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    You Can’t Take the Thinking Out of Knowledge Work

    “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.” – Henry Ford We have a lot of uncertainty around us, especially during these COVID times. What was normal, is now obsolete or transformed. The pandemic ushered in new business models and efficiencies. And for the knowledge worker, who has been used to simply executing without thinking, there are detrimental consequences for living in the past. If your customer has changed, it means you have to change. The way you relate, or get work done, requires new approaches and design. I have been in a lot of conversations this last year around strategy a...
    On April 19, 2021 / By
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    Avoid a Business Disaster and Ruin: Steps to Protect Your Brand

    Just like a shark swimming below the surface comes up unexpectedly to attack a swimmer, businesses face these silent killers every day as any number of business disasters like just below the surface of normal business operations. To avoid business disaster and ruin, you must recognize where these killers lie in wait, have effective systems in place to handle one when it raises its ugly head, and monitor performance for any variance indicating the potential for a catastrophe. For while you might think your business is running along smoothly, a disaster might head in your direction with the speed and crushing power of a freight train. Avoid a b...
    On April 19, 2021 / By
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    5 Ways the Pandemic Has Changed the Workplace Forever

    It’s been well over a year now since the COVID-19 pandemic changed the workplace, and world, forever. It’s safe to say that COVID has had an enormous impact on every single industry and every single family. Even though we may have gotten used to the “new normal” by now, these changes are still tricky to navigate because at the end of the day that’s exactly what they are – changes. Although this pandemic has had mostly negative impacts, we believe there is a positive silver lining. Some of the changes we’ve seen may actually lead to a brighter and better future. As the decades roll on we are sure we’ll face new challenges that ...
    On April 18, 2021 / By
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    How to Organize a Virtual Summit for Your Company from Scratch

    2020 brought an unparalleled increase in online versus offline events, with some platforms reporting 1000% growths. While the events industry initially took a blow, most organizers pivoted and moved their conferences, summits, or meet-ups online. And the rewards appeared quite quickly. Virtual events typically have better ROI than in-person ones. The reason for this is quite simple: it’s much cheaper to organize an online event than an in-person one. You can cross travel, venue, and hospitality off your budget list and invest that money into advertising or simply pocket it. Affordable planning doesn’t make a virtual summit successful, tho...
    On April 17, 2021 / By
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    How to Direct Your Efforts So Your Boss Will Care About Them

    Your relationship with your boss is just like any other relationship: what you actually do doesn’t matter as much as how it’s perceived. But it’s hard to remember this when you’re taking instructions and trying to deliver on goals. Based on the power structure, you’re not calling the shots in the relationship, so shouldn’t you get the benefit of the doubt? If you’re doing the work, shouldn’t that be enough to keep your boss happy? That line of thinking may be fairer than what turns out to be true. Most leaders want their subordinates to deliver, certainly, but they vary a lot in terms of their expectations for style, tone, and...
    On April 17, 2021 / By
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    When Will We Go Back to In-Person Industry Events?

    I know, I know, it’s mid-April and COVID cases and deaths are rising again. But vaccinations are ramping up, too. Hope is on the horizon. It feels like we’re almost there. And, as I think about what’s next, in-person industry events immediately pop to mind. The big question is: When will that be? When will we return to an indoor setting with 100-500 people without feeling nervous? I asked that exact question on LinkedIn a couple of weeks ago, and here was the response: What’s more, in the comments, a number of folks said they wouldn’t go back to an indoor event until at least 2022. So, what’s going on here? Why would people say fa...
    On April 16, 2021 / By
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    13 Valuable Business Lessons from the Oil Magnate JD Rockefeller

    JD Rockefeller grew up poor. His father, an unreliable con-man that sold snake oil to unsuspecting consumers. Although absent for most of JD’s life, he instilled in Rockefeller an entrepreneurial spirit and mindset. Rather than do chores like other kids his age, the young Rockefeller would buy a block of candy and cut it into small chunks to sell it to the neighborhood kids for a profit. Being the eldest boy with an absentee father, he was forced to quit school to support the family. In addition to his candy enterprise, he also raised turkeys and sold potatoes. At one point, his own father cheated young Rockefeller. His father justified his...
    On April 15, 2021 / By
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    The Unexplored Reasons Founders Fail

    Canva.com A founder of an emerging natural products brand faces fierce headwinds. It’s not easy to take an idea, commercialize it, and then successfully shepherd it into the carts and stomachs of American consumers. Brands fail. In fact, failure is the most frequent outcome. I am not trying to be a buzz kill. I am, however, attempting to paint a realistic picture of the competitiveness of this industry. A friend who is the VP of grocery for a large retail chain told me that “For every new brand I put on the shelf, I have ten more that are ready to take its place.” Success is often a war of attrition. There are some common reasons that b...
    On April 15, 2021 / By
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    Too Much/Too Little: How Well Do You Influence Your Executive Team?

    I don’t want to be one of those people who talk too much. Don’t want to repeat what someone else has already said. Don’t want to upstage more senior members of the Executive Team. Don’t want to offer opinions about issues outside of my portfolio. I have heard it all. Reasons why we silence ourselves at an Executive Team meeting. Let’s get this straight, shall we! Someone has decided that you should have a seat at the table at your company’s most senior influencing and decision-making body. You are a member of the team. And you decide to get coy? Coy gets you nothing. Your concerns about mis-stepping in this forum are, of course, v...
    On April 15, 2021 / By
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    4 Ways to Enable Connections

    Premise: One of the most important steps in driving any kind of transformation is the ability to rally around teams that are impacted by the transformation. One of the reasons many transformation efforts fail is existence of resistance for the transformation effort. It is critical to address this resistance if we want to have a good chance of success. Here are 4 ways that we can bring people together as team so that we can understand the existence and the reason for the resistance. Once we know this, we can then address the same openly. Shared Purpose The easiest and the fastest way to get people to come together is when we have a shared purp...
    On April 15, 2021 / By