Make your next speech as engaging as a TED talk

Decide now who gets to decide for your company | Companies that want to win hire the right people | Why high-brow brands need a little low-brow balance Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( March 9, 2020 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF  [LinkedIn]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( Innovative Ideas. Ahead of the Curve. [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [SHARE](  [] Leading Edge [] [Decide now who gets to decide for your company]( Companies need a clear process to identify who makes decisions, who is responsible for accountability and who needs to be consulted and informed, write Tiffany McDowell and David Mallon of Deloitte. They outline five attributes of strong organizational design, including clarification of decision rights across the company and emphasizing customer needs when making decisions. Full Story: [Deloitte Insights]( (2/28) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Companies that want to win hire the right people]( Companies that want to win hire the right people Schmidt (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Companies that "care about winning" will focus on bringing in the best and most diverse talent and offering them a structure where they can grow and thrive, says Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO and Alphabet chairman. "We need to acknowledge how powerful people are, particularly those who are willing to take risks and drive societal change," he says. Full Story: [McKinsey]( (3/2020) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( Are Your Employee Surveys Strategic? Employee surveys are a critical tool to support a comprehensive people analytics practice, but many organizations fail to capture data that helps leaders make informed decisions. [Download our guide]( to see what survey questions drive business outcomes. ADVERTISEMENT: [] Strategic Management [] [Why high-brow brands need a little low-brow balance]( Fashion is often thought of as starting with higher-end brands and trickling down through middle and lower tiers to wider audiences, but there are cases in which seemingly low-end items leap immediately to celebrity status, says Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger. "If we want to be an influencer, novel, differentiated, if we want to be ahead of the crowd, we may want to think about mixing and matching," he says. Full Story: [Knowledge@Wharton]( (3/4) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Smarter Communication [] [Make your next speech as engaging as a TED talk]( Make your next speech as engaging as a TED talk (Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images) Make your next presentation as engaging as a TED or TEDx talk by creating a memorable core message and using a conversational style that focuses on inspiring ideas instead of problems, writes Stephanie Scotti, who recently coached TEDx presenters. "The goal is to discover the real need and express it simply and in plain language so listeners can recall and repeat your idea worth sharing," she writes. Full Story: [SmartBrief/Leadership]( (3/6) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Smarter Working A weekly spotlight on doing more without working longer [] [Use technology to replace useless daily meetings]( Daily status updates can be delivered by email or some other technology rather than through in-person meetings, often called daily stand-ups, writes Know Your Team CEO Claire Lew. Use weekly or monthly meetings to address deeper concerns, make connections and recognize the progress that's been made, she writes. Full Story: [Know Your Team]( (3/5) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Find outside creative projects to avoid burnout]( Dancer, artist and author Marlee Grace finds balance by turning down projects to protect her boundaries, cultivating a close circle of friends and pursuing creative hobbies for fun. "I don't have a strict rule about it, but it's helpful to me to pick projects where I'm like, 'I'm not going to do this to make money off of it,' " she says. Full Story: [The Creative Independent]( (3/5) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] In Their Own Words [] [Restaurant owner: Stay flexible, know your priorities]( After defecting from Bulgaria when he was 27, musician Val Kiossovski found success opening restaurants in Seattle and says staying flexible and true to himself are the keys to success. "I have three priorities in my business life -- my employees, my customers, and my investors, in exactly that order," he says. Full Story: [IdeaMensch]( (3/5) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Daily Diversion [] [Books aren't all patrons steal from libraries]( Books aren't all patrons steal from libraries Truman library in the 1960s (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Libraries have books go missing all the time, but items such as a letter from Christopher Columbus to Spain's King Ferdinand and President John F. Kennedy's rocking chair have also been stolen. Visitors to presidential libraries have absconded with Lyndon B. Johnson's class ring from the Coast Guard Academy and Harry S. Truman's diamond-studded daggers and swords. Full Story: [Mental Floss]( (2/28) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Most Read by CEOs The most-clicked stories of the past week by SmartBrief on Leadership readers [] - [Buffett's annual letters can provide strategy guidance]( CB Insights [] - [Make sure you love leadership before taking it on]( Three Star Leadership [] - [Don't get mad -- be curious when someone criticizes you]( SmartBrief/Leadership [] - [How bullies harm workplaces]( INSEAD Knowledge [] - [Strategies to improve your critical thinking skills]( The Learning Scientists Sharing SmartBrief on Leadership with your network keeps the quality of content high and these daily updates free. Refer 10 new readers to receive one year of digital access to The New York Times. Experience groundbreaking reporting, commentary, documentaries and more. [CLICK HERE]( Or copy & share your personalized link: smartbrief.com/leadership/?referrerId=japnABMSAp [] [] The door that nobody else will go in at, seems always to swing open widely for me. Clara Barton, nurse, educator, American Red Cross founder March is Women's History Month [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email](   SmartBrief publishes more than 200 free industry newsletters - [Browse our portfolio]( [Sign Up]( | [Update Profile]( | [Advertise with SmartBrief]( [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy policy]( CONTACT US: [FEEDBACK](mailto:leadership@smartbrief.com) | [ADVERTISE](mailto:lengel@smartbrief.com) SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 Â