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He has more than 30 years of brand management and management consulting experience at Unilever, the Coca-Cola Company, and Prophet. His client base includes Fortune 500 companies and numerous world-class brands, such as ExxonMobil, Deloitte, and Hyatt Hotels. Duckler is also author of the best-selling book <em ljsid-2=\"\">The Indispensable Brand</em>. He has spoken at dozens of high-profile events across five continents and is a frequent interview guest on brand and marketing related podcasts.":1,"#As the influencer ecosystem matures, new trends are emerging. These include the rise of <em ljsid-1=\"\">micro-influencers</em>—creators with small but highly loyal followers—and a shift from hi-fi to lo-fi content that resembles what users themselves create. Some online influencers are connecting with offline communities, while the use of virtual influencers—especially in the metaverse—is on the rise. As your brand considers these opportunities, be sure to carefully weigh the risks, which range from poor brand fit and influencer credibility to regulatory and IP issues related to AI-generated content.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Brand fit</em>: The influencer should align organically with your brand’s voice, values, and positioning.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Relevance</em>: Influencer content should build positive relationships over shared values with consumers.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Engagement</em>: More than an influencer’s total number of followers, the amount of their actively engaged followers determines an influencer’s effectiveness.":1,"#When selecting an influencer, closely consider the following three key performance indicators:":1,"#For brands, influencers have become essential components of brand marketing. They powerfully drive engagement metrics—clicks, likes, reactions, comments, shares—especially among Gen Zs, who see influencers and creators as friends.":1,"#Influencers and Creators: The New Faces of Trust":1,"#It’s important to ensure, however, that gamifying your products or services doesn’t put you afoul of consumer regulations or hurt your brand equity.":1,"#For both leaders and marketers, gamification can lead to viral experiences that elevate brand awareness. Embedding game elements in products and services can make them more fun to use, driving conversion and improving customer satisfaction. Gamifying content around milestones to reach and surpass, such as progressive reward levels, can inspire customer loyalty.":1,"#Given the immense popularity of gaming among Millennials and Gen Zs, you can future-ready their brands by gamifying your content. <em ljsid-1=\"\">Gamification</em> is using the design elements of games in nongame contexts. Gamification strategies include connecting with consumers through interactive stories built around challenges, role playing, and social sharing.":1,"#Tech-Inspired Gamification":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Transitioning social media content from influencers to creators</em>: Put user-generated content front and center in your brand to draw in Gen Z consumers, who don’t want to be sold to.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Creating differentiated content at scale</em>: Harness AI to create and repurpose content rapidly for multiple markets.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Offering unlimited custom packaging opportunities</em>: Use AI to create unique labels and designs to stand out alongside competitors.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Connecting organically with customers</em>: Make your brand the content and bring consumers into the creation process.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Optimizing content for higher-converting direct-response ads</em>: Use AI to create direct-response emails and online display ads and to guide marketing decision-making.":1,"#The resulting evolution is the <em ljsid-1=\"\">fourth era of content marketing</em>, one that’s creating exciting opportunities for brands. Chief among them are the following:":1,"#Emerging technologies like XR and Web3 are driving dramatic changes in content marketing. Meanwhile, brands can leverage the power of AI to create content efficiently at scale. AI can support content research and creation. It can also guide personalization, curation, and optimization through its ability to analyze copious amounts of user data.":1,"#The Fourth Era of Content Marketing":1,"#Section Three: Promoting":1,"#Powered by AI and unfolding in the Metaverse, Web3 comes with critical opportunities and implications. Opportunities include blockchain data collection, in which access to consumers’ crypto wallets provides extensive data on purchasing and spending behavior that marketers can link to their CRM software. Digital wallets will facilitate frictionless transparency and secure transactions, allowing consumers to move seamlessly and safely between applications and services. Customers will also be able to more easily test new products and share real-time feedback. Brands, in turn, will be able to create deeper, more entrenched customer relationships, in which consumers become co-creators of a brand’s value.":1,"#Leaders should evolve their brand positioning to adapt to the slowly but steadily unfolding Web3. This read-write-interact version of the web will be decentralized, shifting ownership away from big tech companies to end users. The result will be a permissionless, trustless experience based on peer-to-peer interaction. Enabling this decentralization are <em ljsid-1=\"\">blockchain</em>, a transparent and tamperproof form of transactions and data storage, and <em ljsid-3=\"\">cryptocurrency</em>, Web3 money stored in digital wallets.":1,"#The (Gradually) Emerging Web3":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Run community-based campaigns</em>. Create hybrid experiences that connect virtual and real communities.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Deploy virtual influencers</em>. Create virtual counterparts for human influencers.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Enhance marketing research</em>. Learn from AR sampling to develop new products.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Enhance product sampling and evaluation</em>. Allow customers to test and interact with products virtually in a 3D space.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Leverage gaming communities</em>. Meet game-loving customers where they are with engaging content.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Extend a robust omnichannel experience</em>. Allow customers to move seamlessly among digital and physical touchpoints.