Your March Executive Briefing

Here's your monthly roundup of some interesting business insights from around the web. [Fit Small Business Logo]( Here's your monthly roundup of some interesting business insights from around the web. [Sponsored By](   [PR Week]( [How Boeing Missed a Critical Moment for Leadership]( - SUMMARY: Following 2 major crashes, all of Boeing's 737 MAX airplanes have been grounded. - Boeing's recent response is a demonstration of what businesses should not do in a crisis because they chose to downplay their planes' safety risks rather than address their consumers' concerns in their immediate response. [Reuters / Lindsay Wasson]( - This response did little to ease doubts about their planes. A global outcry soon followed that demanded Boeing's planes be grounded. - Now, the company's longstanding reputation for safety and reliability may be irreversibly damaged. - A crisis can also be an opportunity to show customers and the public what a company’s values are. In this case, Boeing failed to live up to their core value of safety. - TAKEAWAY: Even if they're not on the same scale as Boeing, small businesses can still take away important lessons from Boeing's crisis: - Lead with your values: Boeing's core values include safety, yet they failed to prioritize their riders' safety in their response. Businesses should always lead from the values that led to their success. - Prepare in advance: Crises happen. By running your business through some crisis scenarios beforehand, you'll be better prepared for when they do occur. - React sympathetically: Before you issue a statement, you should think it through from the perspective of your customers. Is what you're saying really what they want to hear? [READ THIS ARTICLE](  [US GDP Growth Likely to Slow in This Year and Next]( - SUMMARY: The CNBC's Fed Survey projects a 2.3% GDP growth for the year, lower than previous projections due to concerns surrounding global markets. - The economy is slowing from the 3.1% year-over-year pace in Q4 2018. - Slowing global growth and protectionist trade policies were ranked as the biggest threats to the US economy. - TAKEAWAY: It's not certain whether a recession is on the horizon, but it's smart to prepare your business for the boom-and-bust cycles of the economy anyway. Here's a few steps you can take: - Secure capital before you need it: Credit often dries up in a recession, so make sure that you secure capital while times are good. - Reconsider large investments: While making large investments can be a good strategy while the economy is booming, consider how they'll affect you during a downturn. You don't want your business to be on the hook for large debt repayments when cash flow stops coming in as expected. [READ THIS ARTICLE]( [OnDeck]( [Need short-term financing options? OnDeck has you covered. They’ll be able to fund your application as quickly as within a day, and they offer some of the lowest rates available for term loans (up to $500k) and lines of credit (up to $100k)]( [  VISIT ONDECK Â](  [March Madness to Cost Employers $13.3bn in Lost Productivity](  - SUMMARY: Based on estimates that workers will spend about 6 hours of work time on the tournament, it’s projected that American businesses will lose $13.3bn in lost productivity due to March Madness. - The staffing firm, Office Team, found that the average U.S. worker spends 25.5 minutes per work day during the tournament on NCAA brackets, conversations with coworkers and other distractions. - A separate 2018 survey by TSheets found that 48 percent of American workers, or about 75 million, filled out their brackets while on the clock. - In spite of the lost productivity, March Madness doesn't add up as a total negative. A 2018 report by Kimble Applications found that 54 percent of American employees saw March Madness pools and other sports competitions as a positive influence on workplace culture. - TAKEAWAY: Even if March Madness is unavoidable, it doesn't mean your small business needs to grind to a halt for a month. - Embracing the tournament with an office pool -- while setting clear boundaries on viewing and wagering -- can actually bring your employees together. [READ THIS ARTICLE](  💭 Facts Of The Month --------------------------------------------------------------- 1. 82% of businesses that fail do so because of cash flow problems (US Bank, 2018) 2. Microbusinesses (businesses with less than 10 employees) employ 75.3% of private-sector employees (SBA, 2018) 3. About one-in-five small businesses are family-owned (SBA, 2014)  Disclaimer: We spend hours researching and writing our articles and strive to provide accurate, up-to-date content. However, our research is meant to aid your own, and we are not acting as licensed professionals. We recommend that you consult with your own lawyer, accountant, or other licensed professional for relevant business decisions. [Click Here to See Our Full]( Fit Small Business 315 Madison Avenue 24th Floor New York, NY 10017 United States This email was intended for {EMAIL}. You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to the mailing list of Fit Small Business on 11/26/2016. If you would no longer like to receive any emails from us, no worries. Click below to unsubscribe. [Click here to unsubscribe](