FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Melanie Rembrandt
Public I for eePulse, Inc.
248.540.9660, ext. 333
[email protected]
Employment Projections Up 10 Percentage Points In September
Results for University of Michigan Business School/eePulse Research Study
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – October 13, 2003 – The September results of the 2003 Leadership Pulse, a research project
conducted by the University of Michigan Business School and eePulse, Inc., indicate that participants plan to increase
their resources significantly more than they did last month. Growth is expected for the next month in all categories
surveyed: products and services, employees, sales, customers, and net profits over the following months.
Consisting of five, short questions, the Web-based Pulse Survey is sent out to thousands of executives on a monthly
basis to measure the effects of key resources and confidence levels on overall business growth and performance.
The September 2003 results indicate the following:

17 point change in expected growth of new products and services (48% in August to 65% in September)

10 point change in expected growth in number of employees (31% in August to 41% in September)

6 point increase in expected sales growth (67% in August to 73% in September)

16 point increase in expected growth in number of customers (61% in August to 77% in September)

8 point increase in expected net profits (63% in August to 71% in September)

The highest rates of growth were reported from Web-based technology and information technology firms, indicating
technology is on the comeback. The lowest growth numbers came from mining, construction and consulting firms.
According to Thomas C. Kinnear, Eugene Applebaum Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies and Executive Director of the
Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan Business School, the
results for high growth in technology-based firms were not a surprise. In fact, he states that “the growth of small high
technology firms in the areas of security, micro and nano systems, and life sciences constitutes the best prospect for longterm growth in the employment in the economy.”
Also, there was a significant difference in the populations reporting anticipated employment growth. Approximately 47%
of firms with less than 100 employees are anticipating growing the number of employees over the next month while only
36% of larger firms with over 100 employees report expected expanding employment levels.
“Even though growth is up, given that small firms are doing most of the growth, the overall effect on job growth may be
minimal. This is due to the fact that significant growth for a smaller firm is still a relatively low number of jobs. At the
same time, we know that small firms provide a significant amount of new jobs in our country; thus, taken as a whole, the
overall growth story is very good news,“ states Theresa Welbourne, Ph.D., who is with the Samuel Zell & Robert Lurie
Institute for Entrepreneurial and the CEO of eePulse, Inc.
Individual leaders who wish to be included in the Leadership Pulse study can contact Dr. Welbourne or the research team
at eePulse at 734-429-4400. A website is available for those organizations that would like to have up to 50 senior leaders
participate in the study. If a company participates with multiple executives, it will receive a personalized company report
each month and be able to compare their company results to those of the overall sample and various public sub-samples.
If interested in expanded participation for an organization, please visit the following web site:
www.umbs.leadership.eepulse.com.
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About Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies
The Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies was formed in October 1999. The Institute
actively engages the nation’s most successful entrepreneurs and offers an outstanding faculty composed of both
academic researchers and practitioners in entrepreneurship. The Institute’s mission is to focus the capabilities and
resources of the University of Michigan Business School to provide education, experience and opportunities in
entrepreneurship; serve as a catalyst for new venture development; and contribute important research in the field of
entrepreneurship. Members of the Institute’s Advisory Board include Samuel Zell, Chairman of Equity Group Investments;
Michael Hallman, former COO of Microsoft Corporation; and Eugene Applebaum, Founder of Arbor Drugs.
About eePulse, Inc.
eePulse, Inc. transforms surveys into leadership tools. Using eePulse’s proprietary web-based enterprise-wide software
suite called Measurecom™ (measurement and communication), organizations and leaders immediately improve their
performance. Productivity enhancement comes from action taken in response to real-time stakeholder information. Using
Pulse Survey and Pulse Reporting engines, data are provided as frequently as weekly so that immediate action can be
taken to confront “breaking news.” Managers solve problems and pursue opportunities today, improving quality,
enhancing customer service, realigning strategy, and improving organizational agility, learning, and performance at all
levels. The complete Measurecom product suite includes Pulse surveys, Pulse Reports, Communicate-back tools, Issue
tracking, Action planning, Learning modules, Proprietary metrics such as Energy Pulse, Valour Pulse, and Culture Pulse,
and ROI reporting.
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