C-Suite Network™

Menu
Search
Close this search box.

Category: News and Politics

Categories
Culture Industries Investing Marketing News and Politics Personal Development Technology

The 4th Podcast to Reach 1 Billion Downloads

Podcasts are changing the way we communicate

 

 

History in the making

Earlier this year, the “The Ramsey Show” became the 4th show to generate over one billion downloads making history in the podcast industry.

The only other other podcasts that have achieved the same billion + download status are Spotify’s “Joe Rogan Experience“, New York Time’s “The Daily” and iHeart Radio’s “Stuff You Should Know“.

Even Their Audience Broke Records

“The Ramsey Show” is a podcast with host… Dave Ramsey, who invites his audience on a mission to achieve financial freedom and to become debt free.

A mission they have been achieving together in a really significant way.

The show’s audience has paid off over $500 million dollars in debt since the podcast began just 15 years ago!

 

 

 

Their Podcast Was a Major Key to Their Success

“We’re teachers at the core,” said Brian Mayfield, executive vice president of Ramsey Network. “And podcasts are an extremely useful medium, giving us another megaphone to reach people. We’ve never seen anything grow the way the podcast world has grown, so we see tremendous opportunity there to continue to increase our audience.”

The caller-driven show, now in its 29th year, shares practical answers for life’s tough questions from money expert Dave Ramsey and best-selling authors Rachel Cruze, Dr. John Delony, Christy Wright, Ken Coleman, and Anthony ONeal.

“The Ramsey Show” is the third largest nationally syndicated talk radio show in the nation, airing on more than 640 stations across the country. The podcast is consistently one of the most downloaded shows across all major platforms.

Ramsey Network podcasts help people handle their money, navigate relationships, guide their careers, become better leaders, and grow their businesses.

 

How David Ramsey Built a Mass Movement With a Show

Ramsey and his team invite people to take a leap of faith and join them on a journey.

They believe in a world where everyone should live debt free and without fear of their financial situation.  

Who wouldn’t want that?

To date, over 5 million people have taken or attended their financial peace university course to learn practical financial wisdom.

 

The journey is much more powerful than if Dave’s message just said, “Buy my course on budgeting.” The podcast invited people to join something bigger.

Ramsey teaches people to live like no one else, get out of debt, and make money. Because he did it. Reminding everyone that nobody wins without paying a price.

 

The Importance of Telling Your Story

From a very early age, Ramsey understood the value in a day’s work. As a teenager, he started several different business ventures to earn extra pocket money.

His work ethic helped him become a millionaire by the age of 26.

He started flipping houses, and that’s where things took a turn for the worse when his local bank was bought out and the new bank canceled his loan and gave him 60 days to pay back a $2 million dollar line of credit his previous banker had approved in good faith.

At 26 with little assets, he didn’t have $2 million in liquid cash and was forced into bankruptcy to avoid a potential jail time.

Dave was crushed. But developed a new mission in life. To get as many people out of debt as possible to avoid a similar fate.

 

 

Turning Lemon into Lemonade

Since then, he’s created a business empire that revolves around using his previous money mistakes to teach smart money management practices.

Today, millions of Americans have turned to the teachings of Dave Ramsey to guide them along the path to financial security and wealth.

He now has an estimate worth of $55 million, making him living proof than anyone can turn a bad financial situation around.

 

Conclusion

The Ramsey show has become one of the top 4 downloaded podcasts of all time by building up a community of people sharing a journey to overcome and achieve financial independence.

The podcast medium has proven again the potential for creating movements of positive change.  

About Ramsey Solutions

Ramsey Solutions is committed to empowering people in the areas of money, business, leadership and personal development using Biblically based, commonsense principles and education.

Every day, Ramsey Solutions reaches millions with nationally syndicated radio shows and columns, #1 national best-selling books, products and courses and industry-renowned podcasts and video channels. Ramsey Solutions’ world-class speakers and authors give inspiration, practical advice and hope to audiences across the country.

Recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of best places to work in the country, Ramsey Solutions and its team of more than 950 are dedicated to doing work that matters. For more information, visit ramseysolutions.com.

 

 

 

Categories
Best Practices Culture Entrepreneurship Industries News and Politics Personal Development

Fight or Die. The Content Wars

Who will survive the content wars?

 

When was the last time you went online to look for a premium content subscription to pay for?

Not for at least 10 years for most people!

In order to get your business, publishers first have to create content you actual want before they can sell you anything whether via ads or god forbid an actual premium subscription.

For a long time this has been a problem plaguing publishers of all shapes and sizes.

Getting anyones attention these days is no joke.

 

 

The Content Dilemma

When everything consumers want or desire is now only a “google search” away, the battle for their attention has now become the war.

But up until recently the pawns of the war have been traditional media publishers. But that has changed forever.

For example, YouTube is now the second largest search engine with how-to videos.

Podcasts are now exploding in growth with over 900,000 podcasts delivering amazing insights on any topic.

Anyone with a blog is now a “media site.”

In other words, anyone can create and compete in the media game. And so everyone is.

