Second Half of 2026 - Potential

Situation

If the US economy was a football team, network commentators would be calling for adjustments coming out of halftime.

GDP expanded early in the year on the strength of capital investments in AI infrastructure and technology, but Inflation continues to extract casualties on American households. 

Core consumer prices remain elevated and volatile, influenced by tariff disputes, and the global price of oil.

Hiring has slowed down considerably, with the U.S. adding just 56,000 jobs in June. 

Personally, I’ve saved so many rejection emails that my laptop begs me to increase cloud storage capacity almost daily.

As to Monetary Policy, the Federal Reserve and its new Chairman face a delicate balance heading in to the second half of the year, and have thus far decided to extend the current pause on interest rate adjustments combined with hitting the mute button on forward looking statements and projections.  

In our factories and warehouses, manager engagement is down sharply; over multiple years.

When managers disengage, their teams often follow. 

Productivity, or the lack of it, serves as an important indicator of engagement/disengagement - and the news there is bad. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports employee productivity is down -4.1% on an annualized basis.    

Our businesses are only as good as our employees.  If our people are not performing well, productivity – and the bottom line – are destined to suffer. 

Managers are seeing this impact today, in the Great Resignation era, and now through the onset of a new phenomenon we have labeled ‘quiet quitting’ – a new workplace trend where employees do exactly what is required and outlined in the job description, but refuse things we’ve long labeled as ‘above and beyond’ – like rejecting overtime, and ignoring after-hours emails, all in the name of reclaiming work-life balance and preventing burnout.

Omaha!  Omaha!

Peyton Manning made “Omaha!” more prolific as a football term than the word “Hike!” with his many nuanced adjustments and audible play-calls at the line of scrimmage. 

What did “Omaha” mean exactly? 

Manning told the public one thing in 2014 – ‘that it depended on which way the wind was blowing, the color of our jerseys’, and other fake-outs … but has been more forthcoming recently, coming clean in an interview with CBS Sports; “Omaha said to lineman, receivers, and backs several things” …

-          The play we called in the huddle is dead; we’re changing it…

-          Get set, because we’re nearly out of time …

-          And, Snap the ball on my new count …

So, on the fly, the 10 players on the field with Peyton all fluidly adjusted to the new plan.

For many years, there was no need for an equivalent one-word, seamless, audible in American industry; not in the factory, not in the warehouse, and not on the shop-floor.    

The Job was the Job.

It was defined by policy, a job description, training, and standard operating procedure.

There were quotas, standards, and eventually engineered standards in the most progressive work-places.

Things have changed, and it seems we could use a good audible at our work.

Today’s critical organizational objectives are much more fluid, and workers seek a broader connection to business success. 

Businesses require agility and adaptability.

Workers seek connection to the mission and to know their work matters to business success.

New skills are in demand; ones oriented around growth and innovation.

The speed of change is high and can be downright dizzying.

Artificial Intelligence will redefine our work in yet unknown ways.  

If someone were to call out “Omaha!” … “Omaha!” … at work today, things are more likely to resemble a game of Musical Chairs rather than a pre-orchestrated shift in the plan … with many of us concerned we will be left standing, without a remaining chair … and displaced.

Work Done Better Consulting

Work Done Better Consulting can help you; quickly.

We come alongside your facility leaders, strengthen their understanding of what drives the behavior of workers, and coach them as they deploy a systematic and repeatable process of performance improvement for their facility - leading to gains in safety, productivity, accuracy, and speed.

Over 40 engagements, productivity has improved +11% to +44% in 5 months or less.

We average saving our clients $345,000 for every 100 workers they employ.

Please contact me if you’d like to discuss how we can help, or to get started.