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Demonstrate a leading-edge brand</em>. Send the message that your brand is tech savvy.":1,"#An umbrella term for virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), XR allows companies to seamlessly merge consumers’ physical and virtual worlds to create powerful immersive experiences. Some of the ways that XR technologies can empower your company include the following:":1,"#Extended reality (XR) and the Metaverse offer enticing branding opportunities—especially when engaging with Millennials and Gen Zs.":1,"#XR and Metaverse—A New Definition of “Reality”":1,"#Next, establish robust guidelines and guardrails to ensure that AI is used safely and ethically. Risks range from data integrity and copyright issues to ensuring that AI-generated content fits the brand and feels authentic. Balancing these possibilities and pitfalls, you can leverage AI to create dynamic, highly personalized branding.":1,"#To embrace the competitive advantages of AI-powered branding, you’ll need to make several strategic shifts. First, let marketing drive your business strategy, using AI to anticipate and identify new opportunities. This entails investing in high-value, in-house AI solutions and guiding teams toward an AI-centric future.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Dynamic pricing</em>: Analyze customer data quickly to adjust prices in real time.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Customer engagement</em>: Use chatbots to manage all aspects of customer service.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Hyper-personalization</em>: Log every footstep in your customer’s journey to create highly individualized experiences.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Content generation</em>: Quickly produce marketing materials, product descriptions, and ad content.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Micro-segmentation</em>: Identify with accuracy and speed your optimal target markets.":1,"#You can also leverage the efficiency and productivity of AI in the following ways:":1,"#Accompanying this shift is the creation of <em ljsid-1=\"\">synthetic data</em>. Closely resembling real-world data, this AI-generated data is untraceable to any consumer. Yet, it provides similar insights on which you can highly personalize brand experience.":1,"#You can extend your brand promise by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI). As regulations bring about the end of tracking cookies, they’re being replaced by AI-powered <em ljsid-1=\"\">contextual marketing</em>. This is a type of predictive analysis in which AI gauges what actions an online consumer will take and serves up ads and content accordingly.":1,"#AI and the Personalized Brand Experience":1,"#Section Two: Personalizing":1,"#As a brand marketer, who’s aiming to reach both types of Gen Z consumers, you must meet them online. Offer digital pop-ups and personalized experiences, and connect with them through gaming platforms. Into all your strategies you should weave values and purpose, showing Gen Z consumers how your brand makes the world a better place.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Gen Z WE</em>: More purpose-driven and guided by beliefs, these consumers take action in support of causes and value brands that do the same. These causes include sustainability and ESG as well as diversity and inclusion.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Gen Z ME</em>: Born in the first half of this generation, these consumers value individualism, authenticity, and personalization. They connect through social media and find escapism through gaming, the Metaverse, and fashion-forward style.":1,"#To best position their brands, all companies need to understand Gen Z consumers. Born between 1995 and 2010, Gen Z can be divided into two segments:":1,"#The Emergence of Gen Z":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Meet consumers where and why they are</em>. Make brand experiences convenient and relevant, and create engaging, multisensory in-store experiences.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Make the brand as personalized as </em><em ljsid-1=\"\">wellness</em><em ljsid-2=\"\"> itself</em>. Appeal to people’s emotions and passions about living well.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Assess your brand in terms of </em><em ljsid-1=\"\">a total</em><em ljsid-2=\"\"> health orientation</em>. Market to the needs of a consumer as a whole person.":1,"#The following strategies can help both leaders and marketers align strategy and brands to current wellness trends:":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Technology to the fore</em>: Technological advances are driving how wellness is defined, measured, and delivered to consumers.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Individualized wellness programs</em>: Customers value bespoke wellness experiences.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Proactive self-care</em>: More people, especially younger generations, integrate self-care throughout their lifestyles.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Total health orientation</em>: Consumers increasingly seek products and services that support holistic wellness.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Mental health ascendant</em>: Attention to mental health care has both grown exponentially and become destigmatized.":1,"#If you want to position your brand in this market, you need to understand the following five health and wellness trends:":1,"#The burgeoning wellness market presents enticing growth opportunities. To enter this highly competitive space, companies need to align their brands with the factors driving this market’s explosive growth. These range from aging populations and rising healthcare costs to increased awareness of wellness and easy online research—with technology accelerating everything.":1,"#Beyond Health to Wellness":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Avoid purpose-washing</em>. Back up all your claims about the causes you support.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Course-correct when necessary</em>. Adjust your strategy if metrics show that your purpose is losing relevance.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Be ready to take a stand</em>. Take a side on issues to develop long-term value with customers.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Allow purpose to drive product development</em>. Innovate through the lens of purpose to sharpen your competitive edge.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Lead with brand positioning</em>. Weave brand purpose consistently into marketing.":1,"#The following best practices can help you activate your brand purpose:":1,"#For leaders, adopting a purpose-driven strategy brings numerous benefits. These include strategic clarity and better-defined boundaries—knowing what you will and won’t do to grow. Purpose-led companies also tend to be more profitable, in part because they can command premium pricing. Organizationally, purpose-driven workforces perform better, and top talent are drawn to cultures where values and purpose are deeply embedded.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Championing causes</em>: The social, environmental, and economic missions a company joins to show it’s making a difference.