The top small business stories recently focused on lessons learned from the United Airlines debacle … the secret to successfully selling yourself … winning business insights from America’s top entrepreneur … and, a new study that revealed the top exercise for longevity and physique … plus, the best ad in the world this week may have you ‘flying high.’
In the News, new Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is expected to be ‘pro employer.’ You can learn why in our eESI article … the United Airlines debacle grew worse for the company as the week passed, as CEO Oscar Munoz issued more statements. Gizmodo’s article, ‘United CEO Doubles Down‘ shows the evolution of the company’s response in the first couple of days; but, there are key insights for business owners to glean from this story, and Philly.com’s post, ‘Lessons Learned from a Damage Control Expert on the United Airlines Mess‘ provides a few of the best. For starters, it’s time to throw out 20 year-old crisis management playbooks in favor of authentic digital responses. Read the story to help prepare your company for any future incidents.
And, it’s tax time. If you think you may miss the deadline, don’t sweat it; read Small Business Trend’s article “What to Do If You Miss the Tax Deadline.’ The post tells you what form to file for an extension, and what to do.
In HR, MetLife published its 15th Annual Benefits Trends Survey: you’ll find a lot of information about recent changes in employee benefits in the report, and you can download it from our site by clicking the link … One of the trends in 2017 is toward employee flexibility: it is the most important benefit for retention, and the one benefit for which nearly half of all employees say they would change jobs. The MetLife survey reports it; our own eESI 2017 HR Trends Toolkit documents it (click here for your free download), and TLNT’s article, Flexibility is More Important to Employees Than Almost Anything Else provides some background and tips that may be helpful in improving your own employee engagement and retention.
In HR Compliance, eESI published a report that shows there has been a significant rise in HIPAA violations. In 2016, the Department of Labor issued fines totaling more than 60 million dollars. If you are a medical company or service, you should take a look at the post, and contact eESI if you want help with payroll, compliance, benefits, risk (including HIPAA), and recruiting.
In Sales & Marketing, Inc.’s ‘The Surprising Trick to Selling Yourself‘ provides insights about the most effective mental approach to building a successful sales and marketing strategy – recommended.
In Leadership, the United Airlines story isn’t the only one generating valuable lessons for company leaders; Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, wrote a letter to his company in which he answered a question about the company’s future direction. His post, one of the most popular this week, contains advice for a ‘Winning Business Strategy.’ Bezos should know: his company now generates more revenue than WalMart, Google and most of the top brands in America … and, Great Leadership’s post, ‘What Makes a Great Leader’ contains wisdom that can help executives focus and make better use of their time.
In Productivity, there were two exceptional stories this week that can help you improve your health, mood, and longevity. Inc.’s ‘How What You Eat Alters Your Mood’ cites recent research from a University in Australia research study that found strong correlations between the types of food one eats, mood, and overall mental health … and, Lifehacker’s post ‘Interval Training Helps Slow Down the Aging Process‘ presents research recently published in the journal, Cell Metabolism, that found strong links between high intensity interval workouts, overall health and and longevity – especially among older participants. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) also rated highest for improving one’s physique.
In Trends & Technology, AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) are two disruptive technologies having a profound impact on business and culture. By 2020, it is estimated to be a 120 billion dollar business. Do you know the difference between the two? Augment’s Virtual Realty v. Augmented Reality is a user-friendly primer that will bring you up to speed so you can understand how these technologies differ; and, assimilate future developments in your business … the flying car is officially open for business and taking pre-orders. Fossbytes reports that Slovakian company, AeroMobil, is launching its its flying car on April 20th at the Monte Carlo Supercar Show. You can learn more by visiting the Aeromobil site, and have your own for a cool $400,00.
Speaking of AR & VR, the top ad this week features an Ostrich being introduced to virtual reality – a technology about which you don’t want to have your head in the sand.
Enjoy the ad, and your weekend.