If you have anything to sell. You’re now part of the content wars. Here’s why…

 

The Death of Traditional Media

When  digital content took over, consumers were no longer willing to pay a premium for content the way they did in the past…Why should they it’s free?

For the first time in history, publishers had to ask themselves; what the hell do we actually sell?

Content? That’s what they thought they sold. But the digital age proved that idea wrong.

Publishers of all types, from news to music, are less than pleased that consumers won’t pay a premium price for content anymore.

What they’re learning to understand now is that they never sold content. They just sold access to content, and the price consumers paid was dependent on the cost of the format.

 

The music sector sold records, then tapes, then CDs. Now, they sell the devices to streaming services.

Print publishers sell paper via magazines and books, the content of which, only determines how much paper they can sell off each author or issue.

Publishers simply sell paper in binding form.

Economically, the print media are in the business of marking up paper. Now, traditional publishers are realizing that they never really sold content. They just assumed that’s what the consumer was paying for.

Traditional publishers had a monopoly and ability to the access the information we wanted.

But now that access can be created by anyone who produces content. Traditional media is dead.

 

Music Platforms Don’t Actually Sell Music…

Building an audience in the digital age is about capturing the access point to where consumers consume content. That’s why traditional media can’t keep up.

It can’t move where consumers prefer to consume their information. Take music for example.

Napster (the original digital stream source for music), crashed the music party in 1999 and started giving music away for free.

They attracted the masses onto one platform (illegally) to consumer music the way they wanted it (free).

Then advertisers took note and copied the model, taking over the music industry by controlling the distribution (legally through royalties (that they were willing to pay for on behalf of the consumer).

Now the industry doesn’t care about making money selling music anymore. They pay to give it away instead.

 

Today, iTunes is the new version of the brick-and-mortar record stores of the past.

Apple promotes extremely discounted music to sell Apple’s lucrative products, such as phones, tablets, earbuds. Music is just he bait.

Think about it. How is it that music streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, whose sole business model is to make money from the streaming of music, DON’T ACTUALLY MAKE ANY MONEY selling music?

  • 80% of Pandora’s net revenue comes from the ads playing to people listening to free music.
  • Only 20% comes from users who pay for ad-free listening.

In turn, Pandora pays musicians ridiculously low royalties established in 2016 at $0.00176. For each single song played by a single artist for one million times, the artists grosses $1,760.00. This fee is treated, essentially, as Pandora’s marketing expense.

 

They Sell Ads. Content Is The Bait

The kicker? THEY DON’T EVEN SELL CONTENT! They provide access to it. They pay to give away content for free, in order to sell advertising.

Pandora hasn’t turned a profit since it started in 2000.

After 13 years and 96 million subscribers, Spotify finally reported a profit for the first time in 2019 of $107M. They plan to spend all of it and another $500M to acquire podcast networks to build the same model.

They’re not in the business providing music to customers as that would require consumers to actually pay them for that service.

They are advertising companies, which we allow to advertise to us, in exchange for listening to the music they purchase, just like advertising during television programming.

 

By now you’re wondering, what the hell’s your point?

 

The Rise of Content Marketing

In 1995, internet pioneer, Esther Dyson asked an important question about the burgeoning web.

“What new kinds of content-based value can be created on the internet?”
– Esther Dyson

More than 30 years ago, Dyson observed that as the internet would become more populated with various content, and that the content owner’s intellectual property would depreciate in value.

“The likely best defense for content providers,” she argued, “is to distribute intellectual property free in order to sell services and build relationships.”

What worked in the past, won’t keep working in the future.

In a world with unlimited competition for attention, we must find a way to deliver value to our customers before they ever pitch to sell because if we don’t, someone else will.

The modern era of marketing has been an entire shift from advertising benefits, to teaching what we know to help the most people.

Businesses today are treating their content as the carrot to capture people who may be interested in learning about their field and who may likely become customers.

The Rise of Value-Rich Content


Subject matter experts today are standing out by providing the most useful, easy to find content to create a community around the passion they share for their subject matter.

The term, “content marketing” isn’t new.

It was simply adopted by the marketing industry wishing to put a stake in the ground.

In 2007, the industry wanted to highlight the shift away from annoying traditional interruption advertising to a more mature discipline of differentiated value-oriented content creation that would help people not just sell people.

 

 

78% of CMOs believe custom content creation is the future of marketing in order to sell our products and services in today’s cutthroat digital battlefield.

It’s not surprising, given how it influences 61% of consumer’s buying behavior with a 6x higher conversion rate compared to marketing that does not include a digital content strategy.

Businesses today that produce the most relatable content WIN.

 

With Today’s High-Volume of Experts, You Can’t Move Up If You Don’t Stand Out in YOUR Field!

For more information visit tylerhayzlett.com

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Health and Wellness Human Resources Investing Management Marketing Mergers & Acquisition Negotiations News and Politics Sales Skills Women In Business

Women Leaders: Break Through Your Upper Limits!