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Exhibiting competence</em>: The skills, competencies, and areas of expertise through which a company delivers its products or services.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">Exemplary culture</em>: The values, beliefs, and day-to-day practices that define how a corporation operates and treats its employees.":1,"#Corporate purpose can be broadly classified into the following three types:":1,"#Corporate purpose...":1,"#Doing so is especially true in a volatile business environment, where consumers, on the one hand, have lost trust in organizations and, on the other, expect them to behave ethically and sustainably. A purpose-led strategy is especially vital for attracting Millennial and Gen Z consumers, who want to purchase from companies whose values align with their own.":1,"#A brand’s positioning is an expression of its business strategy. Linking the two is purpose, the compass that guides business decisions. For leaders, marketers, and organizations alike, defining and acting upon purpose has become paramount to success.":1,"#The Purpose of Brand Purpose":1,"#Section One: Positioning":1,"#To connect with Millennials and Gen Zs, leaders and marketers must understand what drives them and meet them where they are—most often online and in gaming communities.":1,"#Emerging digital technologies are reshaping content marketing toward individualized, interactive, and often gamified experiences.":1,"#Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered branding can help companies provide personalized brand experiences.":1,"#Brands engaging the burgeoning, highly competitive wellness market should offer personalized products and holistic experiences.":1,"#Consumers increasingly expect brands to be guided by values and purpose; therefore, leaders need to adopt a purpose-driven strategy.":1,"#Shifts in consumer demands and expectations, driven by emerging interactive technologies, are reshaping how brands position themselves. While these developments offer companies exciting growth opportunities, they also bear risks. In <strong ljsid-1=\"\">The Future-Ready Brand</strong>, Mitch Duckler guides you through possibilities and pitfalls of these rapidly unfolding changes. He balances big-picture perspectives with fine-grained insights, all with an eye to the technologies and consumer trends driving the future of branding and content marketing. His book is for leaders and marketers who want to increase their competitive advantage by future-proofing their brands.":1,"#ISBN: 979-8-88750-178-9":1,"#©2024 by Mitch Duckler":1,"#by Mitch Duckler":1,"#How the World′s Most Influential CMOs are Navigating Societal Forces and Emerging Technologies":1,"#Clicking this link will redirect to relevant products for the Author Mitch Duckler.":1,"#<span ljsid-1=\"\">1</span> of <span ljsid-3=\"\">637</span>":1,"#Este sitio web utiliza tecnologías como cookies para habilitar la funcionalidad esencial del sitio, así como para analítica, personalización y publicidad dirigida.":1,"#<strong ljsid-0=\"\"><a ljsid-0-0=\"\">David D. Murray</a></strong> is the DiJulius Group’s vice president of consulting. He’s a master at helping companies create real change that sticks. Murray excels at communication and easily bridges the gap between corporate leaders and front-line team members. His passion for building ideal environments leads teams toward attaining award-winning customer satisfaction, best-place-to-work achievements, and record-breaking profits.":1,"#<strong ljsid-0=\"\"><a ljsid-0-0=\"\">John R. DiJulius III</a></strong> is known as the authority on helping organizations build a world-class customer and employee experience. He’s the best-selling author of six books. DiJulius is the founder and chief revolution officer of The DiJulius Group, which worked with companies such as The Ritz-Carlton, Lexus, Starbucks, KeyBank, and many more, helping them make the experience they deliver their single biggest competitive advantage.":1,"#People are naturally drawn to the positive energy of others. As a leader, you should be the single greatest source of energy for your team. When an entire organization comprises energy givers dedicated to collaboration, the momentum of everyone moving in the same direction is unstoppable. Ultimately, greatness is a choice you must make every day if you want to live—and inspire others to live—an extraordinary life.":1,"#Crises often define our perspective on leaders, so don’t let a crisis go to waste. Be the positive light that guides your organization through obstacles and embrace challenges with confidence that your team believes in you. Especially during tumultuous times, the frequency and quality of your communication are crucial to establishing a sense of certainty in your organization.":1,"#Leadership is a practice of continuous improvement, obsessive reflection, and constant motion. You should take time to celebrate wins and model success, but don’t lose sight of risk-taking and the collective effort necessary to achieve greatness. Take time every day to read, listen to, and watch content related to your area of expertise and the fields you want to break into.":1,"#Leaving a Leadership Legacy":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">You must be a great listener</em>. Be patient, attentive, and responsive when listening to others.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">You must be obsessively curious</em>. Your thirst for knowledge should be insatiable.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">You must have incredible empathy</em>. You can’t lead someone if you don’t understand them.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">You must be authentic</em>. Others can tell when you aren’t being yourself.":1,"#<em ljsid-0=\"\">You must love people</em>. Genuine care is a prerequisite for leadership.":1,"#The best leaders are storytellers that define their organizations’ goals and paths to success. Communicating your story with a strong purpose, emotional connection, structure, and sense of authenticity is vital for it to fully resonate. Your ability to build rapport through your story is determined by these essential leadership truths:":1,"#If you train your leaders to be great humans, they’ll also be great bosses. The most significant indicator of retention in an organization is a person’s relationship with their immediate manager, so ensure that your leaders have high levels of compassion and empathy. When employees know that they can take risks and fail without worrying about job safety, they’re significantly more creative and engaged.":1,"#A study from the Chartered Management Institute found that 82 percent of managers didn’t have an intentional path to the role. These accidental managers are more likely to experience burnout and to be stressors for their teams because of their lack of leadership training. To build a leadership pipeline, you should begin by identifying leadership qualities in your high performers. Employees displaying high levels of innovation, accountability, ownership, and positivity should be considered for your