December 2016 – Croixstone

“Crystallized Intelligence” + the Older Worker

The Croixstone Consulting team understands the benefits that highly-experienced professionals bring to the workforce. A recently published brief from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College illustrates how older workers, who are living and working longer than ever before, maintain productivity as they age.

The brief suggests that older workers make up for a decline in “fluid intelligence”—the ability to solve new problems—with “crystallized intelligence,” or the learned knowledge and experience they accumulate over the years.

Visit the Center for Retirement Research to learn more about cognitive aging and the ability to work here.

Croixstone Consulting CXO Patti Weber Completes Harvard Program

Congratulations to Croixstone Consulting’s Chief Experience Officer, Patti Weber, who this week successfully completed the Harvard Business School Club of Charlotte’s “Management Development Program“.

The Management Development Program, a “mini MBA” style course taught at Queens University, is a favorite with Charlotte-based corporations and is taught entirely by Harvard Business School alumni to program participants. The course offers rising executives the chance to study business one night a week for 13 weeks with a roster of some of the most prominent CEO’s, Presidents and Managing Partners in the Charlotte region.

In addition to participation by Croixstone Consulting, this year’s Harvard program included leaders from companies including: Bank of North Carolina, SYNOPTICS Northrup Grumman, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Carolinas Medical Center, Schaeffler Group, ScentAir Technologies, Continental Tire, Snyder’s-Lance, Duke Energy, Carolina Cat, EnPro Industries, Skookum, National Gypsum Company, Ridgemont Equity Partners, Coats North America and more.

Patti completed the Harvard program to supplement her more than 20 years experience in helping global Fortune 500 companies and top-ranked public education schools implement forward-thinking and “game-changing” initiatives. Her background includes diverse business experience in the technology consulting (Accenture) and workforce solutions (Kelly Services) industries.

As an active community leader, Patti is a Partner with Social Venture Partners Charlotte and serves on the group’s Education Committee. Additionally, she serves as a volunteer Math Tutor at Charlotte’s Sedgefield Elementary School with Heart Math Tutoring and as PurpleStride Charlotte Teams Ambassador with the Charlotte Affiliate of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

The Freelance Economy in 2017

According to a new study conducted by LinkedIn, freelancers now account for nearly 35% of the USA workforce…and the trend is only gaining traction with more professionals opting out of traditional “full-time” employment.

The Croixstone Consulting team found the following survey findings of particular interest:

40% of LinkedIn’s freelancers (the social networking site’s “ProFinder” members) are based in just four states (California, Florida, New York and Texas).
Marketing, Business Consulting and Design were the top 3 industries for freelance work in 2016.
Younger freelancers identified industry preferences centered on Writing, Photography and Home Improvement.
Older freelancers identified industry preferences focused on Career Coaching, Business Consulting and Real Estate.
33% of all professional freelancers surveyed were male.
The average freelancer is an older male (nearly 50% of LinkedIn’s ProFinder members are older than 50).
The average hourly rate for freelance work averages $50-$150.

Gain more insights into the Freelance Economy here.

The Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2017

These are the top 10 strategic trends Gartner sees breaking out of the emerging space to have a potentially substantial impact over consumers and industries during the next five years.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Advanced Machine Learning
Intelligent Apps like VPAs (virtual personal assistants) and VCAs (virtual customer assistants)
Intelligent Things like drones, autonomous vehicles, and smart appliances
Virtual and Augmented Reality
Digital Twins
Blockchain and Distributed Ledgers
Conversational Systems
Mesh App and Service Architecture (MASA)
Digital Technology Platforms
Adaptive Security Architecture

Learn more about each of these top 10 strategy trends via Forbes here.

USA’s Most Fulfilled Cities

So which city in the USA has the most fulfilled workers?

According to LinkedIn and Censuswide (a global survey consulting firm), it is our very own Charlotte.

During the summer of 2016, Censuswide surveyed 1,000 professionals across the USA about their overall level of job satisfaction and the factors that contribute to it. Charlotte tops the list with 65% of its professionals feeling very or completely fulfilled at work, and chefs rank the highest in job satisfaction with 84% reporting they feel very or completely fulfilled at work.

The next time you are feeling down about your career, you may wish to visit one of the Queen City’s great local restaurants at lunch and sit next to the apparently happy chef to change your mood. After your meal, call the Croixstone Consulting team and we’ll be glad to talk about our management consulting opportunities!

Read more about the survey on LinkedIn’s blog here.

Good Fellows Pass $1 Million Fundraising Goal

Thank you to our consultants, partners and friends who joined our table at yesterday’s Good Fellows Club lunch and who opened their hearts (and wallets!) to help raise a record setting $1 million+ in donations to help the working poor across the Charlotte region.

Read more about yesterday’s record-setting event in The Charlotte Observer.

Croixstone Hosts Table Today at Annual Good Fellows Luncheon

Croixstone Consulting founder Mark Weber, a long-term member of The Good Fellows Club, is hosting a table at today’s annual Christmas luncheon at the Charlotte Convention Center.

A club of 1,700 business and civic leaders, The Good Fellows Club was founded in 1917 by a group of men at Charlotte’s Second Presbyterian Church. Through the years, the club has evolved into a charity that has raised millions to help the working poor who often can’t get aid at other nonprofits.

The club’s board of directors consists of a number of well-known Charlotte business leaders including:

W. Frank Dowd, IV, President
John W. Harris, Vice President
Thomas E. Meckley, Treasurer

Last year, The Good Fellows Club raised more than $500,000 at the organization’s annual Christmas luncheon. Read more about last year’s event courtesy of The Charlotte Observer.

Global Cities 2016

So do you think you know the world’s most powerful “global” cities?

A recently published study by The Brookings Institution and JPMorganChase might surprise you. The study suggests that our idea of a global city has become outdated in a rapidly urbanizing world in the midst of seismic technological change. A handful of financial centers, like New York, London and Tokyo, no longer drive world economy. Instead a “vast and complex” network of cities – some surprisingly small, others mid-sized – powers the international flow of goods, services, people, capital and ideas.

The study identified seven types of global cities comprised of 123 urban areas – including our very own Charlotte (defined by the study as one of sixteen “American Middleweight” global cities).

Learn more here.

Meet the Future of Charlotte

SEED20, an initiative of Social Venture Partners Charlotte, announced yesterday the 20 nonprofit entrepreneurs who will be part of the 6th annual SEED20 experience. SEED20 selected the following nonprofits to participate in the Class of 2017 based on their relevance, innovation, and potential for tangible community impact.

ANSWER Scholarship
ArtPop
BELL
Body & Soul Senior Fitness Center
Charlotte Rescue Mission (Culinary Social Enterprise)
Children’s Attention Home
Families First in Cabarrus County
Hip Hop Orchestrated
Levine Museum of the New South (Enrichment Seminars)
LilySarahGrace
MusicalMinds NC
NC Wildlife Federation (Great Outdoors University)
Philips Academy of NC
Profound Gentlemen
Queen City Robotics Alliance
Restore Global
The Pollution Detectives
The Red Boot Coalition
UMAR
WINGS for Kids

Join the Croixstone Consulting team in supporting the Charlotte region’s most innovative social entrepreneurs. Buy a ticket today and plan to attend SEED20 OnStage on March 27, 2017.