Why are some women in business more successful than others? Is it their skills, education, genetics, good looks, hard work, luck, or one of a thousand other reasons? Nope, while these can be contributing factors, beliefs about yourself and what is possible are the fundamental determinants of your success. Your beliefs are your continuous thought processes that dictate your attitudes, actions, and ultimately your outcomes.

If you believe that you can create a successful global business or career, have a happy, fulfilling family life and ideal health you will marshal the resources and opportunities to fulfill those beliefs.

In contrast, if you believe that it is impossible or unrealistic that you could ever write a bestselling book, run a 26.2-mile marathon, make a successful career change or do anything audacious and important to you, you will probably not achieve these grand desires.

However, positive achievements will only happen if you commit and act on those empowering beliefs; even without seeing immediate results. Acting with courage and confidence, you will move beyond the upper limits of what you think is possible and probable into the zone of the unknown and uncomfortable.

Are Your Beliefs Really Serving You?

Some of your beliefs have served you well; however, if there is an area of your life that is not working as you desire, examine what you REALLY believe about it. You may have conscious or unconscious beliefs such as “I’m not good with money”, “If I pursue my interests, I’m being selfish”, “I’m not smart enough, disciplined, connected, or you, the reader can fill in the blanks” that are sabotaging your success.

Break Through Your Upper Limits!

Your “Upper Limits Success Strategy ™” goes beyond “positive thinking” to a new dimension of generating consistent and positive results. As it’s often said, “Success leaves clues.” Model the patterns of what works and what doesn’t work – if you are willing to look carefully. Everyone has their own scotomas or ‘blind spots’; areas where we cannot see all of the opportunities, options, and choices due to rigid, preconceived ways of thinking and viewing the world. Ask yourself, “If there wasn’t an upper limit to my success and happiness, what would I be thinking and doing?” Then think those thoughts and take those actions. Repeat. Get a coach or mentor to help you construct a constellation of empowering beliefs with new habits and an upward spiral of positive momentum will begin to form.

Mastery and Courage Strengthen Your Resolve.

Practice and reinforce your new beliefs and strengthened courage that you can handle anything that comes your way. Learn from your past failures (yes, everyone has them). Do not let them hinder or define you. You now have knowledge about what has not worked for you. New levels of success can change the dynamics in your career, relationships, and your old, preconceived notions of what you can achieve. Yes, there will be unintended consequences and often there is a downside when you get what you want. There may be a loss of privacy if you would like to pursue a political career or extensive travel to build a global business. It is common to avoid being on the world stage for fear of being criticized or risk failing in a public way.

Put yourself on the upward path to success. Be bold and confidently develop strategies and plans to overcome the roadblocks and limits in the way. The world needs for you to succeed, pay it forward and model the way for greatness!

Kathleen Caldwell is the CEO of Caldwell Consulting Group, a business strategist, success hypnotherapist, and founder of the C-Suite Network Women’s Leadership Council ™. Kathleen can be reached at 773.562.1061,  https://c-suitenetwork.com/councils/womens-leadership-council/

https://tinyurl.com/KathleenCaldwellLinkedIn

Copyright 2021. Caldwell Consulting Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Categories
Culture Growth News and Politics Personal Development

We The People Vote But Does It Count?

What happened to our voting system? It used to be that we, the people voted by mailing in our votes before the actual voting day, early vote, or vote at the polls the day of. Sitting in front of our televisions we found out the results of the election that night or early the next morning. No longer do we have a voting day. It is now a voting week or more. We the people voted, but did it count?

This year after the polls closed, the outcome of several positions including The President of the United States is still unknown. We have more technology connected to voting than ever before, yet we did not receive the results faster than when they were hand-counted.

Mail-in Votes

One of the problems causing the delay is allowing mail-in votes after election day. An excuse we are given is that the US Post Office has trouble getting the mailed votes in on time. Though, not an issue in the last decade, somehow it is now. Is it actually a Post Office problem?

A mail-in ballot is available to those who choose this way to cast their votes, by requesting to receive one. People fill out the ballot and mail it in. Obviously, we all know that in election years the official voting day is the first Tuesday in November. We want to be counted so why would anyone wait.

Unnecessarily, we wait for the results. In the past, we required to have the votes in on or by election day. Why we extended this deadline does not compute. Except for this year because of COVID-19, we all know that our taxes are due by April 15th. The IRS is firm on their rulings, so we do not miss the deadline. Why isn’t voting the same way?

Yet, this year we extended our absentee ballot due date. With all this technology we cannot get the votes in on time and counted efficiently. Surely, the voters want their ballot counted so their motivation is to send them in on or before time.

Instead, as the votes are counted, we observe data dumps in which candidate results are flipped. We also notice a number of votes for candidates disappearing during the counting delays. This is not about late absentee ballots coming in. It is about extending the date for accepting ballots, opening up the possibility of adjusting the results. The extra time allows for higher accessibility for tampering to occur.

The People Wait

The delay in getting the election results in itself, creates a problem, the waiting. While Americans are watching the process with no outcome, frustration and insecurity build as we wonder if our votes are counted correctly. We sit and stew, hearing different excuses for what is going on, realizing that our voting system is broken and our voices are not being heard.

