What Gratitude Does to Your Brain

Is it possible to get through a single day right now without hearing about at least a dozen calamities, crises and catastrophes?  Having tried it, it seems an impossibility.  The news is disheartening.  Weather disasters abound with fires raging in one place while hurricanes flood others.  An epic public health emergency is unfolding in real time.   The fallout from the pandemic is inflicting serious economic pain on so many.  Businesses are suffering or closing.  Uncertainty abounds in schools.  Lockdowns are imposed and lifted and imposed again.  It can be downright depressing. Continue reading →

When we think of courage, we usually think of political, military, or religious leaders.  People who risked and dared to do what was right in the face of great challenges or personal or professional peril.  For example, we might think of Abraham Lincoln, who led the U.S. through a Civil War and dared to sign the Emancipation Proclamation.  But we don’t usually think of business leaders as being particularly brave or courageous.  And yet they must take risks and make calculated decisions every day with the aim of bringing out the very best in both people and processes.  It takes a certain intrepid, plucky spirit to guide a business, whether it is a scrappy startup or a multi-national conglomerate. Continue reading →

Courage is the skill that separates and elevates great leaders from a pack of good managers.  And when it comes to leadership in fields such as education, health care, government and especially the military, courage is considered important, but it is seldom at the top of the list of essential skills and is actually thought of more as a personality attribute or quality than a skill.   However, in the world of industry and commerce, few even think of courage as a top business skill.  In fact, most lists of top 10 leadership skills never list courage at all.  In fact, Forbes Coaches Council’s list of top skills cited the following essential business leadership skills: Continue reading →

Using a Setback as a Springboard to Success

It is probably safe to say that basically no one wants to get fired from a job.  No vendor delights in having a client end a business relationship, and no client enjoys having a service provider say “I don’t want to work with you anymore’.  No attorney wants to lose a case, and no doctor wants to lose a patient.  But those things happen, and they happen even to the most capable professionals.  At best, these situations feel like a slap in the face.  At worst, it is seen as a personal failure or a professional catastrophe.  But, perhaps, it shouldn’t.  Ending a working relationship or losing a client is something that happens to most people at one point or another in their lives, and often it is not a reflection of that person’s value, worth, skills or abilities.  In fact, at times it says more about the person or company doing the ‘ending’ than it does about the person being rejected. Continue reading →

In tough times, people say to “stay positive”.  But, that may feel impossible, especially when things are really going wrong.  In the face of serious adversity, it is hard to imagine how or when things will get better.  But, that’s when it is most important to press on with the belief that something good – something totally unexpected – is just around the corner.  There are countless examples of people who faced major job losses, harsh criticism and painful setbacks, and still went on to do great things.  Their perseverance, tenacity and positive outlook propelled them from setback to success.  Sometimes it made it possible to find opportunities that might not have otherwise been possible.   In fact, it almost seems like a person must endure a painful but necessary experience to activate their highest and best skills, talents and abilities. Continue reading →

If Plan A is Awesome, Why Have a Plan B?

Plan B, also known as “The Backup Plan”, is often frowned upon by the business world.  At best, it is seen as a “worst case scenario” Plan; a product generated by uncertainty and fear about the path forward that only the Apprehensive-Aarons of the world will create.  At worst, it’s perceived as a lack of total commitment to and belief in Plan A.  In other words, Plan B is seen as the approach taken by the Debbie-Doubters who feel lukewarm or halfhearted about the business’ vision.   Either way, it is seen as the course of action to take when failure looms… the lifeboat to use when the ship is sinking.  However, it doesn’t need to be. Continue reading →

Promoting a Podcast Properly

Many companies are deciding to dip a toe in the uber-popular ocean of podcasting.  Perhaps your organization has too.  The groundwork has been done.  Clearly, a lot of work has already gone into getting the podcast off the ground.  It might have taken weeks or months to get to this point.  The desire to publish the first show immediately after recording/editing it will be overwhelming.  Don’t.  That would be a rookie mistake. Continue reading →

On Your Mark, Get Set, Podcast

Your company has decided to join the podcasting bandwagon.  Some might be excited about it and think it will be an easy endeavor.  Others might find the idea daunting and a little scary.  After all, so much can go wrong when dealing with mass media and technology.  Well, it is not a marketing strategy that should be entered into lightly, but for companies that are motivated and committed, it is definitely doable.  While getting started does take time and effort, it can be well worth it if the podcast is well-received and aligns with the company’s goals.  After all, podcasting is a great way to reach the masses cost effectively, and allows the hosts to delve into rich, complex and sophisticated topics in a way that articles, tweets and social media posts don’t.  So rather than dreading it, it should be considered a golden opportunity to take customer engagement to a whole other level and reach the masses in a personal way that no other marketing effort can deliver.

So let’s look at what it takes develop and prepare to produce a podcast. Continue reading →

A Plethora of Podcasting Benefits

The Penchant for Podcasting

Podcasts are everywhere.  People love them!  But why?  Let’s start by defining exactly what a podcast is.  According to Podcast Insights, “a podcast is an episodic series of spoken-word digital audio files that a listener / subscriber can download to a personal device for easy listening. Streaming applications and podcasting services provide a convenient, integrated way to manage a personal consumption queue across many podcast sources and playback devices.”  So it’s like a radio program that can be listened to anytime, anywhere, and is specifically about a topic of interest. Continue reading →

To Podcast or Not to Podcast

The Popularity of Podcasts

Podcasts are now everywhere.  Thanks to the ubiquitous cell phone as well as music and radio streaming services, people have easy access to a wide range of podcasts to listen to whenever they have time to “listen” but not necessarily “look/see” such as riding a bike, working out, folding laundry, washing the car, riding a train, driving to work or taking the dog for a walk.  “What podcasts are you listening to?” is replacing “What are you reading?” as the most common and telling get-to-know you question.  If you haven’t listened to a podcast yet, you are the exception, not the rule.  A recent survey found that 82.4% of Americans listen to podcasts more than seven hours a week, and 59% of respondents spent more time listening to podcasts than on social media.  Even more interesting for businesses, 55.6% of respondents said they purchased an item after hearing it advertised on a podcast.  So people are tuning in to podcasts and really listening, and here’s why.  Apple showed over 800,000 podcasts being published in December 2019 and Podcast Insights reported 850,000 active podcasts offering more than 30 million podcast episodes in January 2020.  Considering there were just 500,000 active podcasts in February 2018, this is pretty dramatic growth.  However, Google says there are over 2,000,000 podcasts today.  That’s a lot of content.  Topics span just about every genre, diving into every topic imaginable.  Every topic.  Business.  Finance.  Leadership.  Politics.  Music.  Food.  Art.  Movies.  Games.  Sports.  Religion. Parenting.  Design.  You name it. Continue reading →