Good meetings require better rules and guidelines

There are many ways to inspire your team | Amex is having trouble winning over millennials | Empathy in business begins from within Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( [ATD Int'l Conference & EXPO bring the talent development industry to life. Join us May 21-24 in ATL.]( ADVERTISEMENT April 18, 2017 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF  [LinkedIn]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Google+]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( Innovative Ideas. Ahead of the Curve. [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [FORWARD]( [] Leading Edge [] [There are many ways to inspire your team]( A leader's daily job is to motivate employees and inspire them to develop their own leadership qualities, writes Joel Garfinkle. He outlines six types of actions leaders can take, including helping team members establish relationships to get the resources they need, mentoring promising talent and advocating for the team throughout the organization. [SmartBrief/Leadership]( (4/17) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] [Good meetings require better rules and guidelines]( Leaders would do well to establish rules and guidelines for meetings and clearly communicate them to team members in order to make meetings as productive as possible, writes Douglas Conant. He outlines a few expectations he has for himself, including the overlooked step of the leader being fully prepared for meetings. [Conant Leadership]( (4/15) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( How Managers Influence Employee Turnover Your managers have an incredible amount of influence when it comes to employee retention. Kris Dunn, Chief Human Resources Officer for Kinetix, explains how you can begin positioning your managers as career agents in [this invaluable report](. ADVERTISEMENT [] Strategic Management [] [Amex is having trouble winning over millennials]( American Express (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images) American Express' customer service has always been predicated on a personal touch, which might not be as valuable in an era of on-demand services and a millennial aversion to old-school "high-culture events Amex can get cardholders into," writes Charles Duhigg. Competitors are going after Amex's traditional audience, as well as its executives. [The New York Times (free-article access for SmartBrief readers)]( (4/14) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( Top 5 Reasons Employees Don't Give Recognition Although employees understand the benefits of giving recognition, few have given any in the last month. Read O.C. Tanner's groundbreaking new study to learn why and how to boost recognition participation in your organization. [DOWNLOAD NOW]( ADVERTISEMENT [] Smarter Communication [] [Empathy in business begins from within]( Business communications often lack the empathy needed to convince the public that a company is value-based, writes Jill Lublin. Be kind, encourage such kindness, and practice empathy in your listening, as well. [The CEO Magazine]( (4/14) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] Innovation & Creativity A weekly spotlight on making the next big thing happen [] [In-store shopping isn't just about buying the product]( Many retailers are fighting to keep their physical stores relevant by making them experiential and cool places to hang out, writes Marc Bain. Retailers are betting that customers want to feel and try products in a shopping experience that's interactive and personalized. [Quartz]( (4/14) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] SmartPulse [] Is your organization rigorous about succession planning? No. When there's a hole, we'll figure it out. 52.31% Kind of. We do succession planning only for key roles. 37.69% Yes. We have a thorough process for succession planning. 10.00% [] Waiting for a crisis. It's scary to think that over half of you don't have a plan for what happens when someone departs your organization. A key player going down can cause massive disruptions to your business, lost customers, operational risks and a host of other issues. Leaders are responsible for the smooth operation of their organization. This means sitting down and doing contingency planning for events they know will happen. Every person will leave their role whether to quitting, promotion or reorganization. Spend some time laying out a backup plan for when each team member departs. It'll help you fill those open spots more quickly when the crisis eventually occurs. -- Mike Figliuolo is managing director of [ThoughtLeaders](. Before launching his own company, he worked at McKinsey & Co., Capital One and Scotts Miracle-Gro. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He's the author of three leadership books: "[One Piece of Paper](," "[Lead Inside the Box](" and "[The Elegant Pitch](." [] How empowered do you feel to make decisions affecting your team? [Vote]( [Very -- I'm in complete control.]( [Vote]( [Mostly -- I make all but a few key decisions.]( [Vote]( [Not very -- my leaders limit the decisions I can make.]( [Vote]( [Not at all -- I barely get to decide anything.]( [] In Their Own Words [] [Tupperware CEO's secrets of hiring interviews]( Tupperware CEO Rick Goings likes to talk with job candidates about their personal lives and upbringing to help them feel more comfortable, only discussing the job later in the conversation. "It's important to get them talking about significant things that are revealing to me," he says. [Business Insider]( (4/14) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] Daily Diversion [] [Why does the French Foreign Legion endure?]( The French Foreign Legion has changed structure several times in its nearly 200-year history, but it has curiously both part of and apart from France, filled with mostly foreign recruits seeking a home away from home, as Robert Twigger writes. Today's Legion is an elite fighting force that continues to offer the thrill of combat -- and French citizenship to those who survive. [Aeon Magazine (U.K.)]( (4/10) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] [] I do not live for what the world thinks of me, but for what I think of myself. Jack London, 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 Thompson](mailto:lthompson@smartbrief.com) Editor - [James daSilva](mailto:leadership@smartbrief.com) Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 © 1999-2017 SmartBrief, Inc.® [Privacy policy]( | [Legal Information]( Â