In several close races like The President of the United States, results are still not available. That is disturbing. We watch as the process is manipulated, become aware of suspicious count movements, and observe scenes of legal counting procedures not being followed. What does that tell us about the current system?

The People’s Vote

Voting results so far reveal that Americans are split. We as a nation are divided, a major red flag. There is so much discord in our government it has severed the people instead of bringing us together. Again, the dinosaurs in our government are interested in getting their way instead of helping its people.

Is it time to address term limits, pulling out of office those who work around the system, to fight for themselves? The people will have a chance to elect those who understand the focus – the American people. Is it time to dissolve the two parties and have just one?

The Leaders Actions

A glaring tell is during the State of the Union. Each year half of the room sits when the President is speaking while the other half stands since he is in their party. The politicians have lost respect for the office. When our leader speaks, whether you voted for him or not, you stand up. My candidates have not always won but the office of the President is still the office.

You might have noticed that Democrats and Republicans lately have not put up any worthwhile successors. Are there no capable candidate – material people? Possibly, the best candidates choose not to run because, like the police, they are constantly being attacked. These are clues to be aware of. How can the people work together while we watch our leaders pull further apart!

“It is hardly too strong to say that

the Constitution was made to guard the people

 against the dangers of intentions.

There are men in all ages who mean to govern well,

but they mean to govern.

They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.”

– Daniel Webster

In due course, from this election, the American people will realize we are a country divided. We need changes in our legislative system. The House and Senate are fighting on their issues and not solving matters for the people.

The People First

For example, during this year’s campaign one of the biggest issues, at least in the top two is the environment. At a time like this is that such an important issue? What about vital issues like COVID-19, Americans out of work, the supply chain is fractured so products are not available. These are the concerns of the American people. The environment can wait.

The first priority is the American people. Sure, there is an environmental problem and an illegal immigrant problem. Now is not the time to sue each other. Americans are hurting so some matters can wait. Take care of our citizens first and put the rest aside. To our leaders, pull together and help us!

How the People React

The American people have been decidedly vocal about our government, which is our right. Unfortunately, it is to the point of anger turning to violence. If our leaders cannot work together and stop their childish displays of actions and words, what is the likelihood of our citizens changing? I’m talking about the Democrats and the Republicans, it is a whole issue, not a party issue. This is not about what side a voter is on. This is about our American right to decide who we want to vote for. Government processes are taking that right away from us.

 People of America

Our government is not going to change. We, the people produce change. It is our duty to correct our government, admonish our media, and help our citizens. We are in this together and the only ones willing to work on it, the only ones that care about us. The politicians are not going to pull it together. The American people can and must.

“Loyalty to country ALWAYS.

Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”

Mark Twain

Voice of the People to be Heard

We can create change by working together to build each other up and not tear each other down. Riots and protest marches have been tried and do not work. Engaging in verbal and physical fights is not how to fix problems. Only pulling together will produce change.

We start now. It is necessary for us to communicate better with each other. Communication only occurs when the listener understands what the speaker meant, not by interpreting what they thought the speaker meant. When something speaks and you do not agree with them or you feel challenged, don’t judge. Find out where you differ by exchanging information. Nothing will ever become altered if we do not open up conversations among ourselves. To turn our country around, stop pointing fingers and respect each other.

“A patriot must always be ready

 to defend his country against his government.”

Edward Abbey – American author and essayist

We the People

Times have changed. Our leaders are not working for us. It is necessary to pull together to reform our political system. It is our duty to admonish the media, which contrives to keep the people divided. The answer to our problems is up to us, and by working together we reestablish our government.

You are either a solution to a problem or a source of the problem. It starts today! America needs a solution and we the people are it.

Categories
Growth News and Politics Personal Development

Dinosaurs are Running Free and Most are in DC

Just when we thought dinosaurs are extinct, we find that to be false. Theories point to the weather being too hot or too cold, or the sea level dropped, or a large asteroid was the cause of their demise some 65 million years ago. However, we are now aware that dinosaurs are alive, running free, and most of them are in DC.

There is a considerable chance you already guessed that I’m referring to the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. However, you may not agree with my correlation. I’ll walk you through my thought process.

Dinosaurs Aren’t Just Large Reptiles

Ordinarily, the word dinosaur immediately prompts images of large reptiles like Tyrannosaurs, Sauropods, Triceratops, Raptors, etc. The definition of dinosaur is more than that.

There are two definitions of the word dinosaur, the second being; “something that is unwieldy in size, anachronistically outmoded, or unable to adapt to change.” That’s a mouthful so it requires a breakdown in order to fully understand what it states.

The term unwieldy is defined as; unmanageable, uncontrollable, burdensome. Apply that to our senators and representatives. Through their actions, they repeatedly show how they focus on their agenda without taking into account the needs of the people they represent. In their mind, they have a plan and will not listen to other reasoning.

Running Free

The definition of anachronistically is; “something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time.” Members of the house and senate are not able to react quickly to current needs as they assert tactics to get their agendas pushed through.

