Success

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How Brands Can Succeed In The Digital World



In today's world, digital technologies have transformed how brands operate and interact with customers. With the rise of social media, mobile devices, and other digital channels, it has become imperative for brands to have a strong online presence and engage with their customers meaningfully. Brands that navigate the digital landscape successfully can reach a wider audience and build stronger customer relationships.

In this context, brands must understand the key factors contributing to digital success. Here are five ways brands can succeed in the digital world.

Traditional Marketing vs. Digital Marketing


Brands need to be aware of some key differences between traditional and digital marketing strategies to succeed in the digital world. The first thing to recognize is it's no longer a traditional vs. digital marketing world. It's all about being customer first and knowing how they (in their segment) journey through your brand, regardless of what touchpoint they enter. It's about multi-touchpoint marketing and how you drive them across the marketing funnel—from brand awareness to consideration to conversion to loyalty and advocacy.

It's no longer a linear journey. Consumers may come in at any touchpoint. It also realizes that brands are playing the role of conductor. How are you measuring the effectiveness of each channel and then optimizing your results to achieve your goal? Finally, it's a balance between a brand's owned, earned, and paid media.

Personalization


Woman on phone receives personalized content from brands

Personalization is important in today’s digital landscape, and there are some effective ways to tailor marketing messages and content to individual customers. The first thing is to break out your data into customer segments and understand their needs (and the benefits your brand can bring them) and then how they consume media / what channels they are on and everything about them so that you can present your brand as a solution to fit their needs. Then create personalized messaging, content, and offers per segment.

For example, in broad strokes, older audiences will be on Facebook and reading emails, while a younger demographic will typically be on TikTok and Instagram, viewing YouTube Shorts, and getting their marketing messages via opting into SMS text messaging.

Build Trust & Credibility


Young people on their phones laugh at a video from one of their favorite brands

In the digital world, building trust and credibility is essential for brands to succeed. However, it can also be one of the biggest challenges they face. One of the main obstacles is the abundance of fake news, misinformation, and online scams that can damage a brand's reputation. Another challenge is the lack of face-to-face interactions, which can make it harder for customers to trust a brand. Additionally, there is the issue of data privacy, with many customers being concerned about how their personal information is being used.

To overcome these obstacles, brands need to be transparent and honest in their communications and actions, provide quality products or services, and prioritize customer satisfaction. They can also leverage social proof, such as user reviews and testimonials, to build credibility and trust. Moreover, brands should establish a strong online presence and engage with customers regularly through social media and other channels to foster a deeper connection and build a community of loyal customers.

Social Listening


"We listen to our customer" concept (marketing, branding)

Social listening has become a critical component of any brand’s digital strategy. It is important for brands and is often overlooked, even though there are a lot of lower-cost social media management tools that now offer social listening for a fee. Social listening can help brands see what social conversation is happening (and trending) about their brand globally and nationwide. Consistent social conversation volume can help drive brand awareness. Social listening can also help you discover influencers talking about your brand, and you can reach out to them for influencer campaigns/partnerships.

A second way you can use social listening is for customer service. You can see customers discussing issues about a product or if they’re unhappy with a brand. You can respond with corporate communications as needed to customers or use the information to inform your product development and marketing teams. You can also use it for crisis management. I remember being at a Fortune 500 brand, and a licensee had changed the interface of a popular game. Social listening had picked up the noise of angry fans coming to the corporate office to protest. Because we picked this up with our social listening tool, we triggered a corporate crisis plan immediately, and it defused the situation.

Lastly, you can use social listening for real-time analytics at conferences or events. For example, I ran the social media war room for a major gaming brand at E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo). We picked up consumer sentiment on the games and gaming platforms in real time and were able to flex our marketing/PR events and communications in real time to react to our competitors' messaging.

Data & Analytics


Digital marketing / data and analytics concept

Data and analytics have become essential for brands to understand their customers, track their marketing ROI, and optimize their campaigns for maximum impact. Brands can leverage data and analytics in several ways to better understand their customers and improve their marketing efforts.

First, brands can use data analytics to track customer behavior and preferences across multiple channels, such as social media, email, and website interactions. By analyzing this data, brands can identify patterns and trends in customer behavior, preferences, and sentiment toward their brand. This can help brands develop more targeted, personalized marketing campaigns that resonate with their customers.

Second, data analytics can help brands measure the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns and track their return on investment (ROI). By analyzing metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, and sales, brands can determine the most effective campaigns and make data-driven decisions to optimize their marketing spend.

Finally, data analytics can help brands optimize their campaigns for maximum impact. Using A/B testing and other analytical techniques, brands can test different campaign strategies and optimize their messaging, targeting, and creativity to improve engagement and conversions.

In conclusion, the digital landscape provides vast opportunities for brands to connect with their audiences and achieve their marketing goals. By staying attuned to customer feedback, personalizing messaging, leveraging data and analytics to optimize their campaigns, and prioritizing transparency and authenticity, brands can establish a strong digital presence and drive meaningful results. The digital world is constantly evolving, but by keeping these key strategies in mind, brands can stay ahead of the curve and thrive in the digital age.

For a step-by-step guide on how to develop a brand strategy, check out How to Develop a Brand Strategy by Lisa Perry. For more digital marketing insights, follow Dana Long and Lisa Perry.

This article was written by Lisa Perry and Dana Long.

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Beyond The Bottom Line: Key Traits For Future Business Owners’ Success



I am always interested in learning what makes leaders and companies successful. The recent stories of embarrassment with MillerKnoll CEO Andi Owen and James Clarke CEO Clearlink (I will discuss further down the article) had me ask this question again. What qualities go into elite leadership and is it transferable across industries and business sizes? How does one measure leadership?

As one who had an opportunity to lead in multiple industries, I have actual experiences to compare and contrast what we read and see in “real life.” It allows me to see/read about CEOs and their companies and compare them to what I experienced.

One thing I am 100% sure of is that there are specific traits and/or qualities that can serve as a foundation for anyone in any industry and at any level of leadership that are crucial to maximize the business and personal results.

Personal humility and professional will (courtesy of Jim Collins) - The ability to have the resolve to achieve the organizational goals set while also being able to put the needs of the organization and its people ahead of personal ambitions. It comes down to whether you can stay disciplined in the long term while making the tough choices along the way. Will you listen to feedback that allows you to stay humble?

How A Personal Experience Shaped My Future Leadership


Executive/leader sets clear expectations with his employee

In my experience, this is a difficult balancing of will and humility and I was confronted by an employee during one of my roles as president of a division of a large global company. We had an open door policy and the individual couldn’t get her issue resolved with various leaders in the company and she asked if she could speak with me. The HR team was very involved and wanted me to be prepared because no one knew what she was going to share or talk about. As I sat there waiting for the meeting to begin, I was anxious and nervous trying to reflect on something that could come up that would be embarrassing or uncomfortable for the organization that we had not dealt with.

When she arrived, she sat down and said, “Before we start, I wanted to share with you that I don’t always agree with your decisions."

I thought, Oh boy, here we go.

But then she got very reflective and said, “The entire organization knows that only one person can make the decisions and because you do three things, we respect you and trust the decisions. One, you explain to us the need for a decision or change in a way we can appreciate and understand and you allow us to ask questions. Two, you share that several people inside the organization and others outside were 'consulted' about the options and risks/rewards. This," she said, "shows you care about our perspectives and we know that we were empowered to have a voice. Three, you explain the ultimate decision, how you landed on it, and relate it to life choices or decisions so we can relate to the situation in a real way. It allows us to process it and understand the necessity of it and implications if we don’t change."

Those “lessons” have carried with me for over 14 years since this happened, and I have tried to follow that model when big difficult decisions have to be made that disrupt the norm of the business.

