Survey: Most CEOs expect higher revenues in 2011

Percentage of small-business CEOs who expect increased revenues this year, according to Vistage International: 77

Percentage who foresee higher profits in their own companies: 63

Percentage of respondents who expect to hire more employees this year, which is the first time in three years that the majority of CEOs planned to expand the number of jobs: 54

Sales pipeline
Percentage of small to midsize businesses that predict sales will increase or remain the same, according to a survey conducted by Zoomerang: 84

As a result of the positive outlook anticipated by the majority of respondents, percentage who indicated they are planning to hire new staff in the next 12 months: 25

Ranks of software, hardware and the company Web site on the list of areas of focus that companies are preparing to update in 2011: 1, 2, 3, with 29 percent, 24 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

Jobs forecast
Percentage of employers who plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in 2011, up from 20 percent in 2010 and 14 percent in 2009, according to CareerBuilder’s annual job forecast: 24

Percentage who plan to decrease headcount, an improvement from 9 percent in 2010 and 16 percent in 2009: 7

Percentage who anticipate no change in their staff levels: 58

Connectivity opportunities
Percentage of Americans who say they have received a good suggestion for something to try as a result of their use of social media, according to the results of a Harris Interactive poll: 40
Percentage who say they have made a connection regarding a job opportunity: 15

Percentage who say they have found a new apartment or house through their social media use: 9

Enticed to buy
Percentage of Americans who have tried a retail store, restaurant or hotel for the very first time after having received a gift card for it, according to findings of a survey commissioned by Givex: 41

Percentage who later returned to the business: 72

Customer drivers
Categories of types of shoppers that exist, according to a study by Ipsos Marketing: 5

Percentage of shoppers who are brand lovers: 19

Percentage who are price-driven – on fixed budgets and go out of their way to find the stores with the lowest prices: 23

Cybercrime prevention
Percentage of business professionals who said they were highly confident that private enterprises have sufficient controls in place to minimize the occurrence of cybercrime, according to a poll conducted by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services: 5

Percentage of respondents who are not confident in controls implemented by private enterprises: almost 40

Percentage of respondents who believed it was likely or extremely likely that an electronic security breach would occur in the next year: 42

Leadership perspectives
Percentage of first-time managers who said their promotion isn’t what they thought it would be, according to a study from Development Dimensions International: 57

Percentage of managers who don’t understand what it takes to be successful: 30

Percentage who regret taking the job altogether due to lack of preparation and/or not knowing how to succeed: 33

John MacIntyre is a Nova Scotia-based author and former city magazine editor. His “Figuratively Speaking” column, launched in 1989, is published in more than 40 newspapers and magazines.[[In-content Ad]]