An approval for say funding for COVID-19 medicine makes it to the floor. One party wants a school funding clause added to it in order for them to vote yes. This fictional example shows what needs to be addressed immediately is hampered by what was their quest before. Dinosaurs are more interested in their overall plan than react to current issues.

Senators and Representatives

This slight exaggeration reveals how both Congress and the House of Representatives are unmanageable, uncontrollable, focused on the past, and disconnected from the needs of the people. That is the definition of a dinosaur.

Most are in DC

Now you understand how I arrived at the statement that dinosaurs are running free and most of them are in DC, let’s check the statistics.  I created two charts; one is the current list of US Senators and the other is the current list of the House of Representatives from Wikipedia.org.

The lists contain the member’s name, the date they assumed the office, and the number of years they have served. I created these charts with only that information since this is not about who people like or dislike, democrats or republicans, not even what state they are from. This is in reference to the amount of time each member has been in office.

Is there a correlation between the amount of time served in an office to the creation of a dinosaur? The charts are shocking as to the number of years some members have served; 19 years, 29 years, 39 years, even 47 years.

The List Reveals Dinosaurs

I scrolled down the list and saw the extended length of service of some in office. This led me to deduce that dinosaurs are running free and most are in DC. Read down the chart and ask yourself, how far down the list do you get before becoming comfortable with the amount of time someone has been in office?

List of US Senators

List of US House of Representatives

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Negotiations News and Politics Sales Skills Women In Business

“Trust Is The Most Vulnerable Victim Of Fake News” – Negotiation Insight

“Fake news’ purpose is to victimize you to altered realities. And trust is the serum that combats it.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert (Click to Tweet)       Click to get the book!

“Trust Is The Most Vulnerable Victim Of Fake News”

Are you a victim of fake news? Be careful how you answer that question. It’ll reveal the perspective and perception you have of the information you consume. And that determines how you live your life. News and information are two factors you use to identify with whom you’ll place your trust. Thus, the reason it’s so impactful. And trust is a factor, that will protect you from, or expose you to being vulnerable to others.

The following are points to be consciously aware of, per the impact that fake news has on your life.

 

Purpose of Fake News

The purpose of fake news is to alter your perspective. Thus, the meaning of fake news in and of itself is not divisive. It adopts a possible sinister effect when it intends to modify your reality and sow discord within you. Worse about the intent to alter your perspective with fake news is the confusion it creates. Thus, in some cases, false stories are planted to produce just enough doubt to cause you to wonder to what degree fake news is real or contrived.

Information

People deliver information with a purpose in mind. And it’s the intent of that message that you should consider when assessing the impact that you’ll allow it to have on you. That raises another point. In some instances, when you’re not consciously aware of the information you’re consuming, you may engage in actions that you’re consciously unaware of – at that point, it would be akin to you, going through the motions. And that’s the point at which you can become vulnerable to the behest of others.

First, as teachers stated, when you were in grade school, pay attention. To that point, heighten your awareness when you suspect someone may be attempting to invade your mental senses with information that doesn’t comport with your feelings. Those feelings might be good or bad.

To increase your perception, ask yourself, what’s the purpose of providing me this information? What actions am I supposed to take after receiving this insight? And, how am I supposed to think differently, now that I have this information, compared to my previous thoughts? The answers may be eye-opening for you.

 

Statements Versus Facts

I remember two friends getting into a heated discussion about the weather when I was in my early teen years. One stated that he’d heard the temperature was going to be 72 degrees that day. The other friend said he’d heard that it would only get to 68 degrees. They went back and forth as to who was right about something that most would say was trivial. The point is, they’d heard forecasts from two different sources. And as I’m sure you know – a forecast is nothing more than a good guess. It’s not the definitive end-all of what an outcome will be.

Some people state facts as certainties. Others pronounce things as facts because of the source from which they get their information. And yet others use misinformation as facts for the divisiveness it creates. The lesson here is, understand someone’s motives for the information they state as being factual.

When you have information in perspective, you can assess its relevancy of importance to other relevant information. That’s another reason you should be mindful of people that present fake or false information per their source. Because, once again, that information will alter your perspective and the way you judge the importance of other information. Thus, fake news could cause you to place less emphasis on a matter than you otherwise would put on it. When unsure of someone’s facts, to the degree that it’s important to you, do your research. And verify the sources of your research information too. That will assist you in not devolving into a more profound sense of uncertainty.

 

Leadership

Even when someone is qualified to lead, or address the endeavors of others, if that person lacks trust, due to fake news perpetrated against them, they stand less of a chance of becoming a leader. If it’s lacking, trust becomes the factor that tilts the scale away from that person, which brings into consideration the degree others will follow them.

Everyone seeks to inspire their followers. If you want others to become inspired by you, deliver consistent messages. That means, don’t state a position one day and adopt a 180-degree stance the next day. People become confused by a lack of consistency. Also, be straight with people. If you must deliver bad news, let people know why it’s terrible. And above all, don’t distribute fake news simply to appease people. Eventually, they’ll see through it and you. As the cliché goes, “you can fool some of the people some of the time. But you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.” At some point, you’re belittling of the truth will catch up with you. And more than likely, you’ll pay a hefty price for the misguided information you spewed.

