-hours trading. CEO Stanley Erck blamed a current glut in vaccine doses. Fortune
Trump’s attack
Yesterday FBI agents raided former US President Donald Trump’s residence, reportedly in connection with an investigation into his handling of classified information. The Mar-a-Lago raid, which drew an immediate outcry from Republicans, was likely authorized at the highest levels of the Justice Department. Trump himself was in New York at the time of the agents’ visit. Financial Times
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
EU calls natural gas ‘green,’ but critics aren’t buying it, by Laurie Clarke
Nasdaq’s new rule on board diversity is a good first step, not a gold standard, either Aracely Muñoz
The 4 most recession-proof industries to work in, according to LinkedIn, by Chloe Berger
Meet the ‘demon stock’: Chinese investors have made their own name for stocks that defy logic, by Nicholas Gordon
As land prices plummet in the metaverse, Mark Cuban says buying digital land is ‘the most amazing thing ever’, by Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer.
This is the web version of the CEO Daily, a newsletter of must-read insights from Fortune CEO Alan Murray. Sign up to get it delivered to your inbox for free.
.