What Has Changed In Leadership Focus Coming Through The Pandemic


Female executive/leader communicates with her team during a crisis

Fast forward to today, let’s face it: I didn’t have to have my decisions exposed and debated by millions of others who go on Twitter and other platforms. In the past 3+ years, we have had an extraordinary opportunity to watch, in real time, all sizes of companies and business leaders have to perform in the spotlight. Not only is social media quick to praise or admonish them, but employees are also speaking out and we can see the results in the amount of people changing companies and jobs.

So I ask myself as I study leadership, has it changed what it takes to be a great leader or has it adjusted the percentage of which leadership muscles a leader needs? More importantly, do we have people in these leadership roles that are skilled enough to manage through it? Leadership has been and always will be about how you are able to gain followership because people want to because you have created meaning beyond their job versus having to because they need a job.

I don’t see the leadership transformation necessary to excite employees, engage them in the future you want to see, and above all develop the transparency and trust required. Just recently Andi Owen, CEO of furniture maker MillerKnoll, told employees, “You can visit Pity City, but you cannot live there.” Tone deaf! I understand she is frustrated yet there is no sense of understanding of where her team is. Or how about James Clarke, CEO of Clearlink, a digital/marketing company? He praises an employee for selling her dog to come back to the office and suggested it was unfair for parents to take care of children while on the clock. Wow!

No doubt, It is hard when you are having to communicate over a Zoom call and you cannot read people easily and I respect that. It is just so important to pause before going on a call like that and remind yourself of the outcome you want and know that it could go viral no matter which way you go. CEOs want to inspire, motivate, and improve productivity while employees are clamoring for flexibility, higher pay given inflation, and more feedback not less. Both can be true if you have that as your intention. Sorry, being a CEO is hard.

Employees have made their voices clear and going forward I would argue that beyond knowing how to deliver strategic vision, financial acumen, and commitment to innovation, a business owner/leader has to pay close attention to talent optimization and development along with how authentic, flexible, transparent, and empathic they are. Building a diverse, inclusive culture that allows you to leverage your skills and the collective one of your organization. It means the financial P&L has to balance against the P&L (people and listening) that employees are focused on.

How To Learn About What The Best Are Doing & How You Can Apply It


Leader talks to coworkers

A few recommendations for those of you who are navigating this and unsure where to begin:

1. Find admired companies/leaders who are good at it - Tim Cook (Apple), Safra Katz (Oracle), Rosalind Brewer (Walgreens), Vicki Hollub (Occidental Petroleum) Lisa Su (ADM chipmaker), Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Becky Hammon (coach WNBA/former NBA assistant), and Brian Cornell (Target) are examples to look at. As far as companies, these are all good examples and I would also offer Nike, Korn Ferry, Patagonia, REI, and those that are classified as B-Corps. Just read up on what they are doing and how they are navigating all these challenges. They are not doing it all perfectly but these folks are determined to challenge themselves and their organizations to continue to lead.

2. Books/Newspapers/Podcasts/Webinars - Seek to listen to or read about inspiring leaders and business owners to help you not feel alone in your struggles while also getting real ideas on how to think about handling situations better. Personally, I have tried to focus on brands that I can connect with across platforms and are consistent with their reporting. For me, on business, I love listening to/reading anything WSJ, NPR, Korn Ferry, Vistage Worldwide, and CNBC. When it comes to people I follow, I love podcasts that have a lot of wide-ranging, high-performing people that allow me to do research and follow their work. Some examples of that are The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk, Gary Vee, The Ed Mylett Show, On Purpose with Jay Shetty, and, when she was doing podcasts, Brené Brown. Their books, webinars, and podcasts are all ways I learn more about how to lead in the times we are in both personally and professionally.

As a former CEO and president of four different companies and industries, I am intellectually curious to hear what others have been experiencing and see as the key to great leadership. If you have some thoughts, please share them here, or to my email, [email protected]. As a chair and facilitator, I would love to talk to NH/ME business owners that are interested in discussing how to be a great leader in these times. Our belief is leaders learn best when in a group of non-competing other owners while in a safe confidential environment. If that is of interest, let me know. REALITY ALWAYS WINS. ALWAYS.

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Executive Spotlight: What Defines Good Professional Presence?



Everyone has a professional presence. The question is, do you have a good one? As a professional, your reputation is as important as your skills and experience. Your professional presence is your reputation, what people think when you walk into a room. Developing good professional presence is essential for success. No matter what industry you're in, good professional presence can open the door to new opportunities and pave the way for raises and promotions.

We recently asked our successful executives what defines good professional presence.

Here are their responses...

Michael Willis, Sports Business Operations Executive


The three main ingredients in any executive presence are:

  1. Confidence
  2. Clarity
  3. Credibility

Confidence – The most shining part of executive presence is gravitas—how you act. It means that you show up as inspiring, trustworthy, and capable.

From the start, you must show that you have substance and authority in your talents, knowledge, and skills.

Leaders with gravitas show grace under fire. They are great at handling adversity with a cool head, letting others know that any crisis can be taken.

Clarity – People with poise have a way of talking that transparently engages people.

Executives who have complete command over the goals that need to be reached can communicate and break down elements of the tasks into step-by-step instructions.

Leaders who can communicate effectively develop a personal brand for delivering information.

Credibility – Is the quality of being trusted and believable. In working in the sports business, credibility is paramount.

If fans lose confidence that the games are unfair and non-equitable, the NFL loses the core part of the business—the game.

Michael Willis has 18+ years of experience working with accounting & sports organizations and has managed P&Ls of $10M - $125M+ with budgets of $3M-$50M+. He worked for the NFL for 22 1/2 years, mainly with the game officials working on the financial/accounting side of the business.

Maria Grandone, Director In Higher Education


Professional woman/executive/leader with good professional presence sits at her desk

Good professional presence requires good personal skills that can help you succeed in your career as well as your personal life.

  • Be present – living a life of purpose one must be intentional, passionate, and connected and show that you care.
  • Be open to learning – lifelong learners are eager to learn to advance their skills, try new things, and even learn from their mistakes. Failing forward develops your character—failing 100 times and getting up 200 times is key.
  • Positive attitude – helps facilitate a good work environment and can inspire others to feel the same. This can-do attitude helps others positively contribute to innovation and find solution-oriented opportunities.

I believe you give 100+ percent. Show up, engage, collaborate, and connect with the team. In higher education, it is critical to model the way and inspire a vision that allows for success.

Maria Grandone is dedicated to student access and success, particularly of underrepresented students in higher education. She loves to wake up early to meditate, go for an early morning run, and meet people from all walks of life.

Kathleen Duffy, Founder, CEO, And President Of Duffy Group


Professional/leader with good professional presence talks during a work meeting

A professional presence is your image, your mission, your passion, your values, and your vision. It’s not a logo, a resume, or a profile on LinkedIn or other social media channels. It’s the story of how you solve problems and improve morale or service vs. your credentials—degree or job title.

Developing a strong professional presence can help showcase who you are—your skills, expertise, and passion. It provides a platform for you to establish credibility, helps you inspire and succeed, and establishes you as a thought leader in your field.

There are a few key tenets to keep in mind:

  • Be authentic, representing exactly who you are.
  • Be compelling, so people will want to take notice.
  • Be consistent across all channels of communication.
  • Be transparent—no secrets.
  • And be visible. After all, what good is a strong professional presence if nobody can find you?

Kathleen Duffy is the founder, CEO, and president of Duffy Group. The company's vision is to elevate recruitment research as an alternative to contingent and retained search. Since its founding, Duffy Group has been a remote workplace and a culture of work/life harmony.