 

The Blame Game

Fake news, false information, call it the same. As kids, some would deliver untruthful information to absorbed themselves from blame. And those kids became adults that use the same tactic to scurry out of harm’s way today.

When listening to someone’s story, be attentive to what they may be attempting to avoid. Ask yourself, does the story flow logically? Why would others be saying the opposite of what the first person is stating? And question who has what to gain from the stories they’re citing. The blame game can be devastating. But you don’t have to be a victim of it. Avoid it by detaching yourself emotionally from someone’s story. And then assess it.

 

Reflection

To trust your sources of information, you must trust the news you receive. That means being more attuned to what may be fake news. Everyone falls victim to others in their life. If you’re more aware of the information surrounding you, the source of that information, and the intent it’s meant to have on you, you can prevent victimhood from befalling you. Once you do, you’ll have a clearer perspective on reality. And everything will be right with the world.

 

 

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

 

Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

 

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

 

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Negotiation Insight” click here https://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

 

 

#Victim #FakeNews #Trust #csuitenetwork #thoughtcouncil #Bodylanguage #readingbodylanguage #Negotiation #Control #Conversations #NegotiationStrategies #NegotiationProcess #NegotiationSkillsTraining #NegotiationExamples #NegotiationTypes #ReadingBodyLanguage #BodyLanguage #Nonverbal #Negotiate #Business #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #Negotiator #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #BodyLanguageExpert #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #GregWilliams #success #negotiation examples #Negotiation strategies #negotiation process #negotiation skills training #negotiation types #negotiation psychology #Howtowinmore #self-improvement #howtodealwithdifficultpeople #Self-development #Howtocontrolanegotiation #howtobesuccessful #HowToImproveyourself

 

Categories
Biography and History Culture Growth Management News and Politics Personal Development

2019 WOTY and NEOLOGISM…WHAT?

2019 WOTY and Neologism

The Word of the Year for 2019 is “existential” or “climate emergency” or “climate strike” or my personal favorite, “they;” depending on where you search. Each year a group of linguists from different organizations; i.e. Merriam-Webster, Oxford Languages, Collins Dictionary, dictionary.com, and the American Dialect Society, among others, pick their word of the year. Sometimes abbreviated WOTY, the word of the year is a singular word or expression that is significant to the public.

Linguists study the science and utilization of language. Their attention is on public practice of the term or expression and how it interfaces with the real-world. To become the Word of the Year, linguists consider the most searched words, the ones that have a significant spike from the previous year, and do they have lasting potential.

Merriam-Webster

The 2019 Word of the Year for Merriam Webster is they, having a 313% spike in searches over the previous year. Moreover, there is a shift in the way they is used, which lured people to their dictionaries to hunt for the current definition. The first definition states, “those people, animals, or things,” and the second meaning is, “used to refer to people in a general way or to a group of people who are not specified.”

As stated by Merriam-Webster, “English famously lacks a gender-neutral singular pronoun to correspond neatly with singular pronouns like everyone or someone, and as a consequence, they has been used for this purpose for over 600 years.” Now in the place of the word “he or she,” the singular pronoun to use is “them or they,” which is preferred in professional writing.

Oxford Languages and Collins Dictionary

The Oxford Word of the Year for 2019 is climate emergency, and Collins Dictionary chose climate strike.  One of the expressions represents a situation and the other designates an action, so I will address them together. Climate emergency is, “a situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially irreversible environmental damage resulting from it.” Climate strike is “a form of protest in which people absent themselves from education or work in order to join demonstrations demanding action to counter climate change.” Both expressions show that the environment is an ongoing concern being disseminated in the headlines.

dictionary.com

The WOTY for dictionary.com is existential, defined as, “of or relating to existence…concerned with the nature of human existence as determined by the individual’s freely made choices.” The word captures the struggle to survive, as topics of climate change and gun violence dominate our attention. It begs us to ask big questions of, why are we here, and what choices will extend our life beyond our self.

Altogether, dictionary.com added over 300 words, expressions, and acronyms this past year. Known as a neologism, defined as, “a new word, meaning, usage, or phrase; the introduction or use of new words or new senses of existing words.” Linguists consider how current words are being utilized and if used on a massive scale. Though the words have been around a while, in 2019 they were added to the dictionary. Here are a few examples.

Words Added to the Dictionary in 2019

In Conversations:

Deep Dive: “a thorough or comprehensive analysis of a subject or issue.”

Infodump: “a large quantity of backstory, or background information, supplied at once.”

Elevator Pitch: “a brief talk or pitch intended to sell or win approval for something.”

On Social Media:

Shitposting: “a form of trolling when someone ‘posts off-topic,’ false, or offensive contributions to an online forum with the intent to derail the discussions or provoke other participants.”

Crybullies: “a person who self-righteously harasses or intimidates others while playing the victim, especially of a perceived social injustice.”

