MultiBriefs - Your source for industry specific News Briefs

Pivot! How to take your marketing in a new direction

Brie Ragland Marketing

In an iconic scene from the show "Friends," Ross has purchased a brand-new couch, but decides to deliver it to his apartment himself, instead of paying the outrageous delivery fee the store charges. As he waits for help from his friends, he sketches a plan for easy movement up his apartment's stairway. To the characters' chagrin, the couch doesn’t fit up the stairs the way Ross originally planned in his drawing. Thinking on his feet, Ross "pivots" to a new plan…and the hilarity ensues. So, how can you apply this strategy to your own company? Well, no executive wants to admit his/her marketing efforts are failing, but when the numbers tell a story so grim even Phoebe Buffay couldn't put a good spin on it, it's time to pivot.

8 tips for promoting employees

D. Albert Brannen Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Many successful companies prefer "promoting from within." This policy is especially important in a labor market where many jobs remain unfilled and employers need to focus on retaining and advancing current employees as much or more than attempting to find brand-new ones. This article outlines some tips for implementing promotion practices that help retain employees and avoid or minimize risk of litigation about promotion decisions.

Find something more important than your passion

Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk Management

It turns out that trying to find our passion may be a futile search. For those of us who believe a passion is something we have and just need to discover, we may be setting ourselves up to fail. Researchers at Stanford and Yale found that those of us who believe passions can be found also tend to believe that once we find our passion, it will provide us with limitless motivation. Unfortunately, this means we may bounce from one thing to another, because as soon as the activity becomes difficult or unmotivating, we tend to believe it is because it is not our passion.

Beating age discrimination just got harder

Patrick Gleeson Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

Fighting age discrimination in employment was never easy. Perhaps the most important obstacle is that age discrimination isn’t easy to prove. Historically, when age discrimination in employment suits do go to trial, they’ve been decided overwhelmingly in favor of corporate America and against workers — about 99% of the time. As daunting as this sounds, recent significant appellate court decisions will almost certainly tilt the playing field even further toward corporate America and away from an increasing number of aging workers.

Cloud kitchens, virtual restaurants are the next big trends in food delivery

Bambi Majumdar Food & Beverage

Co-working spaces have changed the way many people work, and now it's time for cloud kitchens to do the same for the food business. Statista reports that the online food delivery segment will have $107 billion in revenue in 2019. Some of the industry's rapid growth is attributed to the advent of cloud kitchens, which have helped businesses stay ahead of high rents and employee turnover. Another related concept that is making waves is the virtual restaurant. Also called Uber cooking by some due to its initiation by Uber Eats, these businesses take orders through online apps and prepare food exclusively for takeout, pickup, and delivery customers.

Why you should stop trying to get better at multitasking

Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk Management

There aren’t enough hours in the day for everything you want to do, and this realization leads many people to multitask. However, multitasking can actually be counterproductive. While you may consider yourself an exception to the rule, the science and the experts disagree. Exhibit 1: In a Stanford University study, people who frequently engage in multitasking — and think they’re excellent multitaskers — shift back and forth so often that it negatively impacts their ability to distinguish between important and irrelevant information. Over time, they can’t even focus when they’re not multitasking.

How to thrive in a competitive market sector

Anne Rose Retail

While certain retail sectors are struggling to cope in a competitive marketplace, Gold Country Ace Hardware in Cameron Park, California, has managed to thrive and surpass its regional hardware competitors, including the big-name/big-box stores and the local mom-and-pop shops. Robert Blum, vice president of Blum Enterprises, which owns Gold Country Ace Hardware, explains the management strategies that catapulted them to their success and being awarded Pinnacle status by Ace for "exemplary performance." "We have always tried to remain relevant to our local community," Blum explains.

The one thing you can do to prevent your star employees from bolting

Roberta Matuson Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Another company is about to lose a star employee. But they don't know this yet. You see, their star employee hired me a few months ago as his coach to help him better manage his relationship with his boss. We discussed his situation over a few sessions, and it became clear to me that his efforts to change his boss' way would fall on deaf ears. He said he wanted to see if he could make things work with his current employer. That was six weeks ago. He's now seen the light and is ready to move on.

Hiring patterns are changing in the travel industry

Bambi Majumdar Travel, Hospitality & Event Management

The U.S. Travel Association's recent report, "Made in America: Travel's Contribution to Workforce Development," gives us a lot of hope for the industry, which ranks No. 1 for hiring. The report shares interesting aspects of the industry, like how it is poised to fill the skills gap. However, despite the rosy picture the USTA report painted, many travel businesses are finding it hard to fill open positions, let alone get qualified candidates. What is causing the dearth of talent? For an industry that has successfully come out of the recession better off and is poised for growth, this is a problem.

Dealing with negativity on social media — and in life

Mashaal Ryan Mental Healthcare

No one truly wants to deal with negativity. But that doesn't change the fact that negativity is everywhere, especially with social media connecting people more than ever before. When you see a negative comment, review, post, text message, email or any other type of communication, science tells us that it actually does damage our brain. The toxic energy that comes from others can create an adverse reaction in our consciousness. So, what do we do?

Industries