Inbox is less annoying than Gmail, and you can always go back.
Online email systems perform the valuable service of filtering out spam at the server before it can clog up our local Internet connection. But even Gmail has its issues, mostly in the design of its web and mobile clients, which tend towards cluttered displays and unnecessary notifications. Who needs an alert that you just got 10 new emails, when none of them are of actual interest?
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Most leaders manage to get through their entire careers without needing to deal with a highly talented team member who’s also highly volatile. But some of us aren’t that lucky.
I had an incredibly able and high potential team member who was passionate about her work and her area of expertise. Unfortunately, she was too passionate. She would get keyed up in discussions with anyone, at any level — people who were on her team, leaders of other teams, me, even the president of the company.
Read MoreA news story or feature article published by the right media outlet can have a massive impact on your business — good or bad. After all, most reputable publications have far more credibility than does any marketing collateral your company might craft, simply because the press are considered unbiased observers.
Yet, you have no control over the final article. You can do your best in the interview with the journalist, particularly if you prepared for it, but ultimately the journalist writes the story. You can’t affect how your product is referenced, what is said about your direct rivals, or even if your exec’s name is spelled right.
That all said, there are certainly things you can do to improve your odds. Based on my 29 years in tech journalism, here are some thoughts for what you can do after the interview with a reporter.
Congratulations! You made sure that reporters can reach you, you strategized reasons for them to want to talk with you, and now you have an interview lined up with a journalist from a relevant media outlet. Many companies never make it this far, so you’ve accomplished quite a bit. Now all you have to do is not blow it.
Let’s start with the easy pieces, first. You want the phone or in-person interview to go well, which presumably means ensuring that you are well-prepared for the issues the reporter is likely to raise.
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It’s easy to become overwhelmed when trying to find, evaluate and select online software for your business. Why? Because:
It’s for these three reasons that I created this guide. Below, I’ve detailed the six-step process that I use to find, evaluate and select online software.
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Over the past couple of decades, many companies began using job titles that were…a little unusual. From the Chief People Person to the Digital Marketing Magician, Wizard of Light Bulb Moments, and Director of Fundom, it’s become hard to understand what people actually do.
On the upside, this is fun, especially for startups that want to break free and stand out. One the downside, the meaning of titles, especially those with no counterpart outside of their organization, have become opaque and confusing.
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No matter what industry you’re in, there are going to be times when you need to have conversations you wish you could outsource to someone else. Reprimanding, course correction and the like are never fun conversations to have, but you can make them go a lot more smoothly with these few tips.
First and foremost, you need to get your mind ready. Think of it as doing stretches before a workout. Make sure you’re calm and never go into one of these talks angry.
Read MoreBusinesses have always pushed for innovation, but traditionally most of the focus was on improving existing products. In recent years however, that’s changed as more companies have launch “radical” innovation projects — ones that leap outside the box. The result? Failure is no longer the greatest risk of innovation.
In 2015 I collaborated with some of my management peers to propose an “lab” of sorts within our organization. Due to the high chance of failure, company leadership was reluctant to commit resources to the project. In response, we developed a system of checks and balances to ensure the project had the highest chance of success.
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Most small businesses have too little process. Most large businesses have way too much.
Like Goldilocks, the secret is to get process just right — and to remember that what’s just right changes as the business grows.
Read MoreAt Siftery we’re tracking over 10,000 software products, and hundreds of thousands of real companies that are using them. Below are the hot products that have added the most customers in the month leading up to January 2017.
1. Slack: Slack is a team communication application providing real-time messaging, archiving and search for modern teams. Some top companies using Slack include Siftery, Lever, Microsoft, IBM, OneLogin, GoDaddy, NewCo, and Treebo Hotels.