It’s a good idea to add these two expressions to your vocabulary so you are able to call out people for what they are doing with their social media comments.

As far as acronyms go, here are two dictionary additions: JSYK: “just so you know,” and JOMO: “joy of missing out.”

Past Words of the Year

An interesting exercise is looking up Past Words of the Year to grasp what happened at the time; it’s like a walk-through history.

1992: not! – as in just kidding

1993: information superhighway

1994: cyber, morph

1995: web

1996: mom – as in soccer mom

1997: millennium bug

1998: e- – as in e-mail or e-commerce

1999: Y2K

2000: chad – Florida voting

2001: 9-11

2002: weapons of mass destruction

2003: metrosexual

2004: red state, blue state, purple state – as in 2004 US presidential election

2005: truthiness – from The Colbert Report

2006: plutoed – as in devalued like the planet Pluto

2007: Subprime – below a prime rate

2008: bailout – stock market crash

2009: tweet

2010: app

2011: tergiversate – as in changing opinions like politicians, the stock market, and public polls

2012: hashtag

2013: privacy – Facebook

2014: exposure – having all your information out there

2015: identity – big brother is watching

2016: xenophobia – fear of people of other cultures

2017: fake news – President Trump’s phrase

2018: misinformation – media’s skewed reporting

You can check the definitions of these words on dictionary.com.

American Dialect Society

By the way, The American Dialect Society has been announcing the Word of the Year longer than any organization, and they take it even further. The society chooses the Word for the End of the Decade, Word of the 20th Century, and Word of the Past Millennium. As with the WOTY, we can determine what transpired at that time.

Word of the Decade:      1990s: web        2000s: google (verb)      2010s: they (singular)

Word of the 20th Century:   jazz

Word of the Past Millennium:   she

Examining the Word of the Year provides a history lesson, recalling what happened during that year, and revealing what was the focus. Our language is not a static entity; it requires linguists to update the dictionaries by adding new words, and managing the definitions changed by the times. The English Language is integral for us to communicate, as long as we understand the meaning.

I wonder what the 2020 Word of the Year will be? Maybe it will be hoarding.

Categories
Best Practices Growth News and Politics Personal Development

Has Recycling Proved to Be Overly Tedious and Expensive?

Recently, we enjoyed an article written by Michael Corkery for The New York Times about the escalating waste crisis. Titled “Recycling Efforts Stall as the Cost Skyrockets”, he analytically examines an issue that will soon hit us right in the wallet—the cost of packaging waste disposal.

We want to talk about this because people often ask us, “What is the next big thing?” Well, it’s crucial to be aware of today’s trends in order to understand the business opportunities that present themselves.

China Isn’t Taking it Anymore

In January of 2018, China ceased acceptance of American recyclable materials. The plastics and cardboards they were looking for were mixed with too much waste for recycling to make sense. The nonprofit Recycle Across America’s Mitch Hedlund says, “Recycling has been dysfunctional for a long time. But not many people really noticed when China was our dumping ground.”

Recycling costs continue to skyrocket without a buyer. More recyclable materials end up in landfills, and municipal governments are pressured to raise taxes in order to cover these increased costs and find a better solution. Some cities are actually using incinerators, but residents are worried about air pollution. This is not an effective long-term solution.

Not a Level Playing Field

Producers of CPG products are especially feeling the pressure. Until now, they haven’t had to worry about the cost of recycling or disposing of their packaging. Their argument has two points:

First, they can argue that only a small percentage of customers will actually pay for sustainable alternatives, despite a larger number calling for them. We think this will no longer be the case, especially considering a recent Nielsen report on the subject. If cities start raising taxes to cover waste disposal costs, won’t this mean the consumer pays more for products anyway?

Second, CPG producers argue that they can’t compete with businesses that sell unsustainable packaging options. Yes, industry hates government control, but it seems to be the only thing that could level the playing field. What if disposable packaging was illegal? What if businesses were legally required to use reusable, returnable, or biodegradable options instead?

Confusion

There’s also the debate about what is actually considered “recyclable” or “sustainable”. If a recycling waste company moves their waste offshore instead, will it really be recycled? And if the only recycler in the area significantly raises their rates, what then? Many cities have already started subsidizing recyclers. And, if a type of plastic is turned into materials that can be reused for clothing, for example, what happens to the fibers after that use? Does the plastic residue become a more complicated problem? Now that China isn’t taking our recyclable wastes anymore, it’s suddenly our challenge to reuse them, dispose of them, or just find a better alternative.

“One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure.”

This problem isn’t going away. It will just get worse. The obvious business opportunity that presents itself is to fix this problem.

We write about entrepreneurs who face these issues head-on to get ahead of the curve. Bonnie always says, “If you want to change the world, put a buck on it!” Or, go into business with a solution that’s less expensive than the more unsustainable option.

TerraCycle is an example of how to profit from finding the answer to this problem. They get right to the source. They’ll produce a reusable packaging system to be used by major brands. Their packaging will emerge in the market this year. If you have a sky-high garbage bill, wouldn’t you prefer packaging that doesn’t produce waste?

