High level economic predictions take up a lot of media coverage at the start of the New Year. They can ignore the fact that individual industries face very different pressures.
Things may be looking up for the economy, but that doesn't mean your industry and job are safe.
Global consulting giant Booz&Co. has a great breakdown of what 13 of the world's biggest industries can expect next year.
If you know the biggest issues, you can position yourself as a leader on the most important questions at your company.
Lower budgets and changing competition mean defense is in the midst of a once-in-a-generation change.
Due to increasing competition and shrinking budgets, pure defense companies are under significant pressure. Rather than be fully functioning companies, many defense businesses are "program based," depending on a few giant contracts to fuel them.
That won't work anymore, and to succeed in the future, they'll have to behave more like traditional businesses and/or expand to more commercial areas.
Source: Booz&Co.
The Affordable Care Act is inevitable now, and health care organizations will need more aggressive strategies to adapt.
The ACA means consumers have more choices when it comes to plans and treatments. They'll always be looking for affordability, and providers will have to learn how to meet this need without compromising quality. Once they have that affordability, marketing will come to the forefront for the industry like it never has before.
Secondly, and most importantly, cost reduction has to become a part of strategy, not a series of isolated cuts. If you don't change the whole way you do business, for example, like the Cleveland Clinic has, real, long-term cost reduction isn't possible.
More mergers and acquisitions are likely as well, but will have to be handled carefully.
Cost pressures, electronic trading, and declining management fees will hit investment banks this year.
It's going to be a long time, if ever, before investment banking reaches pre-crisis heights. Many banks have already taken big steps to reduce personnel and costs. That won't be enough. They're going to have to start thinking seriously about what businesses to stay in, and which ones to leave. Fees are on the decline as well.
However, after years of uncertainty, things are perking up a little bit in Europe, which could provide some interesting opportunities.
Source: Booz&Co.
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