pipeline.":1,"#Building and Developing Great Leaders":1,"#Communication issues are a major source of frustration for both internal and external collaborators. Creating and updating a standardized communication framework reduces confusion between teams and increases the quality of messages. Leaders should model the communication style they want to see reflected across their organization and encourage team members to have open dialogue regardless of managerial hierarchy.":1,"#It’s crucial to outline how each department’s work supports others and contributes to a greater vision. Include behind-the-scenes service providers like facilities staff in your collaboration efforts so their efforts can be properly appreciated. Often, simple changes to one team can provide a massive assist to another, so understanding the interconnected needs of teams is essential to creating alignment.":1,"#Frustrating customer service experiences are often due to poor transitions between teams and disjointed communication. The first step to building a collaborative environment is to actively break down silos and encourage empathy across teams. Team members are more compassionate and patient when they fully understand each other’s roles, responsibilities, and objectives. Between teams, define clear responsibilities to ensure full process coverage and information congruity.":1,"#Tearing Down Silos by Building Collaboration Across Departments":1,"#The best way to learn about your employees is to hold regular stay interviews, which are intended to address motivations, aspirations, and concerns with high-performing individuals. Healthy cultures are sustained when employees feel comfortable expressing issues and are confident that their leaders will address them. By actively developing the personal and professional ambitions of your team, you become part of their vision of a fulfilling life.":1,"#An excellent leader invests in people, not roles. Learn about the specific goals and aspirations of your team and help them achieve them, even if they’re not directly related to their position. Additionally, you should prioritize mental wellness within your culture, as mental health benefits have an average 400 percent return on investment.":1,"#The employee experience you cultivate should be so positive that your employees consider joining your organization as one of the best decisions they’ve ever made. While ambitious, this goal is achievable by leaders willing to invest in the talent, health, and happiness of the organization. Retaining employees begins with constant recognition of their contributions. We’re more engaged with our work when we know the positive impact it has, so regularly celebrate small wins and spread inspiration through your positivity.":1,"#Creating An Employee Experience That Retains Them":1,"#Establish a culture of constructive feedback by meeting with new hires after 15 days to ask how onboarding is going and how it can be improved. Creating short-term goals also helps them obtain early wins and build confidence in their role.":1,"#The goal of your onboarding experience is to channel your new employee’s enthusiasm into excitement about organizational vision, core values, and the team. An Indeed survey found that 39 percent of workers who left a job within the first 90 days of employment would have stayed longer if the onboarding was better. Any onboarding activities that don’t involve value alignment, team integration, and mentorship should be resolved as quickly as possible so new team members can hit the ground running.":1,"#For an applicant, getting a job offer is an exhilarating experience that generates hope and excitement for their future. Unfortunately, many companies stifle this excitement with lengthy onboarding experiences that focus more on policy explanation than mentorship and development. Make the transition as easy as possible for new employees by getting their workstation functioning, sending welcome emails, and personalizing the onboarding before their first day.":1,"#Creating an Employee Onboarding Experience":1,"#Skills can be taught, so prioritize character and chemistry when choosing between applicants. Those with positive and collaborative mindsets are more likely to improve your culture and elevate existing employees. Additionally, make diversity a core value in your recruitment experience. Benefits like excellent healthcare and childcare help attract older workers and women, but your commitment to diversity should be built into your culture.":1,"#When someone applies to your organization, they should have a clear idea about how their values mesh with your stated values. Your job postings should communicate organizational vision and potential career opportunities so that applicants get a complete perspective before they apply. During interviews, get applicants talking about passions, encourage rabbit-hole dives, and slip real questions in between casual conversation. If your organization offers them, group interviews, trial workdays, and video résumés allow you to see an applicant’s personality beyond their formal persona.":1,"#Organizations often hire reactively in response to turnover, growth, or changing market conditions. These shifting hiring standards lead to poor culture fits and underperformers damaging your employee experience. Proactivity, resource investment, and branding are critical components to be prioritized in your recruitment experience system.":1,"#Creating a Recruitment Experience":1,"#We feel better physically and mentally when we help each other. In a culture where acts of kindness are common and employee initiatives are supported, people are healthier and more willing to dedicate energy to a common goal. Connecting customer experience, employee experience, and leadership together with the singular goal of improving lives is the key to unlocking complete organizational engagement.":1,"#Some of the most selfless, hardworking people are found in volunteer roles that offer shared purpose. As an organization, offering a competitive paycheck and a genuine purpose to your employees is the best way to encourage engagement and connectivity. For example, Medtronic, a medical devices company, hosts an annual event for patients to meet the factory workers that built their life-saving equipment.":1,"#Many leaders complain about unmotivated young workers yet fail to understand what motivates new generations. A recent study revealed that 84 percent of millennials value their positive impact in the world more than professional recognition. Increasing engagement is no longer about promotions and praise; it’s about cultivating purpose.":1,"#As a leader, it’s your responsibility to your employees and your bottom line to create the best workplace environment possible. When people feel genuinely cared for, they’re more creative, work harder, and collaborate better with teammates. Transforming your organization begins with shifting away from a demanding leadership style toward a culture of shared purpose and real meaning.":1,"#Within organizations, 75 percent of employees report that their biggest stressor is