Summer at last!
Sure, it's technically been summer for awhile now. However, that blessed season doesn't really come to the Pacific Northwest until after the Fourth of July. So in a couple of days, we will join the rest of the northern hemisphere in wearing sunglasses, basking in the sun and overall seasonal gladness.
To celebrate, let's talk business. Your business, and growing, building, maybe even selling or thinking toward its eventual transition. A lot of the posts and podcasts this month focus on leadership — and the ugliness that results from not leading — but there are also resources for marketing, productivity and more.
Grab your beach towel and enjoy.
1. Post: How to Be a CEO, from a Decade's Worth of Them
After 10 years and 525 interviews with CEOs of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds, columnist Adam Bryant published his final column: an overview of what makes a leader. He saw three themes running through those several hundred CEOs — and they had nothing to do with grades, background or even approach to culture. Topics include career and life advice, culture and leadership.
2. Post: People Are Ghosting at Work and It's Driving Companies Crazy
It's an employee's market out there and that fact has spawned a disturbing trend: ghosting, or disappearing. Recruiters are dealing with the frustration of seeing potential employees suddenly go dark — sometimes during the interview process, sometimes on the first scheduled day of work. Even established employees have started disappearing rather than facing their boss and giving notice. This post considers why and steps you can take to keep your cool.
3. Post: Why 70 Percent of Managers Fail to Become Leaders
In this LinkedIn post, Gifford Thomas, a council member at Gerson Lehrman Group, discusses the important differences between a manager and a leader, and why mistaking one for the other can be so devastating.
4. Post: The Eisenhower Method Productivity Matrix
This post, from project management software company Trello, examines President Dwight D. Eisenhower's quadrant method for staying organized and keeping an endless to-do list under control. Ike's method ranks activities according to importance and urgency, then attaches one action to each quadrant: focus, schedule, delegate and delete.
5. Podcast: Marianne Griebler Shares Smart Branding Strategies
This 45-minute episode from the Introvert Entrepreneur covers how to manage and leverage your brand to attract your ideal customers. It also examines why business owners don't have to jump on every new social media platform and why the primary focus of your marketing should always be your message and your audience — not your platform.
6. Post: 7 True Stories Of People Building Incredibly Productive Morning Routines
This post, also from Trello, examines a wide variety of morning routines from some ridiculously productive people. From an author to a four-star general, an Olympic athlete to a studio head and more, this post offers straightforward, practical insight on how to be productive — and emphasizes how one size does not fit all when it comes to making the most of our time.