Sharon Grace, Executive Recruiter


Professional/leader listens to a coworker during a work meeting

As a seasoned executive recruiter, I have advised many hiring executives and candidates on their image. Professional presence includes feeling and looking your best, embracing a positive mindset, communicating effectively, and being likable. It would help if you gave people reasons to want to meet with you and build a relationship. I suggest six tips when improving one’s professional presence.

  1. Take care of yourself. The benefits of practicing good health and wellness are endless. Being mindful of good health keeps our stress levels low and our energy, focus, and positivity high. When you feel good, you look good.
  2. Be present, engaged, and actively listening. Showing up and being intentional is not always easy. Having the right mindset will help you perform better. Be an active listener with a curious attitude to learning.
  3. Be prepared. An action plan with the desired outcome is a time investment well spent.
  4. Communicate thoughtfully, clearly, and effectively. Clear is kind, and being direct, upfront, and honest is essential. Practice being engaged with those you speak with, and do not meet for the sake of meeting; make it a valuable experience.
  5. Speak in the way you want to be heard. Think before speaking and be in the right mindset. Know your audience.
  6. Look good and take an interest in your appearance. Dressing appropriately is always in style, and never forget to know who your audience is.

Sharon Grace is a veteran search executive who helps hiring leaders hire great people because of her proven track record as a strategic partner and advisor to recruit, identify and assess talent.

Kathryn Marshburn, Music Program Manager


Professionals/executives/businesspeople with good professional presence shake hands

Professional presence in the music industry is different than other industries. As a female executive in the music industry, earning respect is essential and requires putting in the time with teams that are highly sought after and in demand.

Professional presence starts with social media checks and ends with teams liking you.

Many times, just showing up is crucial because the teams, artists, and bands that connect with you personally provide roadmaps to other connections. That said, a few basics that are important include:

  1. Always have exceptional phone manners when receiving invites and say less and listen more.
  2. Show up in appropriate fashion for the moment. (Studios, events, and carpet opportunities require completely different looks.)
  3. Humble, humble, humble would be the word for the night. Be grateful that you are in attendance and thank the host.
  4. Be professional. Do not take pictures or videos when not invited. Keep all time spent as a professional in an invited space.
  5. Do not overindulge in any substance.

If I love a project or something I want to do, I don't do it for money. I do it because I love it. If the budget isn't there, I'll make it work for me and throughout my career. I think that's been a consistent theme. I hear all day long that peers will turn down jobs because the money is not right. Some people will throw away opportunities because of the pay. That's just not how I do business as so many opportunities happen from just being in the room.

To be invited into successful circles, your presence is important no matter what industry you are in, and making sure that you are providing an attractive, positive image is always on trend.

Kathryn Marshburn has spent 12+ years in the music and gaming industries guiding teams on identifying targeted goals with an agile approach resulting in driving revenue and reducing risk.

Ana Smith, Talent Architect & Global Learning Strategist


Young professionals talk during a work meeting

​According to multiple surveys, over 60% of organizations that hire coaches say executive presence is one of the two top purposes for their coaching. Companies see this skill’s value and want their leaders to lead with a strong presence!

So, if it is so critical, what is it? It is defined in different ways for sure, depending on who you ask, yet the definition that I typically go to combines:

  • Character
  • Personality
  • Credibility

And these probably include a wide variety of possible combinations which generate a successful "executive presence." The result is a leader who can command the attention of a room and immediately draw you into their vision and who is set apart from others, allowing you to establish a reputation of respect and knowledge.

Companies and leaders may already know that executive presence is important, but it isn’t a skill that comes naturally for a lot of people.

It takes some time to develop and refine.

So, the most important question is, how can you develop it yourself?

  1. Be self-aware and spend time with other executives you admire. By studying yourself and others, you can train yourself through hard work and discipline.
  2. Inspire your direct reports through clarity and intentional communication, taking the initiative and being a role model for them by keeping a journal, etc. Writing down your goals, plans, and priorities can also help you better understand your emotions and encourage regular self-reflection!
  3. Build relationships, which helps you to connect with others and build trust. By building strong relationships with colleagues, clients (internal and external), and other key stakeholders, you can establish yourself as a leader who is approachable and respected.
  4. Create AND share a clear, compelling vision. One of the most inspiring forms of executive presence is to inspire and share a compelling vision for others to see and follow.
  5. Build trust across different stakeholder groups (i.e., direct reports, peers, next level up, etc.) by keeping your work, and taking the necessary time to build and earn trust.

Building executive presence is probably one of the most complicated things to do in leadership development, therefore don't forget to get a coach, a mentor, and several peers who will be willing to support your development as you will support theirs!

Ana Smith helps people & organizations achieve their full talent potential by developing and co-creating people strategies and customized solutions, and turning them into impactful outcomes and collaborative relationships, using coaching as the "red thread."

Marshall Martin, Director Of Operations


Businesspeople with good professional presence shake hands and talk during a work meeting

Developing a good professional presence is crucial for success in any industry. It is not just about having the right skills and knowledge, but also about presenting oneself in a positive and effective manner. Good professional presence is defined by a combination of qualities, such as:

  • Passion is the driving force behind a person or organization’s work and is essential in creating a positive impact. It exudes optimism and a can-do attitude.
  • Integrity is fundamental in demonstrating honesty, ethical behavior, and trustworthiness. It is essential for building trust and credibility with colleagues and clients alike.
  • Generosity involves giving back to others and contributing to the community. Whether through sharing knowledge or supporting others with our time, talents, and treasure, generosity fosters strong and healthy relationships.
  • Gratitude is recognizing and expressing appreciation for others' contributions. It contributes to creating a positive work culture.
  • Authenticity is being true to oneself and one’s values, maintaining a sense of transparency and honesty in all interactions.

Overall, good professional presence requires intentional effort and self-awareness. By embodying these qualities, individuals can establish themselves as respected and trusted leaders, achieving success and making a positive impact on those around them.

Marshall Martin is a former executive with start-up/entrepreneurial and large multi-national organizations with 20+ years of experience in the delivery of sales, finance, and operations management. His mission is to be a servant leader that connects, creates, and builds innovative ideas and solutions.

Percy Leon, Digital Media Content Executive


Man with good professional presence at work

​In today's competitive business world, having a good professional presence is essential for success. Here are some key characteristics that I feel contribute to a strong professional presence:

  • Confidence: A good professional presence is characterized by confidence. This means having the self-assurance to speak up, take risks, and make decisions. When you exude confidence, others will be more likely to trust and respect you.
  • Communication skills: Communication is an essential part of building a strong professional presence. This includes not only speaking clearly and articulately but also being a good listener and able to communicate effectively in writing.
  • Professionalism: Professionalism is another key characteristic of a good professional presence. This means being reliable, respectful, and trustworthy in your interactions with others. It also means dressing appropriately for the situation and being punctual.
  • Emotional intelligence: Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions and those of others. This is essential for building strong relationships with colleagues and clients.
  • Competence: Finally, a good professional presence is characterized by competence. This means having the skills and knowledge necessary to do your job well and being willing to learn and adapt as needed.

A good professional presence is a combination of confidence, communication skills, professionalism, emotional intelligence, and competence.

By focusing on developing these characteristics, you can build a strong professional presence that will help you in your career.

Percy Leon is a digital media content producer specializing in educational technology and entertainment. He is interested in web3, metaverse, and the use of virtual reality for storytelling.


Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive


Executive/woman with good professional presence at work

I didn’t know much about professional presence until about 2 ½ years ago when I met J.T. O’Donnell. I took her in-depth course on executive presence and learned that it’s about what people see when they come in contact with us. It’s our ability to project gravitas, confidence, competence, poise under pressure, decisiveness, speaking skills, assertiveness, and the ability to read an audience or situation, among other key characteristics. It enables us to build trust, establish credibility, and accelerate outcomes and results. What defines good executive presence is a personal journey and requires work. And that’s what I’ve been doing over the last several years. I did a deep dive into four areas:

  1. Understand My Strengths, Weaknesses, Talents, & Biases
  2. Explore How Peers, Colleagues, Subordinates, & Leaders Perceive Me
  3. Develop An Action Plan To Enhance Executive Presence
  4. Create A Measurement Plan

This process was very enlightening, helping me understand where I was undervaluing myself based on feedback from those who have worked with me. As a result, over the last year, I’ve been able to turn around my executive presence based on the action plan I put together, helping me become a more effective leader, build stronger relationships with others, and achieve greater success at work.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

John Hoffman, Creative Producer


Professionals/employees with good professional presence attend a work meeting

An excellent professional presence is essential for anyone, especially those starting a career path.

It begins with credibility, being present, paying attention, and inspiring confidence in your colleagues.

To build credibility, focus on four simple aspects:

  1. Competence - the ability to do something successfully.
  2. Communication - transfer information succinctly.
  3. Integrity - do what you say, say what you do.
  4. Preparedness - be ready.

Always be willing to learn and improve by asking questions, stepping out of your comfort zone, and being open to feedback. Stay positive, avoid negative language, and have fun. Taking yourself too seriously can be detrimental to your professional presence, so remember to keep it simple and enjoy the journey.

In closing, pay attention to the positive and ask yourself if your actions are helping or harming the task. Then, do these things and develop a professional presence to set you up for success.

John Hoffman has 15+ years of leadership experience creating and producing video content, branded entertainment, PR stunts, and experiential and live events. At his core, he's a storyteller who has mastered the creative map and can scale logistical mountains.

What do you think defines good professional presence? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily's Executive Program.


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Executive Spotlight: What Defines Good Professional Presence?

Executive Spotlight: How To Recover From A Failure At Work



Although we shoot for perfection and success at work, we all experience failure at some point in our careers. Failure can be difficult to handle in a professional setting. Executives and other leaders in the workplace—our mentors, the ones we look up to at work—have all failed. Not only that, but they've recovered from failure and found success in the process.

We recently asked our successful executives how they recover from a failure at work.

Here are their responses...

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive


When I worked at The Disney Channel, one of my jobs was to proof ads. I was the last sign-off before the ad went to press. It was an exciting time as we launched a new campaign in support of a new series. It was quickly dampened when I learned that the ad, which had gone live that morning, had a glaring error I’d missed.

The most forward-thinking companies embrace risk-taking and the possibility of failure. What's wonderful about failure is the learning you receive from it. You learn substantially more from failures than successes. Failures should push you to bounce back and work harder to achieve your goals, making you stronger. Here are three things you should model as a leader within your organization:

1. Lead by Example: Management should share past examples of company failures, suggest new solutions that might work, and receive ideas from others without judgment.

2. Provide a Solution: While failing is okay, managers need to encourage employees to provide solutions to problems and propose an action plan for the next steps. Managers can then review and provide guidance on how best to proceed.

3. Don't Repeat Failures: The key here is to learn from your mistakes, document the learning, establish a process that ensures these failures won't happen again, and share these learnings throughout the organization.

The best advice I received is that failure is a success if we learn from it.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

Lynn Holland, VP Sales & Business Development


Woman stressed about a failure/mistake on the job

As a lover of the outdoors and living within driving distance of Oregon’s Mt. Hood, I was drawn to skiing. I volunteered as a cross-country instructor for an alpine club, then taught for a ski resort, secretly motivated by free lift tickets so I could get better at skiing downhill. Initially, I was afraid of failure and intimidated so when venturing onto harder runs it was natural to lean into the mountain. Yet I quickly learned that when I leaned out, though counterintuitive, I fell less, and I became a better skier.

As an executive, I see leaning out as risking to attempt something new and being aggressive to grow, learn, and accomplish greater things, knowing that along the way I will probably break some stuff. In my mind, as long as I learn from it and bring future success out of it, it has value.

After I launched my first company, leaning out manifested a failure as I negotiated a supply chain partnership to source products globally vs. just domestically. It represented a huge opportunity for my business, but in doing so, I failed to dig deeply into the relationship, the financial chain of custody, and the quality assurance process with each of the individual factories. As a result, my orders experienced missed lead times and material defects that were costly and embarrassing, and I later learned there was another party between my contractual partner and the factories who failed to perform.

This taught me to take full ownership of every aspect of my business and prompted me to implement a four-point policy that helped me select, negotiate, and manage all future partnerships successfully.

Here are some of my learnings about failing in business, recovering from it, and using it to propel our careers:

  • The most accomplished and celebrated leaders and entrepreneurs in history failed many times before they were a success.
  • Always fail while risking to accomplish something great.
  • Always take full ownership of failure to preserve credibility, integrity, and reputation.
  • Root out and take from a failure every available ounce of growth and wisdom into the next goal and keep striving.
  • Read the speech “Man in the Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt to remember to tune out the naysayers, haters, and critics who keep us from attaining greatness.
Lynn Holland is a business development executive with 18+ years of experience taking operational, IoT & retail technologies, products, & consumer engagement to market with a focus in petroleum & convenience retail.

Ana Smith, Talent Architect & Global Learning Strategist


Failure, success concept

When I think about recovering from a failure at work, I always have to ask/think about the context of the culture and psychological safety of the team, the business segment, and the organization where the failure happens.

As leaders or people managers, we play a critical role in how our team members perceive and react to failure when it happens; creating the necessary psychological safety and culture of learning is key to this.

Promoting a growth mindset for our people calibrates how they interpret failure in a completely different way than people with a fixed mindset. Folks with a growth mindset see failure as a signal that they need to put in more effort, try different strategies, or seek feedback and guidance. They use failure as a motivation to improve and grow, rather than as a reason to give up or feel ashamed.

Some examples of how people with a growth mindset view failure include:

  • Failure is only failure if we fail to learn from it
  • Failure is an opportunity to enhance our skills and knowledge
  • Failure is a challenge that pushes us out of our comfort zone

However, having/exercising a growth mindset is not always easy or simple. It requires practice, persistence, and support from your leader/manager.

Bouncing back from failure at work can be hard, but it’s not impossible. There are some steps we can all take to recover from a setback and move forward with confidence.

Some of the steps you/we can take are:

  • Being honest with your superiors and admitting your mistake
  • Don't make excuses or blame others for your failure
  • Find the silver lining (and there's always one!)
  • Learn from your failure

Using failure as an opportunity to improve your skill set and potentially become a better leader.

These steps can help you bounce back from failure at work and show that you are resilient, adaptable, and committed to your goals.

Ana Smith helps people & organizations achieve their full talent potential by developing and co-creating people strategies and customized solutions, and turning them into impactful outcomes and collaborative relationships, using coaching as the "red thread."

Kathryn Marshburn, Music Program Manager


Businesspeople in a meeting upset about a failure at work

Successful executives get used to failure because it provides so much growth and opportunity to learn. Creating a culture of celebrating failure is important and that starts with humility in the workplace.

While I worked for Spotify, Dawn Ostroff, a C-suite executive at Spotify, would share failures, break them down, and celebrate in our town halls (in front of 3000 employees) where we could learn as a team from the mistakes. I remember seeing the title for her presentation and I was so intrigued and teams across the company were inspired. We took notes on how to not repeat those mistakes, lean into them, and forward progression for new strategies.

When a failure occurs:

  1. Accept it with humility
  2. Gather all the facts
  3. Review how we could improve moving forward
  4. Come to the table with a mindset of failures = possibilities

I believe developing your skills in the practice of losing and accepting is a huge educational opportunity, so your skill set includes being put in uncomfortable positions, so that you can get good at rejection. I believe that people are too addicted to positive reinforcement and we could all grow from learning how not to repeat the failure where the next project benefits from the previous failure.