their immediate supervisor. It’s the responsibility of leaders to give employees the respect, trust, and community they want to build into their culture. From a profit perspective, the top 25 percent of organizations in employee engagement have up to 4 percent higher profit margins than those in the bottom 25 percent, which can be the difference between company success and failure.":1,"#Phenomena like The Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting are causing leaders to lose confidence in the newest generation of workers. However, younger employees are among the first to see the consequences of <em ljsid-1=\"\">workaholism</em>, or the belief that an uneven work-life balance is a necessary cost of success. When loyalty isn’t rewarded and employees are expected to sacrifice health for organizational success, the widespread disillusionment shouldn’t be surprising.":1,"#Welcome to the Employee Experience Revolution":1,"#However, the widespread neglect of customer experience creates a significant opportunity for companies willing to invest in their customers. In fact, the organizations with the highest ASCI scores continue to prove the value of excellent customer service with annualized returns of 20.16 percent. By showing your employees, customers, and community that you genuinely care about their happiness, you can dominate your industry as a leader of the experience revolution.":1,"#Logistical issues are hardly the greatest concern, as greedy corporate practices are spiraling out of control. Executives are harming their customer and employee experiences through mass layoffs, shareholder prioritization, and inflated C-suite salaries that don’t correlate to long-term growth. When success is strictly measured by profit, companies often sacrifice culture-driven growth for short-term numerical gains.":1,"#Logistical issues are hardly the greatest concern, as greedy corporate practices are spiraling out of control. Executives are harming their customer and employee experiences through mass layoffs, shareholder prioritization, and...":1,"#Economic recessions are famously difficult to predict, but the current customer experience recession we’re in is being felt by everybody. In 2022, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) reported its lowest score in decades, which reflects the poor employee treatment being felt by customers. Today, the headaches caused by labor shortages, rising production costs, and supply chain issues are passed onto customers who now pay more for less.":1,"#A Customer Experience Recession":1,"#Make time for continuous improvement, embracing challenges with confidence, and cultivating positive energy among your team.":1,"#Enhance collaboration across departments by breaking down silos, improving communications, and encouraging empathy across teams.":1,"#Proactively retain employees through excellent training, professional development, and feedback systems.":1,"#Hire people that enhance your culture and raise the impact of others’ contributions.":1,"#Strive to foster a shared purpose so that your employees feel fulfilled through their work.":1,"#As an effective leader today, you need to demonstrate a genuine care and understanding of your employees, customers, and organization.":1,"#The lack of meaning along with widespread burnout in many organizations is holding back financial growth and employee well-being. As customer and employee experience plummets across industries, a new opportunity arises for purpose-driven leaders. In <strong ljsid-1=\"\">The Employee Experience Revolution</strong>, John R. DiJulius III and David D. Murray review the current state of employee well-being and outline the actions leaders can take to create a world-class culture that inspires and fulfills. By leading with transparency, communicating with clarity, and developing others with compassion, you can accelerate into the future with human-centric leadership.":1,"#ISBN: 979-8-88645-192-4":1,"#©2024 by John R. DiJulius III and David D. Murray":1,"#by John R. Dijulius, David D. Murray":1,"#Increase Morale, Retain Your Workforce, and Drive Business Growth":1,"#Clicking this link will redirect to relevant products for the Authors David D. Murray.":1,"#Clicking this link will redirect to relevant products for the Authors John R. Dijulius.":1,"#In <strong ljsid-1=\"\">Read Your Mind</strong>, Pearlman may not offer strategies to help you read minds, but he does the next best thing by teaching you how to read people. His simple-to-execute practices can work in a range of scenarios with minimal prep work. His book is a great read for anyone who wants to improve their ability to negotiate, persuade, lead, or connect with people in life or at work.":1,"#Pearlman encourages you to look at what you can do today. Be precise about what you want to accomplish and find specific ways you can start working toward it. He suggests that you define clear goals, make efforts toward them a habit, hold yourself accountable for growth, and stay in motion until you achieve what you set out to accomplish.":1,"#Don’t wait to build the skills of a mentalist or to seek out opportunities to use them. You may never feel fully prepared for every outcome or that you’ve fully mastered the practices, but it’s crucial to start putting what you’re learning to use and develop as you go.":1,"#Start Now":1,"#Pearlman also suggests keeping empathy at the heart of every conversation. Listen with curiosity and put yourself in your conversation partner’s shoes to help them feel seen and special.":1,"#Another tactic is to remember what’s important to the person you’re speaking with. Make notes after every conversation and bring up a topic you discussed the next time you connect. This is a small touch that tends to have a big impact on others, and it can put you in a great light.":1,"#If you want to make a person look good so they open up to you, start by eliminating the power imbalance. Humanize the person you’re connecting with to improve connection and cohesion. In doing so, you can create moments your conversation partner may not normally experience.":1,"#Pearlman’s third technique is to focus on others. He explains that a fundamental part of being a mentalist is knowing that a scenario is never about you. Instead, it’s always about the other person. When you remember to make moments about the other person, you have the power to make them look and feel good and drive them to want to tell you more.":1,"#Make Them Shine":1,"#Storytelling can also be a powerful tool to win over an audience. Recall and connection both improve when information is shared through a story versus a report or presentation. Stories add texture and emotion that can hold your audience rapt and give you the floor to inform and convince them. Pairing charm with storytelling will up your odds of drawing in people, even those who are disengaged and seemingly disinterested.":1,"#At times, you may need to de-escalate the atmosphere first, especially in times of tension. Pearlman suggests disarming with kindness and empathy, providing validation, speaking quietly, and showing your