What Taylor Swift can teach you about personal branding

What Taylor Swift can teach you about personal branding | Cultivate decency as a leader to create top-notch teams | The pandemic changed work, now we must learn forward Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( August 24, 2023 CONNECT WITH NEXTUP  [LinkedIn]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( €‰€‰[Tik tok]( [NEW SmartBrief]( Gender equity news from NextUp, Advancing All Women in Business [SIGN UP]( â‹… [SHARE]( [] Top of the week [] [What Taylor Swift can teach you about personal branding]( [What Taylor Swift can teach you about personal branding]( Swift (Fernando Leon/TAS23/Getty Images) Music star Taylor Swift deserves recognition for her approach to personal branding, and small businesses can learn from her, writes Marina Byezhanova, co-founder of Brand of a Leader. Like Swift, be genuine in your branding, stay true to your brand when you shift gears, and be responsive to your fans or customers, Byezhanova advises. Full Story: [Entrepreneur]( (8/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( How will AI impact your industry now – and in the future? AI Impact is a new, virtual event that separates hype from reality; delivering insights into how industries and business functions will be enhanced and tested in the age of AI. Join globally renowned experts, including Zack Kass (OpenAI), for two days of invaluable discussion. [Register Now]( ADVERTISEMENT [] Today's leadership [] [Cultivate decency as a leader to create top-notch teams]( [Cultivate decency as a leader to create top-notch teams]( (FG Trade/Getty Images) Leaders must be able to effectively solve problems and be emotionally mature, writes leadership coach Grace Ueng, but they also must have a high DQ, or decency quotient, which creates "a genuine desire to care for those around them." Leadership coach Scott Eblin lays out a blueprint for developing DQ that involves listening to your team, providing them resources and growth opportunities, as well as coaching them and having their backs. Full Story: [Eblin Group]( (8/22), [WRAL TechWire (Raleigh, N.C.)]( (8/22) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [The pandemic changed work, now we must learn forward]( [The pandemic changed work, now we must learn forward]( (Colin Anderson Productions pty ltd/Getty Images) The pandemic created an existential crisis around work that can't be solved with the usual tools -- and certainly not by mandating a return to the office or rejiggering other aspects of work without addressing the underlying question of what gives our jobs meaning, says Heidi Brooks, a senior lecturer at Yale School of Management. "We have to learn our way forward, and to be able to discern what of the challenges in front of you are things that you can meet with familiarity and calm and a sense of competence and what are the things that are new, where you don't necessarily know the answer, and yet your leadership, your presence, is still quite central," Brooks says. Full Story: [Yale Insights]( (8/22) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Pendulum CEO combines science, marketing]( Colleen Cutcliffe, founder and CEO of Pendulum Therapeutics, drew on her training as a biologist when developing the startup, which produces probiotics for gut health, including a probiotic to help people with diabetes control blood glucose levels. "I feel like a lot of my career has been just the grit of learning what people have already discovered, figuring out where there's opportunity to be creative, and then just being really diligent about developing products that have real efficacy behind them," Cutcliffe said. Full Story: [Forbes (tiered subscription model)]( (8/15) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Insights from Fazoli's first franchisee]( Nancy McKenzie signed on as Fazoli's first franchisee in 1991 and at one time had 13 units before paring back to the current four to gain a better work-life balance. McKenzie talks about building a restaurant business in rural Kentucky, weathering economic fluctuations and dietary fads, and outlines her goals for future growth. Full Story: [Nation's Restaurant News (free registration)]( (8/17) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Read the latest from SmartBrief [] - [Managers, not HR, must focus on retaining employees]( SmartBrief/Leadership (8/22) [] - [You may be an ineffective leader if ...]( SmartBrief/Leadership (8/21) [] - [Sexist jokes at work are no laughing matter]( SmartBrief/Leadership (8/18) Free eBooks and Resources Free eBooks and resources brought to you by our sponsors - [Nonverbal Communications Skills -- The 10 Skills You Need to Learn]( - [70+ Excel Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows (Free Cheat Sheet)]( - [Best Practices for Email Etiquette]( - [11 Habits That Will Give You A Complete And Successful Life]( - [Creating Positive Habits - The Ultimate Guide]( [] Diversity & Inclusion Trends [] [Prosperity Market steps up for Black-owned businesses]( Prosperity Market is working to provide funding for Black-owned businesses that are struggling to stay open or relocate through a grant program called It's Bigger Than Us and a partnership with nonprofit lender the Black Cooperative Impact Fund. The groundswell of support for Black-owned businesses in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder has waned somewhat, co-founder Kara Still says. Full Story: [Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription model)]( (8/18) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Stickley CEO: Challenges, successes of hiring refugees]( In the past four decades, Stickley has hired countless refugees, who make up about 50% of its current 1,600 employees in New York. CEO Aminy Audi explains how the company has handled the challenges and highlights the successes: "Not only have we provided stability and opportunity for the refugees we've hired, but our family and our Stickley team have been enriched by the experience of knowing and working alongside our international colleagues. And yes, it's also good business." Full Story: [Furniture Today]( (8/15) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [How to stop the bias against older employees]( Employers can help prevent bias against older employees by conducting training sessions to raise awareness about ageism, making the hiring of older employees part of diversity, equity and inclusion goals and offering reverse mentoring, which involves younger employees sharing knowledge with their older co-workers, writes Kellie Walenciak, global head of marketing and communications at Televerde. "Together, we can break the age barrier, not by ignoring age, but by acknowledging and respecting it in all its diversity and viewing it not as a limitation but as a spectrum of potential," Walenciak writes. Full Story: [StrategicCHRO360]( (8/21) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Does your company focus on employee belonging?]( Help employees feel like they belong by emphasizing the importance of a diverse workforce, seeking employee feedback and responding to it and donating money to charitable causes matching the company's values, writes Keyla Cabret-Lewis, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at Aflac. "Regular touchpoints like town halls, skip-level meetings with senior leaders, employee resource groups, and volunteer opportunities are excellent ways to create a space where employees can interact with leaders, each other, and their communities, ultimately fostering an environment where people can learn and grow together," Cabret-Lewis writes. Full Story: [Fast Company (tiered subscription model)]( (8/18) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [] In terms of creativity, you don't want to play it safe -- it's important to push the boundaries of the art form you're dealing with. [Bernardine Evaristo](, writer [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( LEARN MORE ABOUT NEXTUPâ„¢: [About Us]( | [Events]( | [Regions]( | [Partners]( | [Learning](   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:nextup@smartbrief.com) | [ADVERTISE](mailto:cwarne@smartbrief.com) SmartBrief, a division of Future US LLC © Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036