Oh, hey there! I haven’t seen you since last year!
(Never gets old, my kids tell me. I think they’re just being polite.)
I saw a commercial over break that said the second Friday of January is ‘Quitters Day’. (January 17, this year)
The narrator said ‘it’s real, look it up’. So I did. And they were right. In fact, 80% of people quit their resolutions by that day. Which is why I don’t make resolutions.
But I will list some resolutions that I'd like to be made and never quit.
=I want the NFL to resolve not to make watching football any harder. I shouldn’t need my Little Orphan Annie decoder ring to find where the games are airing.
=I want Timothee Chalamet to resolve to make one movie every year for the rest of his life. He’s that good, period.
=I want movie theaters to resolve to start a movie within 30 minutes of the listed start time. (Looking at you Regal Cinemas!)
= I want people to resolve to stop face-timing in the grocery store. If you’re there, you should be shopping! Get in. Get out.
=I want McDonalds to resolve to just let the McRib go. It was great, once. (For me, the magic was gone once my school started serving their own version of the McRib every other Monday.)
=I want the professional landscapers to resolve to limit the gas-powered blowers to under 120 decibels and run for less than 20 minutes,*
=I want advertisers to resolve to make one commercial without a Kelce.*
=I want grocery chains to resolve to give us universal rules for self-checkout. Can I pick it up from the bin or will I get dinged by the autonomous voice? And why aren’t these SpagettiOs ringing up? *
=I want my smart TV apps to resolve to update when I’m not watching instead of asking me after I turn it on. You had all night to update, TV! Now you want to infringe on MY TIME?*
*from Mike ‘Random Thoughts’ Lawrence (Thanks Mike Lawrence!)
Anything you want to add to this list? Add them in the comments!
Where did all the manufacturing workers go?
The American economy has lost 7.5M manufacturing jobs since the 1970s. So this article is asking is a pretty obvious question: where did they all go?
My question: what does that mean for us now, when we’re facing a potential labor shortage in the manufacturing space? Does it compound a problem? Do we see manufacturing lead the way in more AI/automated resource solutions simply out of necessity? I think we’re going to be talking about this topic a lot more in 2025.
Maybe some went to Land O’Lakes?
This StrategicCHRO360 story is so good…so refreshing. Why? Well, because it explains just how important the ‘basics’ are when it comes to leadership and what will win today more than ever: talent.
The story profiles Julie Sexton, vice president and chief human relations officer at Land O’Lakes. The ideas are modern (AI, anchor days, flex-manufacturing roles) but the ideology and methodology aren’t – they’re rooted in tried-and-true principles.
Personally, I think that’s what we get wrong about principles that work. We think they’re old-fashioned or outdated. Applying them in a way that allows you to do what always been done is the outdated thinking. That approach assumes everything else has stayed the same. And as we all know…nothing is the same for long, anymore.
25 fastest-growing jobs in the U.S.
Wow, this article, from LinkedIn News, has a hell of an opening:
“Professionals are navigating rapid change, and staying ahead of the curve is no easy feat. Recent LinkedIn research shows that 64% of workers feel overwhelmed by the pace of workplace shifts, from navigating AI to managing multi-generational teams. At the same time, U.S. workers’ confidence in their job security is the lowest it's been since the start of the pandemic.”
But I get the need for it. Be afraid for your jobs. And pay attention to these jobs. And selfishly, I’m good with it – I have two teenagers. I need them to be aware of what trees they should be shaking and climbing as they jump into their careers. Because if there’s one thing young professionals know, it’s what they want to spend the rest of their life doing.
Why am I yelling? Well, take a look at the report (referenced in the headline story link) from Eagle Hill Consulting.
Nearly half of U.S. workers anticipate leaving vacation days unused as 2024 ends, highlighting some, uh, sensitive feelings about time-off policies. The reasons for leaving them unused are valid and concerning: high travel costs, workplace culture, lack of back-up. You know what? No. No, I can’t get behind that. As my dad said to me once, there is really NO good reason for leaving vacation days on the table. Even if you take one and do nothing more than sleep in. As we start 2025…less unused days, more commitment to staycations. (And I wonder how many companies will implement minimum use policies?)
Two dates to keep in mind this week. The first is January 17, when the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether or not to uphold a law that would result in a TikTok/ByteDance ban. The second is the deadline set in that law – January 19. ByteDance has until then to decide if it will sell TikTok.
There is so much on the table here – free speech, implications for other Chinese-owned companies, alleged national security. And of course, what it means for folks in our world, the marketers and communicators who leverage this channel. Stay tuned…
Consistency creates mediocrity.
Wait…whaaat? Ok, so I omitted a word to get your attention. The real headline is ‘consistency in customer experience creates mediocrity’.
Still…a little eyebrow raising, right? Not once you get into this actual article from Admired Leadership Field Notes. The point it makes, quite well, is that the real win in customer experience is how you surprise people.*
Or, as our founder used to say – surprise and delight people.
Thanks to Lukas Treu for passing along this article. (Said it made him think of us…awwwww!)
*Only good surprises
I’ve mentioned in this space that I do not use emojis. And while I still don’t in texting…I have used the hell out of them on Teams and now in email.
I’m not sure how I feel about that…but this little guy has saved me a lot of keystrokes and emails over the past 18 months.
Is that a good thing though? What is he really saving me from? The time to reply to someone? The chance to connect?
Now, I have used other emojis a lot too – no offense to you, thumbs up or RED heart (different colors mean different things!!!!). And I’m not sure I like who I’ve become. How do you feel about using emojis in Teams and Email? Time-saver? Adequate substitute? Genuine emotion? Feel guilty but do it anyway?
I’m going to try to make this new section stick. We will see how far I can make it. (Come back to see if I make it past quitters day!)
A local treasure here in Northeast Ohio – Castle Noel – is the personification of the song ‘We need a little Christmas’. They took their Christmas show on the road, to North Carolina. The goal? To bring the holiday spirit to residents affected by Hurricane Helene.
Take a minute to check out the story. (From Fox 8) You’ll be thankful for the feel-good moment.
We all see the devastation of the California wildfires. It’s surreal – and quite honestly, hard to comprehend. My cousin who's based in LA (she’s safe) is volunteering at World Central Kitchen. The organization is providing meals to the front lines. If you’re looking to donate, start by checking them out. But quite honestly, there’s so many ways to give and support. Here is a link to the LAFD’s page that lists a few.
Thank you for reading,
Ben