curiosity to win over your conversation partner.":1,"#Charm can help you break the ice, build alignment, persuade others to your side, or convince people to root for you. You can achieve this in seconds by conveying trustworthiness, competence, and likability. Pathways to doing so include dispelling preconceived notions, practicing humor, showing vulnerability, and being sincere. Specific practices involve listening actively, recalling something the speaker told you in the past, following up with sincere questions, giving truthful compliments, extending grace, offering opportunities to laugh together, and keeping brags to a minimum.":1,"#Pearlman asserts that, as a mentalist, he doesn’t actually read minds. He reads people, and sometimes those people are angry, upset, difficult, tired, or disengaged. In the moments when he wants to connect with or influence them, he relies on charm to make an impact.":1,"#Draw People In":1,"#Remembering—and helping others remember—is an essential tool for influence. Practicing techniques to keep your memory in shape can benefit you immensely.":1,"#When he wants someone else to form the memory, Pearlman uses the practice of anchoring information. To make an idea “sticky,” he reveals the most important piece of information in the most entertaining part of his presentation. The point is embraced because it’s a moment of delight and doesn’t feel like a pitch or lecture.":1,"#Another helpful practice is writing what you want to remember. Put pen to paper immediately following a conversation to help you integrate the information through physical effort.":1,"#A more advanced practice, and one that’s especially helpful with remembering names, is <em ljsid-1=\"\">listen</em><em ljsid-2=\"\">, repeat</em><em ljsid-3=\"\">, reply</em>. When you hear a name you want to remember, listen to it with a fully focused mind. Repeat it back to them. Then, you’ll do more with it by asking how it’s spelled, ensuring you’re pronouncing it correctly, using the name again in connection with a compliment, or making a personal connection with it.":1,"#He recommends several practices to help you boost your memory. Some are simple. Pearlman suggests practicing meditation, which helps you reduce ruminative thinking and improve your cognition, and working through challenging crossword puzzles, which connects your short-term working memory with your long-term permanent memory.":1,"#You might assume that part of Pearlman’s success is having an iron-clad memory, but he confirms this isn’t the case. Instead, he works through a set of exercises to train his memory and turn information into an anchor in his brain to help him recall and recount on cue.":1,"#Build a Better Memory":1,"#Beyond forging a primary plan and a range of contingencies, there are three techniques you can practice to become better at reading people: improving your memory, drawing people in, and making them shine.":1,"#You can further stack the deck in your favor by working on your own mind. Before a performance, conversation, or key meeting, try entering your <em ljsid-1=\"\">flow state</em>. Reflect on past successes and lessons learned from failures. Then, remind yourself that you have the expertise you need to succeed. When you trust your mind’s power, you can allow it to work on autopilot and expend your mental energy wisely, reading the people around you.":1,"#Pearlman uses a variety of practices to build these plans. He creates easy-to-choose outcomes that make others feel good and want to be drawn to, finds ways to control the variables, and continuously monitors others’ expressions and body language so he gets an early read on when to change course. He also manages his own pressure and anxiety so he doesn’t negatively influence his desired outcome.":1,"#There’s power to planning. When you visualize what both success and failure will look like, you can prepare for every eventuality. You’ll ready yourself for good outcomes while also anticipating what might go wrong. With paths to potential failures clear, you can develop fallback plans that will offer other routes to success.":1,"#There’s power to planning. When you visualize what both success and failure will look like, you can prepare for every eventuality. You’ll ready yourself for good outcomes while also anticipating what might go wrong. With paths to potential failures clear, you can develop fallback plans...":1,"#Mentalists’ techniques can help you move smartly through a wide range of scenarios, from closing a tough deal to convincing a jury that your client is innocent. The good news is that anyone can be a mentalist. What’s required is confidence, a belief in yourself, a willingness to understand others, and a solid plan.":1,"#Believe (and Plan)":1,"#Reading minds may not be possible today, but you can come close by learning to read people. In <strong ljsid-1=\"\">Read Your Mind</strong>, celebrity mentalist Oz Pearlman describes the techniques he uses in performances and explains how you can adopt them to read other people. Through methodologies he’s pulled from psychology, observation, memory strategies, and communication techniques, Pearlman asserts that you can hone your predictive powers, better trust your instincts, and lead people toward the change you want to see.":1,"#Is mind reading possible? It’s a skill many people wish for. Imagine knowing the right time to ask for a raise, what to say to persuade a tough buyer, how to flip a power dynamic, or what you should do—or stop doing—to avoid an argument.":1,"#ISBN: 979-8-2170-5904-1":1,"#©2025 by Oz Pearlman":1,"#by Oz Pearlman":1,"#Proven Habits for Success from the World’s Greatest Mentalist":1,"#Clicking this link will redirect to relevant products for the Author Oz Pearlman.":1,"#build-trust-then-lead":1,"#These four interviewees provided insight into how a leader can transition from managing individuals to leading teams. First and foremost is to see your colleagues as individuals who have non-work interests, friends, families and their own personal goals. In working to establish this relationship, listen more often than you speak. It helps you to get to know them better, shows interest in them and provides opportunities for you to learn from your team members. Building on the trust, you have to encourage those around to become more curious about how their organisation and sector function. A key part of being trustworthy in the workplace is being competent and knowledgeable. Those attributes come with time but they also come because of an intention to learn and apply. Lastly though equally important, trust comes from making decisions that benefit the project or undertaking as a whole, not just one particular person or clique involved.":1,"#Another way of building trust is to demonstrate to your team that the goal is paramount. You need to show your team that decisions are made to reach that goal and not for any person’s particular advantage. When the team understands that there is integrity in the decision-making process, even if some decisions are painful, there will be respect and trust.":1,"#Richard Rittenberg, President of