'Ben Thinking' for the week of 10.2
Hi everyone-
Hope you are enjoying the start of the last quarter of the (calendar) year. How could you not? It’s once again an all-out pumpkin spice invasion. It’s everywhere. And you love it. (Yeah. You do.)
It’s also the start of Manufacturing Month here in Ohio…and only two days until National Manufacturing Day (October 6). We’re celebrating with our ‘State of Manufacturing’ survey. Five minutes for your opinion…and you can request the results, for free. Come on. Let’s celebrate together.
You can also read the post from Nancy Spatholt on getting the most out of National Manufacturing Day.
Onto what I’ve ‘ben thinking’ about!
1. 10 strategies for using AI in manufacturing
2. Are you a thinker? An explainer? Are you worried about burnout?
3. Organic search & AI: TL;DR? This is an extensive article (maybe have GAI summarize it for you?) but if you are investing in organic SEO you need to read it. (Or talk with us.) Seems relevant to mention…there’s a workshop for that: The akhia 31-day content challenge. There is never a bad time to revisit your content strategy. We’ll identify the gaps, plug them and have your content strategy (and content) ready for the biggest need(s) – such as organic SEO - and whatever else AI throws at us. Message me to learn what it entails and how it could be customized for you.
4. We are spending 3.5 hours a day emailing. And Gen Z doesn’t even like email. It’s true. Side note: At dinner last night I asked my 17-year-old daughter if she saw my email. She said ‘when did you send it?’ I replied ‘this morning’. She – and her friend eating with us – laughed. My daughter said ‘uh, no…you just sent it. How often do you think I check email??’ I was a tiny bit jealous.
-->October is also National Cyber Security Awareness month. Two reads:
5. How to protect your organization against deepfake content. Add this to the list of headlines that would have made no sense five years ago.
6. Six actions CEOs must take during a cyber attack. And you’ll have about six seconds to do it…
7. Toxic positivity. Three signs your organization is saying ‘This is fine’.
8. For the pod squad: Improve your impromptu speaking from HBR's IdeaCast: We all know that leaders need to captivate audiences and effectively convey their ideas. But not every speaking opportunity can be prepared and practiced. That’s why it’s so important to learn the skill of speaking off-the-cuff, and Matt Abrahams, lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and host of the podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart, has advice to help. He explains how to stay calm in these situations, craft a compelling message, and ensure you’ve made a good impression.
9. Who would’ve thought? Netflix shipped its last DVD on September 29. It shipped its first in 1998. The movie? Beetlejuice.
10. Final thought: It’s my birthday today! I know what you’re thinking: “Oh man I didn’t get you anything!” That’s fine. There’s still time. You can click here to donate to the American Heart Association. I’m participating in their seven-week ‘Leaders of Impact’ program. Any amount is appreciated – we have some lofty goals so we need all the help we can get! Have a great rest of the week everyone,
Ben