Kathryn Marshburn has spent 12+ years in the music and gaming industries guiding teams on identifying targeted goals with an agile approach resulting in driving revenue and reducing risk.

Michael Willis, Sports Business Operations Executive


Man on laptop shocked, stressed about a failure at work

No one begins a journey with failure as part of their plan. Caution might lurk, but turning back is not an option.

As executives and leaders, we know that failure is part of success. The real work for leaders begins when you must figure out what works and what doesn’t.

The first step is to own the failure. Don’t blame anyone or anything else. Take full responsibility for the failure and the action needed to correct it.

Find the fix, and understand what went wrong.

Test the solution from beginning to end to ensure everything works as planned.

Meet with your team to outline what failed. Inform everyone what was done to solve the problem. And share with the team the new protocols going forward.

In summary, everyone on the team must communicate a breakdown or failed system. Leaders can’t effectively lead with missing information. Leaders need to lead teams that are invested in the end product.

Michael Willis has 18+ years of experience working with accounting & sports organizations and has managed P&Ls of $10M - $125M+ with budgets of $3M-$50M+. He worked for the NFL for 22 1/2 years, mainly with the game officials working on the financial/accounting side of the business.

John Schembari, Senior Education Executive


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to="" evaluate="" =" site_id=19546645 is_animated_gif=false original_size=\"900x615"]

​I like to conduct after-action reviews—or AARs—after failures on the job.

The AAR process is as follows:

  1. What was supposed to happen?
  2. What actually happened?
  3. Why did it happen?
  4. What are we going to do next time?

What I like about the AAR process is that it is not just about identifying a problem but highlighting solutions/next steps which hold me (and others) accountable for change. This works for project-based failures.

When it comes to leadership failures that are often surfaced in 360-degree/other performance reviews, I like to find mentors/resources in that area and discern what is and what is not in my power to address/change.

John Schembari is a current K-12 teacher/school leader academic improvement coach and former school building and district administrator. He loves to draw, travel, swing dance, and read nonfiction.

John Hoffman, Creative Producer


Video production/film team work through a failure

Being a creative producer in the film and live experiential event industry requires handling setbacks, challenges, and adverse conditions. Therefore, the skill of dealing with failure, or redefining it as setbacks on the job, is crucial for success.

To excel as a creative producer, it's essential to understand the primary responsibility of bringing a TV or live event concept to life:

  • Overseeing every aspect of the project
  • Generating ideas to collaborate with production partners and artists
  • Coordinating with all teams involved in all phases of the production process

Maintaining a positive attitude and staying focused on finding solutions is essential, and identifying pitfalls and solving problems is a superpower honed from years of experience. Setbacks can be turned into opportunities for growth and success, but this requires clear communication of expectations to stakeholders and realistic goals.

Instead, by approaching setbacks as opportunities for growth and focusing on finding solutions, creative producers can overcome challenges and succeed in bringing innovative and creative concepts to life.

With experience and agility, you learn to expect the unexpected because failure is not an option for a creative producer.

John Hoffman has 15+ years of leadership experience creating and producing video content, branded entertainment, PR stunts, and experiential and live events. At his core, he's a storyteller who has mastered the creative map and can scale logistical mountains.

How do you recover from a failure at work? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily's Executive Program.

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How To Use The Law Of Attraction In Your Job Search



Our thoughts are magnets that attract the outcomes we are thinking about. Even if you want something desperately, if your thoughts say you will never get it, guess what? You won't. However, if you change your thoughts on achieving it, you will.

This is mostly because if your thoughts are laser-focused on getting or accomplishing something, you will do the right things in order to make it happen.

This principle is commonly known as the Law of Attraction and can be applied to many areas of your life. Whether it's getting well, losing weight, quitting smoking, competing at peak levels, or finding a job, your attitude is crucial to success. Believing you can do something provides the strength and stamina to overcome the obstacles in your path. Positive thinking propels a small engine successfully up a mighty hill.

If you're struggling in your job search, try applying this principle. By changing your thoughts, you will reach your goal. Notice the attitudes and actions of successful job candidates. They are positive and enthusiastic. They keep their heads up high and smile. They believe from the bottom of their being they will get a job. The unsuccessful candidates walk around saying there aren't any jobs, they will never find anything, and other negative thoughts.

So, how can you use the Law of Attraction to find job search success? Follow these seven tips...

7 Ways To Use The Law Of Attraction In Your Job Search


Man lands an interview after using the law of attraction in his job search

1. Think positively. Deep down, not just on the surface. You can't just say you are thinking positively.

2. Believe in you. Don't allow others to bring you down. You have the power.

3. Align what you think and what you do with what you want. It won't work if your actions and thoughts are contradictory to the goal. If you don't think you will get it, you won't do what it takes to get it.

4. Know you are going to get a job. Talk about when you get a job rather than if you get a job.

5. Write down what your ideal job is. Concentrate on it.

6. Imagine doing that job. Use guided imagery to assist in this step.

7. Don't allow yourself to become discouraged. If you do, look for all the positive things in your life, and focus on them.

​As with all things, practice makes perfect. If you aren't used to thinking this way, it will take some getting used to. But continue working on it. Career success will be yours if you do.

"You are a living magnet. What you attract into your life is in harmony with your dominant thoughts." —Brian Tracy

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Fixed vs. Growth Mindset: Which Is Better For Your Business To Stay Relevant And Resilient?



The world of business has changed drastically over the last decade. Large corporations have fallen to the wayside, while smaller businesses with nimble mindsets and the ability to pivot at a moment’s notice have taken their place. In this fast-paced environment, it’s important that you constantly reevaluate your strategies and decide what will give you the advantage over other companies.

There are two mindsets that can either make or break your business: the growth mindset and the fixed mindset. Understanding which one best fits your company can make all the difference when it comes to long-term success.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about these two mindsets, including how they affect your company, how each one can be beneficial for your organization, and which one is better suited for you and your team.

What Is A Growth Mindset?


growth mindset, new ideas concept

A growth mindset is an approach toward business where you believe that every person can learn and improve and that every company can grow and succeed. A growth mindset is based on the idea that we all have the ability to change and grow, given the right environment and tools. A growth mindset will help you to prioritize improvement over instant success, allowing you to constantly evolve and expand your business as needed.

If a growth mindset is the foundation of your business, you’ll be able to pivot and adjust to new information with ease. You’ll be able to take advantage of new opportunities, learn from mistakes, and evolve in response to your customer’s ever-changing needs.

What Is A Fixed Mindset?


fixed mindset concept

A fixed mindset is an approach toward business that believes success can only be attained by having the “right” genetics and experience. A business with a fixed mindset focuses on the past and the need to be perfect. This can be stifling to a company’s growth and can often lead to stagnation.

A fixed mindset can lead to employees who are afraid to make mistakes and who may be holding the company back. A fixed mindset is not constructive; it’s often based on fear. This can lead to employees who avoid change and who refuse to learn new skills, even if those skills would greatly benefit the business.

Why Is Understanding Your Mindset So Important?


mindset to success concept

Both growth and fixed mindsets are necessary for success but in varying degrees. While both mindsets can be beneficial in certain areas of your business, one may be better suited for certain tasks than the other.

For example, a fixed mindset is beneficial for creating highly detailed and accurate long-term strategies. A growth mindset, on the other hand, is beneficial for fixing smaller, day-to-day problems. A business that has employees with both mindsets can work to their advantage. If a team is made up of people who have the ability to shift their mindset as needed, the company can respond to challenges quickly and efficiently.