Whitehaven Associates, commented that “Leadership involves combining seeing the big picture and its constituent parts with making the right decision, not the popular decision.”":1,"#Trust is not just about open communication it’s also about competence. In building your leadership abilities also include deepening your knowledge of your business and the sector. Your colleagues will trust you more when they understand that you have sound judgement and a firm understanding of the context in which decisions are made.":1,"#Celia Soonets, owner of a marketing research firm in the Caribbean, founder of a Latin entrepreneurs women network in Ottawa-Gatineau, and jewelry designer, observed “When a company is run by owners, clients tend to trust the owners and not the staff. As a leader you have to encourage the staff to take ownership but they need to be willing to work for it. Lazy people don’t make good leaders. Those who want to have the trust of the clients need to want to learn and apply technical skills, leadership and communicate skills, and context knowledge. You have to want to know more than just your job but also how does the business actually work.”":1,"#Building trust takes intentional effort over a long period of time. To do so you have to look beyond the employee to see the person. How openly and regularly do you communicate with them? Do they feel comfortable approaching you to discuss a problem or to ask for support? If not, why not? Leadership is a relationship and you are contributing or withholding something in that relationship that is hindering the other person’s willingness to approach you.":1,"#Ron Wiens, speaker, author and advisor on cultural change, noted that “Every leader wants people to get together and solve problems / create solutions. This requires a frank exchange of ideas which in turn requires the team to trust each other. Trust comes from people knowing and respecting each other as human beings. The sticking point is ‘you have to trust and like the people you work with to have high performance.’ The leader’s role is to build an environment rampant with trust.”":1,"#If one of the first steps to being a leader is to listen, how can people develop their listening skills? Although it seems obvious it must be said – stop talking. Force yourself to be the one who asks for solutions instead of proposing them. If you’re always the first to talk and the first to offer a strategy, few if any of your team will have the confidence to offer a second or third way forward.":1,"#Christina, a business coach, said that “leaders and aspiring leaders need to listen. A true leader spends about 80% of their time listening. Combined with listening the leader needs to help others feel good about themselves, recognise their strengths and their contributions. When people have self-esteem, they’ll want to contribute more.”":1,"#Effective leadership is crucial to the success of undertakings and organisations. Developing leaders and leadership capabilities is often difficult. So what do teams and organisations need to do in order to attract and develop their current and future leaders? Four leaders responded with two words: Build trust.":1,"#For over a year, I’ve been conducting a study on leadership. As part of the study I asked respondents how people can develop their leadership abilities. I’ll be sharing with you the insights of four respondents in this article.":1,"#by Renée Gendron":1,"#From Managing Individuals To Leading Teams":1,"#Clicking this link will redirect to relevant products for the Author Renée Gendron.":1,"#Build Trust, Then Lead":1,"#the-new-supply-chain-agenda":1,"#Fundraising can be time-consuming, frustrating, and exhausting. Alisa Cohn presents a framework that can help you gain momentum, traction—and investors.":1,"#Fundraising for Your Business Venture":1,"#Executives who build and run excellent supply chains share...":1,"#Companies need a proper balance between operational imperatives (e.g., transportation, order management, facilities, inventory, and cash flow) and long-term strategic objectives. Many companies cite short-term thinking as the greatest barrier to supply chain excellence.":1,"#Effective supply chain management drives economic profit, which in turn drives shareholder value. Improved supply chain controls free cash reserves by leveraging inventory and working capital.":1,"#Supply chain management involves the integration of supply and demand management within and among companies. The supply chain encompasses planning and managing sourcing, procurement, conversion, and logistics management, including working with channel partners.":1,"#Improving and maintaining shareholder value keeps companies healthy. The supply chain drives economic profit, which in turn drives shareholder value. This is the message of <strong ljsid-1=\"\">The New Supply Chain Agenda</strong>, in which three experts provide a five-point strategy for achieving supply chain excellence. Reuben E. Slone, J. Paul Dittmann, and John T. Mentzer draw on their collective industry and academic expertise, as well as an extensive database built on in-depth supply chain audits and forum contributions, to explain the five levers for controlling the performance of critical steps within the process.":1,"#by Paul Dittmann, Reuben E. Slone, John T. Mentzer":1,"#Reuben E. Slone<span ljsid-1=\"\">, </span>":1,"#Paul Dittmann<span ljsid-1=\"\">, </span>":1,"#<var hour=\"\"></var>:<var minutes=\"\"></var> minutes":1,"#You are signed in as <var signed_in_as=\"\"></var>":1,"#In an increasingly polarized and digital world, leading with humanity has never been more important. In Essential, Christie Smith, PhD, and Kelly Monahan, PhD, outline an effective leadership style focused on relationship building, transparency, and human empathy. Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are causing organizations to invest heavily in technology, but they fail to invest in the people that determine their success. By shifting to a leadership style that encourages collaboration, welcomes diverse perspectives, and prioritizes well-being, you can create an innovative, productive, and empathic culture in your organization.":1,"#Certificates (7)":1,"#Notes (13)":1,"#Many leaders agree that success and failure originate in the mind, yet most admit that they do not spend any time intentionally training their minds to function more effectively. In The Mindfulness Edge, Matt Tenney and Tim Gard teach leaders the “ultimate success habit”—mindfulness training. Through mindfulness training, leaders can rewire their brains to achieve leadership and personal excellence. Each person has the power to train his or her brain for greater success and happiness.":1,"#Here are a few ideas for practices that will help you raise your Self-Love KPIs: Mindfulness Meditation A Harvard study by Matthew A. Killingsworth and Daniel T. Gilbert reveals that the mind wanders 47% of the time. Here are a few simple practices to try out: * Take a Zen Break - A Zen Break is a short, guided Mindfulness Meditation designed to rejuvenatey our focus and energy.":1,"#Sharpen Your Saw