Hi!
How’s May treating you? I know, I know, we’re just getting started, but I’m liking it so far, how about you?
This week there’s lots of fuel for your business brain, and I hope it’s of benefit to the rest of you too:
- I know none of you reading this is guilty of the disheartening “leadership” behavior exhibited by the CEOs featured in this article, (being gleeful about someone needing to sell their dog? OMG!) but I’m sharing it to help raise your awareness of behaviors that your team may have experienced before they joined your company, or bad behaviors their friends and family may be experiencing that can trickle into distrust for you and your department or company. To create and support synergistic and productive teams, it’s more important than ever to be aware of what may be affecting your direct reports so you can lead them appropriately. Make sense?
- Teen creates fake company, it grows, he sells it, new owner fires everyone. It’s funny ‘cause it’s true!
- Want to be more likable on Zoom? Oh, come on, you know you do… here you go.
- Speaking of video meetings and being more likable, have you seen these cameras that you put in the center of your screen so you’re making better eye contact? It’s a real question—is anyone out there in Niki’s Notes land using these? If yes, please spill!
- This has nothing to do with managing your business, but if you stretch it reeallllly far, it kinda’ does: why do carjackers jack cars? A scientist wanted answers and he got them. And I’m passing them along to you. It’s a business (profit-making scheme) of opportunity. I’m not suggesting you take it up as a hobby or anything. I’m pointing out that innovation sometimes has unexpected consequences. Intrigued? Here’s the story.
- Freakanomics interviews language experts on the benefits of swearing. I’m a fan of swearing… those of you who know me well even know my favorite NSFW phrase. I got a kick out of this intellectual and funny discussion, I hope you do too. Which leads to the next story…
- No one has ever accused me of being cheap, so this rant may come as a surprise, but I was appalled when I picked up the check at dinner on Friday and found the restaurant was now passing along its merchant fee to diners paying by credit card. While 3.5% isn’t a big deal (about $4 that night), it was, as you probably guessed, the principle of the thing. For for-e-ver, merchants paid card companies for the convenience of diners using their cards… we tend to spend more when we’re not paying cash. But it seems that now that cash is no longer convenient, restaurants, and others (hello, tree removal company, yes, you) are charging that fee to their customers. It bugs me because inflation is affecting everyone and it seems wrong to use that as an excuse to pass along what’s always been the sellers’ expense. If you think it’s not a trend, compare the bill that comes first with the bill you sign when dining out. And here’s a story on this very topic from Eating Well.
- Is your company getting the most from your podcasting investments? If you’re not, or you’re unsure, you may want to connect with the folks at Rise25. They’re all about helping B2B companies optimize the returns on their investments in podcasting. Please let me know if you’d like an introduction, or simply reach out to them via their website.
Do Good Spotlight
🌟 Dress for Success 🌟
Since 1997, Dress for Success has been empowering women toward self-sufficiency by providing a network of support, professional attire, and development tools. This not-for-profit has chapters in communities across the globe and has helped over 1.3 million women. Learn about this organization and find ways to get involved: Dress for Success.
Noteworthy 🖋
The Connective
You may have seen my posts that I’m now heading the Philadelphia Chapter of The Connective. It’s a purposefully growing community of business development executives with reputations for being thoughtful, smart connectors. You know the type: you say you’re looking for a business service or product, they know someone with a great solution for you.
It’s a virtual organization with meetings throughout each month. Each member joins a home chapter (chapters are named for major US cities) and is encouraged to attend their chapters’ 2 monthly meetings and as many other chapters’ meetings as they want. In addition, members can connect 1:1 with other members throughout each month. The more they connect, the better their chances are of receiving referrals for their business and generating referral income when referrals they make close.
All seven chapters—including mine—are looking for business development executives with outstanding reputations and connections who trust them. We offer chapter exclusivity, so when you become a member, no one else in the chapter will be representing the services you provide.
If you’re running a B2B company or brand providing commissionable services or products and want to give your sales a boost through referrals, reach out to me to see if The Connective’s pay-it-forward networking community is a fit for you and your company.
Ta da! That’s it for this week. Please remember to tell me about companies you want to see featured in the Noteworthy section. If you’ve got a not-for-profit that deserves some love, tell me about them too. For now, stay strong, stay focused, and keep an eye on the quadruple bottom line: your people, other people, the planet, and financial profit. That’s the winning formula.
Niki