Which Mindset Is Best For Your Business?


fixed mindset and growth mindset comparison concept

As you begin to examine each mindset and how it can benefit your business, you’ll want to ask yourself a few key questions:

  • Are you trying to get to the top as quickly as possible? Or do you want to build a company that will last?
  • Is your company in a growth or fixed stage right now?
  • Are your employees able to adapt to the needs of their customers?

These questions can help you to decide whether a growth or fixed mindset would be best for your business, given the current state of your company.

Bottom Line


"Your mindset is your biggest asset" message

The world of business has changed, and it’s now more important than ever to be flexible and agile. Companies that can quickly adapt to new information will survive; those that can’t will fall to the wayside.

Whether you’re trying to decide which mindset is the best fit for your company, or you’re trying to inspire your employees to embrace change and grow, the best place to start is by understanding the difference between a fixed and a growth mindset.

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Fixed vs. Growth Mindset: Which Is Better …

Why Failure Is A Key Ingredient For Success



Failure is a negative word. No one wants to fail. Many of us do all we can to avoid the risk of becoming "failures." But have you ever considered what "failure" actually is?

Let's think about it from a different perspective—as another step in life that takes us towards whatever we do next. Not everything we do is going to work out exactly as intended. But if you are failing, you must be the kind of person who is prepared to take some risks. And that means you are far more likely to ultimately reach your potential.

Failure isn't the problem. Fear of failure is. You need to change your perspective and recognize failing can be the key to achieving success.

Failure Is An Effective Teacher


Man on laptop persists after failing

"Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement." —C.S. Lewis

It's easier to learn from failure than from success. It gives you the chance to analyze what's not working and do something about it.

Even if some factors seem to be out of your control, think through what they are. Can you do anything to reduce their impact? Or is there a way of gaining greater control of them?

Failure Makes You Resilient And Persistent


Woman on laptop unafraid to fail

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." —Thomas A. Edison

By failing and then using what you've learned from the experience, you have the potential to become more resilient and more persistent. The more persistent you become, the less likely it is that you'll be emotionally affected by not getting the outcome you hoped for. And that gives you a better perspective for analyzing what needs to be done to move you toward success.

Every "failed attempt" simply becomes a new learning experience to fine-tune your efforts.

Trying And Failing Is Far Better Than Not Trying At All


Happy man becomes successful after experiencing failure

"I knew that if I failed I wouldn't regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying." —Jeff Bezos

If something is worthwhile, it's probably going to take quite a bit of work to achieve. So, build into your plans the expectation that it could require significant effort. But until you try, you will never know. And even if it doesn't work out, you've given it a go and will have learned from the experience.

If you're so busy worrying about failing that you never find the impetus to move forward, then visualize yourself in 12 months' time dealing with a sense of regret for never even attempting it. Which feels worse?

When It's Time To "Fail"


Woman on laptop doesn't let failure phase her

If you're not afraid to fail, it will give you another valuable ability. And that is being able to recognize when giving up on a particular goal is the right course of action.

Perseverance is important and you should never become the type of person who gives up simply because something is harder than you'd expected or taking longer than you'd hoped. But maybe you or your situation has changed and your goal is no longer relevant. Maybe your skills and talents are better off applied elsewhere now that time has moved on. Or perhaps you're doing the same thing over and over again in the vain hope of a different result.

If you've given it your very best shot and it still isn't working, it's time to change your approach. Would you call that failing? Or just applying some common sense about where to direct your energy?

Failure Is An Important Part Of Life


Successful man at work after experiencing failure

Think about your past and you'll probably be able to spot times when making a choice that wasn't successful helped refine your approach and eventually took you toward a better outcome.

Start viewing failure as a learning opportunity, use the lessons you gain from it, and take the first steps to setting yourself up for success.

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Executive Spotlight: The Skills Executives Need To Succeed In Today’s Hybrid Workplace



The workplace looks a lot different today than it did a couple of years ago. With the rise of remote work, many companies have permanently adopted a hybrid work model. This change has impacted employees and management alike. But in order for companies to stay competitive and build on their successes, their executives must develop the skills necessary to lead in today's hybrid workplace.

We recently asked our successful executives what skills they think leaders need to succeed in today's hybrid workplace.

Here are their responses...

Melodie Turk, Learning Experience Executive


Every executive in a hybrid workplace needs a good time management formula.

You need to be able to spend time on your actual deliverables, you need to spend time with your direct reports—not only directing work, but in personal development—you need to spend time with your department or organization, and you need to spend time in strategic planning. This list could continue but plotting out the hours for each time description adds up really quickly, such as 15 hours for deliverables, 5 hours for direct reports, 10 hours for organization, and 3 hours for strategic planning. Now, you only have 7 hours left for ad hoc meetings, innovation, your own development, putting out fires, etc.

Knowing that you need to be more intentional with your time is key. Intentional plotting out your time on your calendar (and sticking to it) is critical. Having others understand your time priorities is essential.

Melodie Turk is a learning experience executive with a unique background in the learning and development arena as well as change management. She is passionate about bringing change to the workplace—change that is meaningful and change that will last.

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive


Executive/leader on laptop manages a hybrid workplace

We’ve seen more changes in the workplace over the last two years than in the previous two decades. In these two years, we’ve learned quite a bit about working remotely including how to enhance leadership skills in this new work environment.

Here are five skills executives need to succeed in today’s hybrid workplace:

1. Communication: Executives need to be great communicators from increased listening skills, more in-depth and personal conversations, focusing on written communication, to enabling informal interactions.

2. Trust: Trust is even more important in today’s hybrid work environment. With less managerial oversight, organizations are empowering employees to do their work. Conversely, employees have had to be confident that work is being assigned fairly.

3. Accountability: Without being able to see people to generate an understanding of their productivity and performance, executives need to hold employees accountable for their outcomes and results.

4. Flexibility: The people who will thrive in a hybrid workplace will not only be flexible. They’ll be agile to adapt to changing circumstances, be creative problem solvers, and have a degree of open-mindedness.

5. Virtual Innovation: A study of Microsoft employees shows how remote work puts productivity and innovation at risk. To drive innovation in a hybrid work environment, have open communication and encourage working sessions.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

Dr. Hannah Hartwell, Learning & Development Executive


Executive/leader sets clear expectations with his employee

The most successful executives who are managing well in today’s hybrid work environment provide clear and consistent expectations. Having clear expectations has always been important, but now even more so. Clear expectations also involve having crucial and vulnerable conversations about any other factors that could impact work. We have all gone through this pandemic together, but people experienced it differently based on their own situations. It’s important to recognize and acknowledge the differences. Have those conversations with your team and ask how you, as the executive, can provide more direction or support.

One of my mentees recently asked me how she can better advocate for herself at work. I asked some probing questions, and her concerns were about expectations. She felt inspired to have a vulnerable conversation with her manager and enthusiastically shared that she knew exactly what was expected of her moving forward. As executives, it’s important for us to open our hybrid office door to facilitate those conversations.

Dr. Hannah Hartwell is a learning and development executive and change management practitioner with 15+ years of business transformation experience in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, higher education, and professional services industries.

Percy Leon, Digital Media Content Executive


Group of executives/leaders work together in a hybrid workplace

Here are some of the most important skills executives need to succeed in today's business world:

1. Communication: The ability to manage remote teams effectively. It's crucial for executives to know how to manage a virtual team.

2. Leadership: The ability to lead change. Executives need to be able to lead their teams through times of change, whether it's a change in the company's direction or a change in the market.

3. Set Boundaries: Make sure they separate work and personal time. Sometimes this can be a challenge if executives also play at the same space they work at.

