B U S I N E S S P U L S
CEO Confidence in NEWi has Sixty-seven percent say they are,
reached its lowest level since 9.11.
At the end of Q3/07, The Nicolet
Bank Business Pulse© had dropped
to 97.5 – meaning more negative
than positive responses about
Health Care economic conditions. While
and Energy the decline was due to general
perceptions of economic
Drive CEO conditions - as well as future
prospects of those conditions -
Confidence it is critical to examine these
conditions at a more specific level
Down to understand what CEOs and
business owners are thinking ...
Last month, The Nicolet Bank
Business Pulse© asked CEOs and
business owners how concerned
they were about certain events
having a negative impact on their
business - ultimately reducing their
confidence in current and/or future
conditions. “The increasing cost of
healthcare” and, “the increasing
cost of energy” jumped out as
issues of greatest concern.
Executive Summary:
End of the Third Quarter, 2007
“I’m not getting information; I'm not managing.”
John Torinus, President & CEO — Serigraph, Inc
E©
“Very Concerned” about the rising
costs of healthcare; 52% say they are,
“Very Concerned” about the rising
costs of energy. Fully 9-of-10 CEOs
are either Very Concerned or
Moderately Concerned about each
of these two issues having a negative
impact on their business. The fact
that healthcare came out as a top
concern is not unexpected as costs
have been taking a bigger and bigger
bite out of budgets for the past
several years. While the rate of
healthcare cost has tempered
somewhat, the cost nonetheless
continues to rise at a rate significantly
above the Consumer Price Index.
Not all organizations have the same
level of concern: Those with 100
or fewer employees are the most
concerned about rising health care
costs (72% Very Concerned) while
those with more than 100 employees
are somewhat less concerned (37%
Very Concerned). Past research
reported by The Nicolet Bank
Business Pulse© indicates that larger
companies have taken a more
aggressive approach at containing
those costs.
The rising cost of energy is a more
recent development. While energy
costs have increased significantly
over the past year, they have not
taken the cumulative toll on
the business community like
healthcare. However, uncertainty
on the international front may
be playing into CEO concern
about future costs.
Concern about rising energy costs
varies by size of the organization:
Those with 100 or fewer employees
are the most concerned about
rising costs (58% Very Concerned);
those with more than 100 are
somewhat less concerned (32%
Very Concerned).
The downturn in housing, the
drop in consumer spending, the
shortage of quality employees, the
low value of the dollar and a sharp
decline in the stock market also
have CEOs worrying about future
economic conditions: 68% of
CEOs are either Very or Moderately
Concerned about the drop in
consumer spending; 65% are
concerned about the shortage of
quality employees. More than half
are Very or Moderately Concerned
about the downturn in the housing
market (60%), low value of the
dollar (59%), a sharp decline in the
stock market (52%) and increased
global competition (52%).
Almost half of the CEOs are Very
or Moderately Concerned about
the U.S. getting involved in
another conflict. Of less concern
is having their suppliers outsource
their work overseas (35% Very
or Moderately Concerned); of
another 9.11 attack (43% Very or
Moderately Concerned); of tighter
credit standards by banks (46%).
There were no major difference
in these concerns by sector of
the economy. Essentially, most
of these CEO concerns run in a
broad fashion across all sectors
of the economy.

How the Study is conducted

The Nicolet Bank Business Pulse© is a Quarterly Study of CEOs in NE Wisconsin (Brown, Calumet,
Door, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marinette, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano, Winnebago Counties) and
Menominee, Michigan. It is designed and implemented by IntellectualMarketing, LLC.
Participants include: 30% in manufacturing; 26% in services; 18% retail trade; 5% wholesale trade;
6% finance, real estate, insurance; 6% in transportation, communications, utilities; 6% in construction;
4% in other industries. 16% have fewer than 6 employees; 36% have 6-25; 21% have 26-50;
11% 51-100; 9% 101-250; 3% 251-500; 4% 501-1,000; 1% have 1,001 or more.
QUESTIONS to Dr. David G. Wegge (920) 217-7738; david@intellectualmarketing.com