With Self-Love and Self-Care: A Few Ideas for Practices that Will Help You Raise Your Self-Love KPIs.":1,"#The article focuses on insights from six business leaders regarding the challenges and lessons learned from difficult hiring and firing decisions. Key themes include the importance of timely action when recognizing the right or wrong fit, prioritizing team culture and flexibility over expertise in early-stage companies, and distinguishing loyalty from what benefits the organization and individuals. Leaders also emphasize the need to assess personnel decisions from a broad perspective, considering organizational goals, team dynamics, and individual contributions. These reflections highlight the complexity and significance of managing human resources in business growth.":1,"#People Problems":1,"#In the relentless, volatile world of sales, the key to maximizing your performance is mastering your mindset. In Sales Psyche, Chris Hatfield explains how to take care of your mind so you can thrive. With insights drawn from consulting for top-tier multinational companies, he offers tested tools and strategies for handling your emotions and overcoming limiting beliefs in high-pressure situations. The book is a guide for sellers who want to unlock their potential and improve their performance as well as for anyone who wants to strengthen their mindset so they can lead with confidence and poise.":1,"#Sales Psyche":1,"#In a world of continuous change, consumers want more than value; they demand transparency, purpose, and sustainability. Brand identity is built as much on a company’s vision and mission statement as the appeal of new products and services. In Seeding Innovation, Robyn O’Brien explains how to create a business plan that integrates awareness, equity, and purpose with bottom-line profitability. She offers a roadmap for executives, entrepreneurs, and managers who want to foster a resilient organizational culture while navigating change.":1,"#Robyn O’Brien":1,"#Seeding Innovation":1,"#The greatest successes in business come not from maintaining the status quo, but from disrupting, iterating on, and innovating out of it. In The Innovative Seller, sales consultant Jake Dunlap advocates changing from a business-to-business approach to a business-to-customer focus, utilizing his four pillars of modern innovative business.":1,"#The Innovative Seller":1,"#Key Concepts":1,"#Businesses and organizations of all kinds need new types of leaders and more women at the helm. Unfortunately, many women and men suffer from imposter syndrome, doubting their skills, talents, and competencies and instead feeling like frauds. In Love Your Imposter, Rita Clifton offers recommendations for aspiring leaders on how to work with their imposters to embrace their authentic selves, achieve success, and make their own unique differences in the world.":1,"#Love Your Imposter":1,"#Have you ever experienced self-doubt or a fear that you don’t have what it takes to succeed? Alisa Cohn shares strategies you can use to overcome your own imposter syndrome.":1,"#How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome":1,"#Boost your productivity by working smarter, eliminating procrastination, and valuing and prioritizing your time.":1,"#Getting Things Done":1,"#Everyone experiences self-doubt at some point or another. Learn how to hone your confidence to overcome your fears, minimize your limiting beliefs, and conquer imposter syndrome in all aspects of your life.":1,"#Overcoming Self-Doubt":1,"#It’s time to rise up and move beyond symbolism and rhetoric. In Changemakers Wanted, CEO Danaya Wilson offers a step-by-step pathway designed to ignite a global movement, empowering women across all organizational levels. By addressing the unique challenges women face, readers will discover actionable strategies to ramp up 21st-century feminism, challenge the status quo, and redefine a fresh and inclusive way of operating to ensure that everyone can thrive.":1,"#Changemakers Wanted":1,"#The article focuses on a study by Parloa examining customer experience (CX) practices among Global 2000 companies, revealing significant shortcomings in their use of AI-driven support. Key findings include that 43.3% of enterprise websites lack clear support access, chatbots mostly rely on limited rule-based flows with only 8.9% of chats meeting customer goals, and 99% of voice systems use outdated automation with long wait times. Additionally, only 1% of these companies are prepared for emerging personal AI agent interactions, indicating a misalignment with future customer expectations. The study emphasizes that improving CX through advanced AI technologies presents substantial revenue opportunities currently being missed.":1,"#The State Of Agentic Customer Experience In 2026":1,"#Countless books and articles have been written on the topic of leadership, implying that leading is a complex subject. In Leadership Is Worthless, but Leading Is Priceless, renown leadership expert and emergency crisis veteran Thom Mayer, MD, claims that leading is simpler than we think. Based on the premise that each of us leads every day, Mayer offers insights, examples, and anecdotes that illustrate how our actions make us leaders. Rather than offering a prescription for leading well, he invites you to consider how you lead and apply a thoughtful but simple approach to leading better in every aspect of your life.":1,"#Leadership Is Worthless, but Leading Is Priceless":1,"#Recently Viewed (60)":1,"#Being able to manage your emotions in the workplace is important. Colleen Stanley shares the number one tip for limiting your fight-or-flight responses while at work.":1,"#How to Manage Your Emotions":1,"#The most challenging part of your job is often not the job itself—it’s the critic in your head. Andy Molinsky provides tips on how to harness your innate power to silence your inner critic and be your best self.":1,"#How to Silence Your Inner Critic":1,"#To remain in their roles, leaders must have a certain degree of power. Jeffrey Pfeffer offers 2 tactics you can use to gain power within your organization.":1,"#How to Increase Your Power in Your Organization":1,"#It’s easy to spot a need for change. Whether it’s your clothing tightening, company culture crumbling, or employee performance dipping, needs for change are often clear. However, embracing that change and the behavior modifications required can be a different story. Change experts Chip Heath and Dan Heath believe the problem isn’t simply that people resist change. Instead, they’re convinced that changes run off course because obstacles are misattributed. In Switch, the best-selling authors of Made to Stick offer a three-part framework that can help you change behaviors in yourself, your team, or the world around you. Certainly, change can only occur when the people responsible for it buy in and are motivated and equipped to break with the status quo. However, the practices they suggest can help you dismantle the obstacles that obstruct change and create the kind of “switch” you and others may need to pursue better paths.":1},"version":205204}]