4. Creativity: The ability to come up with new and innovative ideas. This includes thinking outside the box and coming up with creative solutions to problems and also building their brands.

Percy Leon is a digital media content producer specializing in educational technology and entertainment. He is interested in web3, metaverse, and the use of virtual reality for storytelling.

Andrea Markowski, Marketing Executive


Executive leads a team meeting with hybrid, in-office, and remote employees

In a hybrid environment, there is one thing that is often overlooked: equity.

Imagine: Your team is split, and half you see regularly in person while half are 100% remote. It could be quite easy for you to “forget” the remote folks because, as they say, out of sight, out of mind.

What this means is potentially giving the juicy projects and even more job advancements to team members that you interact with in person, while those who you never see get left out.

Or, those who are in the office more often might have access to more resources, equipment, and even social opportunities than those who work remotely, giving them an advantage.

Managers should make a deliberate effort to be equitable and fair with opportunities in hybrid environments. Greater visibility does not mean that someone is more productive or a higher performer. Be aware of any biased opinions you may hold due to informal, in-person networking.

Andrea Markowski is a marketing director with specializations in strategy development, digital tactics, design thinking, and creative direction. She has superpowers in presentations and public speaking.

What skills do you think executives need to succeed in today's hybrid workplace? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily's Executive Program.

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Executive Spotlight: The Skills Executives Need To …

21 Inspirational Career Quotes



Inspiration lacking this Monday morning? On the job search and feeling blue? Stuck in a career you hate? Not sure what success means to you? You're not alone. Grab a nice, warm cup of coffee and let us help you out.

Light your inner fire with these inspirational career quotes:

1. “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." —Confucius


Inspirational Career Quotes Confucius


2. “It's not what you achieve, it's what you overcome. That's what defines your career." —Carlton Fisk


Inspirational Career Quotes Carlton Fisk


3. “Work to become, not to acquire." —Elbert Hubbard


Inspirational Work Quotes


4. “Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it." —Katherine Whitehorn


Inspirational Work Quotes


5. "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." —Michael Jordan


Inspirational Career Quotes Michael Jordan


6. "Failure doesn't mean you are a failure it just means you haven't succeeded yet." —Robert H. Schuller


Inspirational Quotes About Failure


7. "The best way to predict the future is to create it." —Abraham Lincoln


Inspirational Abraham Lincoln Quotes


8. "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." —Thomas A. Edison


Inspirational Thomas Edison Quotes


9. "I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it." —Lou Holtz


Inspirational Career Quotes


10. "I want to look back on my career and be proud of the work, and be proud that I tried everything." —Jon Stewart


Inspirational Career Quotes Jon Stewart


11. "Dreams are extremely important. You can't do it unless you imagine it." —George Lucas


Inspirational Quotes George Lucas


12. "If you can DREAM it, you can DO it." —Walt Disney


Inspirational Walt Disney Quotes


13. "Desire! That's the one secret of every man's career. Not education. Not being born with hidden talents. Desire." —Johnny Carson


Inspirational Career Quotes


14. "I can not do everything, but I can do something. I must not fail to do the something that I can do." —Helen Keller


Inspirational Career Quotes


15. "A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory." —Arthur Golden


Inspirational Career Quotes


16. "It's not the days in your life, but the life in your days that counts." —Brian White


Inspirational Quotes About Life


17. "Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom." —General George Patton


Inspirational Quotes About Success


18. "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." —Albert Einstein


Inspirational Albert Einstein Quotes


19. "Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment." —Ralph Waldo Emerson


Inspirational Career Quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson


20. "All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure." —Mark Twain


Inspirational Career Quotes About Success


21. "You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do." —Confucius


Inspirational Career Quotes Confucius



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We hope these quotes motivated you. Please share with someone you know who needs a little inspiration right now.


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21 Inspirational Career Quotes

7 (Critical) Steps To Building A Successful SAAS Implementation Team



Back in the day, I owned a marketing agency that was acquired by HubSpot in 2013.

We were purchased because we had a reputation for being technically strong at the ‘website design’ aspects of the HubSpot tools at that time. Now imagine my team and I showing up on day one and attending a week or so of corporate training to learn the lay of the land when it finally dawned on me: HubSpot was about to launch a new content management system (they called it the COS) and it was going to be our job to move the existing customers' websites (all 7,800 of them!) onto the new platform with as little customer impact as possible. Add to that the casual comment, “Oh, and by the way, don’t screw it up. We’re preparing to go public in 16 months.”

Let’s just say this taught me the importance of having a framework for technical implementations.

Before We Dive In, Let’s First Discuss Why The Technical Implementation Framework Is So Important To SAAS Businesses


SaaS graphic

So much effort, energy, resources, and money goes into acquiring customers for any business. And businesses continually focus on reducing their customer acquisition costs (CAC). To make all the effort on the front side of acquiring customers worth it, it’s important to get the new customers “to value” as soon as possible.

If the customer is not successful with the software they just purchased, the business risks not retaining them therefore potentially missing the opportunity of obtaining the optimum lifetime value (LTV) of the customer. Some SAAS companies call it implementation, some call it onboarding. I typically consider implementation to have a more technical setup aspect rather than onboarding which to me is more about getting users logged in and using the software.

Here Are My 7 Critical Steps To Building A Successful Implementation Team At An SAAS Company


SaaS implementation graphic

1. Understand the Needs of the Customer

First, it’s really important to have an idea of what success to the new customer is defined as. What does the customer intend to do with this new software they have purchased? What is the “job to be done” with the software? What are they trying to accomplish and why? You need to understand what problem the purchase of this software solves in order to successfully implement a new customer into being an active user. You’re going to want to focus on the goals of why the customer wants to use your business's software.

2. Define Success Criteria

Now that you understand the problem that is being solved, it’s important to define the path toward the “aha moment” when a customer sees the value in what they have just purchased. You want this clearly defined and you want to get there as fast as possible. That doesn’t mean that the entire system/instance is set up to its fullest capacity, but it does mean that the software is set up or configured or the correct users are added (whatever it is) and the customer can do something that solves the problem they came to your business to solve. For example, in an email marketing tool, it could be the first email sent, or in a CRM, first contact is added. It will depend on the software.

3. Understand the Steps Required to Get the Customer to Success

This may sound obvious, but it’s going to be important to define the steps required to get to that first value. To reuse the email software example it would look something like this: Add new user, define the email’s content, create email, add email recipient, hit send. That's a super simple example but there will likely be many steps involved and it will be important to outline the concurrent steps in order to make sure that you are organized and get to the time to value in as straight a line as possible. This will also allow you to define the repeatable process.

4. Create a Repeatable Process for the Steps Required

Once we've defined the steps you need to distill this down to a repeatable process. You’re going to want to have this well defined and written down. Some teams I’ve worked with have created a checklist of tasks, others keep it relatively fluid and loose, but I recommend keeping it consistent for the sake of customer experience. I encourage you to try and provide a like kind experience for the customer no matter which person on the team helps time implement their software.

5. Define the Skill Set Required to Staff the Team

Now that you have an understanding of the process it’s time to get familiar with the skills sets required to implement customers. As a first step, a mandatory skill set is willingness to communicate with customers, both verbal and written. Believe it or not I have seen people in the position of implementing customers who did not possess strong customer communication skills and admitted to not ‘liking’ talking to customers. Wow. You want people with strong organizational skills as this person will often be multi-tasking many customers in different stages of the implementation at once. Being that this is a SAAS company and is most like some software mediu to strong technical skills are pretty much a must. However, each implementation will vary from different business to business but it’s required that you identify the technical skill set needs and that you find people with the skill set. For example: at HubSpot I ran a team that was implementing websites so we needed people who had some web development design skills as well as a baseline understanding of DNS settings (i.e. GoDaddy).

