Protect your projects from too much input

Use informal methods to help your team grow | Has Tina Brown been underrated? | What can e-commerce subscription firms learn from churn? Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( February 14, 2018 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF  [LinkedIn]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Google+]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( Innovative Ideas. Ahead of the Curve. [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [FORWARD]( [] Leading Edge [] [Use informal methods to help your team grow]( If professional development programs are not in the budget, less formal internal and lateral opportunities can be a valuable way to help employees grow, writes Jennifer V. Miller. Taking charge of meetings will polish their communication and leadership skills, and spending time in other departments gives them a deeper understanding of the company, she writes. [SmartBrief/Leadership]( (2/13) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] [Has Tina Brown been underrated?]( Has Tina Brown been underrated? Brown (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Magazine editor Tina Brown's memoir covers how her unique way of working with writers influenced magazine journalism, even if the public perception of her vision and management style has tended to downplay her accomplishments, writes David Frum, who wrote for her at The Daily Beast. "Tina rewarded effort not only in dollars and cents, but also in enthusiasm," he writes. [The Atlantic online]( (2/11) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( How to Measure Culture If improving your organization's culture is a priority for you, you'll want to start by seeing what it's like now. Research shows there are 6 areas that influence culture the most. How do you stack up? [Download our Orange Paper now and find out](. ADVERTISEMENT [] Strategic Management [] [What can e-commerce subscription firms learn from churn?]( Subscription e-commerce has grown more than 100% each year over the past five years, although a high cancellation rate is a concern, write Tony Chen, Ken Fenyo, Sylvia Yang and Jessica Zhang. "Many consumers who churn do so quickly, which suggests that companies should be careful not to overinvest in free trials or heavy discounts unless these promotional investments have a clear payback," they write. [McKinsey]( (2/2018) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] Smarter Communication [] [Audiences will listen if they can relate]( Improving your likability with an audience improves the likelihood your message will be heard, so learn beforehand who is sitting out there and what they want to get out of your talk, writes Jim Anderson. The audience will also feel more connected if you use inclusive pronouns such as "we" and "our." [The Accidental Communicator]( (2/13) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] [Protect your projects from too much input]( Projects can avoid eleventh-hour sabotage if leaders don't cave to every complaint and there's a clear window for input that eventually closes, writes Molly Page. "Trust your team's hard work: know that you spent time researching, brainstorming, and working hard to create the best campaign you could," she writes. [Thin Difference]( (2/13) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] Customers First A weekly look at serving customers better [] [Have you lost sight of the customer?]( Companies spending too much time on production, budget or individual sales goals may be losing sight of the customer, writes Paul LaRue. "Getting all departments, systems, and efforts tuned-in to the customer experience will correct many of these issues, and their results may even be better than the pursuit of those results on their own merits," he writes. [The Upwards Leader]( (2/11) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] In Their Own Words [] [A startup CEO's lessons as he builds a 2nd company]( Oneclick CEO Dominik Birgelen is on his second company, having learned from his first, failed startup that relying too much on one customer can be a mistake. Whatever your offering is, he says, you must ask, "What does your product's market look like?" [Enterprise Times (UK)]( (2/13) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] Daily Diversion [] [Study: Our ancestors were hunters, gatherers and artists]( A more developed parietal cortex allowed early humans to refine their hunting tactics by drawing the arc of a spear, argues a study that analyzed cave art. "That also makes those early Homo sapiens the first to use the power of visualization for success, a technique employed by elite athletes and others today to shape desired outcomes," Ephrat Livni writes. [Quartz]( (2/13) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] [] The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg. ... Dreams are the seedlings of realities. James Allen, writer [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [Sign Up]( [SmartBrief offers 200+ newsletters]( [Advertise]( [Learn more about the SmartBrief audience]( Subscriber Tools: [Manage Subscriptions]( [Update Your Profile]( [Unsubscribe]( [Send Feedback]( [Archive]( [Search]( Contact Us: Jobs Contact - jobhelp@smartbrief.com Advertising - [Laura Engel](mailto:lengel@smartbrief.com) Editor - [James daSilva](mailto:leadership@smartbrief.com) Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 © 1999-2018 SmartBrief, Inc.® [Privacy policy]( | [Legal Information]( Â