6. Get an Understanding of the Volume of Work Required to Implement the Customers

With a clear understanding of the job to be done, that definition of first value, process and skill set needs to be laid out by you. We need to figure out the human bandwidth required to implement customer volume coming onto the software. How many customers will need the implementation? In what timeframe? How long does it take to implement a customer? Is there work that the customer needs to do? Will you be waiting on customers as a bottleneck at times? What is the total time required to onboard a customer? These are all questions to think about when trying to determine the overall human capital requirements to successfully implement the customers. Of time, as the process gets more defined, and the people doing the implementations acquire their tool chest of tips, tricks, snippets, tools. They will speed up. You may even find opportunities to use additional software to decrease the time and effort it takes to implement customers.

7. Set up Clear KPIs

I’ve found that you’re going to want clear and attainable KPIs that motivate the team to deliver successful implementation for the customer. I’ve been most successful when measuring the team on what we call the success of the customer. For example, when we were onboarding customers onto websites, the team’s success criteria was 1) to get the customer’s website live in 2) the shortest amount of time possible. That worked well to motivate the team to be swift (quicktime to value) but also solve for the customer’s goals. I’ve had this go wrong on me once when I had set up KPIs that solved for time to completion of a project and that didn’t always end in the happiest customers.

These are my seven steps to building a successful implementation team. Naturally, the specifics will vary across SAAS businesses but I believe this is a trusty road map to follow. If you’re reading this because you’re trying to figure this out at your business don’t hesitate to reach out to me on LinkedIn. I’d be happy to be a resource.

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How A Contra Profile Makes It Easy To Succeed As An Independent



One of the coolest things to happen to me in my business recently has to do with a company called Contra. You know how I always talk about the fact that we are all businesses-of-one? Well, Contra is perfect for us because it’s designed for individuals who want to conduct business as independents.

For example, I am a paid creator on TikTok. So, I use my Contra profile on my Tiktok as my bio link and also within actual Tiktok posts so that the people watching them can connect with me more easily.

Thanks To My Contra Profile, I Closed A Business Deal In 10 Minutes!


@j.t.odonnell How I make it easy for people to do business with me on TikTok. @contrahq #adsponsored #independent #worker #contractor #business #smallbusiness #edutok #careertok #learnontiktok #momoney #moneytok #PepsiApplePieChallenge ♬ FEEL THE GROOVE - Queens Road, Fabian Graetz

Last week, I had a company reach out to me via my Contra profile because they wanted to work with me on some TikTok content. Now, normally I would have to get their email address, work with them back and forth, invoice them, and do all these steps. But with a Contra profile, all I have to do is message them within their platform. Our whole conversation happened inside Contra's platform in a matter of minutes. We negotiated our terms. We even set up the billing on their platform. I have never had such a seamless and easy way to start and manage a business relationship with a company before.

You can watch the video where I explain it above, or on TikTok.

3 Steps To Using A Contra Profile To Get More Independent Work


\u200bJ.T. O'Donnell's Contra profile

Here’s how you can use Contra to get more gigs for your business-of-one!

First, create a Contra profile for free here.

Second, put your unique Contra profile URL in your bio on TikTok, Instagram, or other social media platforms.

Third, turn on the “Work With Me” feature (see above) to make it easy for businesses to contact you. This is where the client reached out and sent me a message explaining exactly what they were looking for. And we were able to message back and forth until we got everything right.

How Using Contra Helps You Keep More Money As An Independent Worker


Contra

Like I've said, I've never had an experience like this with a company where I've been able to negotiate everything in one place. It was just so seamless and created a great experience for me, and more importantly, for the client too. And did I mention that using Contra for your business transactions is free? That's the mind-blowing part. You get to keep all your fees, so check them out. If you want an easier way to work with clients and keep more of your money, using Contra is a smart option.

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How A Contra Profile Makes It Easy …

Is Your Interview Mindset Stopping You From Success?



Henry Ford said it best: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” So, consider this: Is your job search and interview mindset keeping you hopeful or hopeless?

The way you approach a situation has an impact on the result. Your mindset will impact your employment outcome before you ever submit that resume or enter the interview room. Ask yourself...

  • How do you walk into an interview?
  • Do you believe your chances of getting hired are a gamble and therefore don’t even consider preparing for interviews?
  • Do you believe interviewers are the enemy and perceive them as judging you the entire time?
  • Are you so tired, frustrated, or nervous with interviewing that your focus tends to be on just getting it done?

What if you were to think of the interviewers as potential, future co-workers? What if these "new" co-workers were to become your friends? How would you present yourself in an interview then? Is it possible that the interview can be a time where you get to really feel your strength and walk away with new people thinking you were pretty cool?

An interview is YOUR time to shine. The employer has gifted you a set amount of time to showcase what you have to offer. How you come across is completely up to you and will be affected by your mindset.

MINDSET: Confidence


Are you overly confident and arrogant, or are you unsure of yourself and constantly doubting...everything? A shy person doesn’t need to pretend to be the most outgoing person alive. However, if you’re so shy that the interviewers feel like they’re pulling teeth just to get answers out of you, you might as well pay them for doing all the work. For the bold and opinionated, you don’t need to make yourself weak and opinionless.

Remember, though, that the interviewers aren’t your friends and family who already love you; they’re total strangers who need to form an opinion of you so they can narrow their decision on who to hire. Don’t make it easy for the interviewer to decide you aren’t a good fit. Determine your confidence level beforehand and adjust your mindset accordingly for an interview setting. Either fake it until you become confident enough, or remind yourself that there is ALWAYS someone better than you if you need to take it down a few notches.

MINDSET: Interviewers


Woman interviews a remote job candidate

The interviewers want to like you. They need to fill a vacancy and want to be reassured there are good, strong candidates out there. There is no reason why you can’t be that person. No reason. The interviewers can be your friend or your enemy. It’s your choice. I recommend choosing to see them as your walking billboard. Make such an awesome impression on them that they can’t stop raving about you long after you leave. Yes—this does happen.

On the other hand, if your mindset is one of fearing the interviewers or of anger and frustration towards them, this will also be what they remember long after you leave. In the event you apply for another position with them in the future, the chances of you receiving an invitation to interview again will have likely decreased. It’s up to you to start off on the right foot with the right mindset.

MINDSET: The Energy Of Self-Talk


Woman feels anxious before a job interview

What are you telling yourself? Do you believe you are worth having the job you want? Do you really want the job you’re applying for, or do you just want any job? Have you become bitter and now believe all HR personnel are stupid? The energy (or sometimes lack of energy) created by not believing in yourself, by not having your heart in something, or by assuming others are the problem, can be felt on both a conscious and subconscious level.

Think of the times you’ve walked into a room and immediately knew someone was talking about you. We can all sense other people’s energy and they can sense ours. Whatever you tell yourself is likely going to be exactly what you get in return. A shy, scared mindset yields doubt in your ability to perform, and an arrogant mindset yields an immediate wall between you and the interviewers. Show yourself to the world, but remember that no one owes you anything.

If time is of the essence in earning that next paycheck, why waste time on assuming you know everything, believing you can’t achieve what you want, or on blaming others? Your mindset shapes the world you live in. Be mindful and make it the most fantastic place ever. Your future is listening.

We know how difficult it is to have the right mindset in a job interview, especially if you've been struggling to find a job and/or feel trapped, lost, or burned out in your career. That's why we want to help.

We'd love it if you joined our FREE community. It’s a private, online platform where workers, just like you, are coming together to learn and grow into powerful Workplace Renegades.

It's time to find work that makes you feel happy, satisfied, and fulfilled. Join our FREE community today to finally become an empowered business-of-one!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.


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Is Your Interview Mindset Stopping You From …