Synova is another example of a great, profitable solution. They come in at the other end of the process, at refuse facilities. They gasify plastic and bio waste through a proprietary process instead of incineration or burial, and use the resulting gas to produce power. The gas ends up offsetting the cost, therefore eliminating waste!

Just like these trendsetters, we want this article to encourage and inspire CPG companies to address every part of this problem, from packaging choices, to distribution, to collection, to waste elimination and power production. The next big thing is sitting right in your garbage can!

For more, read on: http://c-suitenetworkadvisors.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

 

Categories
Best Practices Culture Growth News and Politics Personal Development

Will Your Employees’ Prejudices and Penchants Hurt Your Company? Subtitle: NEVER BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU!

The Case of Starbucks

Starbucks learned the hard way that their own people can act based on fear, marginalizing an entire group of the human population. Starbucks found out that these actions can reflect negatively on an entire company that relies on everyone, not only a single group of people, for its image, reputation, and ultimately its profit!

Starbucks can’t survive a boycott by those offended. There’s a huge business message to be learned here—People vote with their money. And when a business marginalizes someone, that person will no longer vote in support. We admire Starbucks’s effort to take responsibility by starting a sensitivity program that addresses the issue at hand. But it’s still in their own best interest to do so.

These days, events of this nature can quickly go viral, and dramatically affect business. This startling reality has businesses thinking about their employees’ mindsets and how they represent the company. Hiring based on skills is no longer enough—someone’s mindset can turn business away!

Prejudice in Politics and Business

We’ve made a lot of progress since the Civil Rights Movement’s early days, but the behavior of our top elected officials has led many people to act on their deep-seated prejudices. These people feel that their actions are justified—that they have permission to marginalize others. They see powerful politicians ridiculing, dehumanizing, name-calling, and disrespecting entire groups of the population solely based on religion, race, or national origin—and some people follow this example.

ABC learned this lesson the hard way. After Roseanne Barr’s degrading tweet about Valerie Jarrett went far from unnoticed, ABC was forced to either cancel her program or face protest from advertisers who depend on sales to the whole market, not just one group.

This brings us to the double standard that exists in society today. Unfortunately, it’s “okay” for a politician to make remarks that marginalize people, but not businesses. Businesses are held to a much higher standard of respect, as far as the general public is concerned. It’ll take years for elected officials to be voted out. But Starbucks or ABC? You can vote them out tomorrow!

There’s Good News and Bad News

The bad news is—despite how far we’ve come, fear, prejudice, and stereotyping are all prevalent in our society, with some people going as far as to take action on their prejudices. Maybe they choose to follow news feeds that support their opinions. Maybe they want to take steps backward. Or maybe they truly believe that society is becoming more and more intolerant.

But, the good news is that most businesses have to serve the entire population. Unlike political figures, businesses can’t cater to a small base. Their advertisers, suppliers, and customers hold them accountable for each of their employees’ behavior. Now that we think about it, businesses that want to see everyone as a potential customer have become unintended defenders of civil liberties.

We say, “If you really want to change something, put a buck on it!” Oppressed groups, like LGBTQ+, Latinos, and African Americans, among many others, have become influential economic forces to be reckoned with. Employee sensitivity training may begin by addressing why we depend on one another, how our very existence stems from people of all backgrounds, and why our paychecks rely on each person’s patronage.

If we started thinking of everyone as a customer, maybe we would treat them with more respect. There’s no denying that minorities have financial clout. If one group is marginalized, another group may be next. Simply put—it’s bad business to allow prejudice into the market, period. Don’t ever bite the hand that feeds you!

For more, read on: http://c-suitenetworkadvisors.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

 

 

Categories
Growth Human Resources Management Negotiations News and Politics Skills Women In Business

“The Hidden Role Politics Plays In The Cover-up” – Negotiation Insight

 

“Some people think cover-ups are a necessity of life; others think they’re not. But when politics is involved, always think of covering yourself, less you be the one that’s covered up.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert (Click here to Tweet)

“The Hidden Role Politics Plays In The Cover-up”

He awoke with a feeling of utter disbelief. He’d done everything right by following the guidelines and keeping his superiors abreast of his actions. They’d given him their buy-in as he moved from one aspect of the operations to the next. Still, when the outcome was not as expected, he was abandoned by those that had given him their assurances of support. Even worse, they threw him under the proverbial bus. He didn’t know it at the time, but politics had played a role in his abandonment. There’d been a cover-up. And his betrayal was done to conceal the nefarious actions of others.

Later, he wondered what happened and mused about being a sacrificial lamb. Upon reflection, he realized that he’d been led to slaughter while others kept him in a state of calm. And that occurred through the reassurance that his superiors and contemporaries gave him that he’d be protected. He concluded that politics had played a hidden role in the decision to cast him as the fall-guy. It placed the blame on him for what others touted as an adverse outcome.

Has anything like that ever happened to you? I’m sure you can recount some issues that you experienced in your life that took a side-turn. Just when you thought everything was on the track of success, something occurred to derail it. It may have been politics’ hidden role that served as the culprit.

When a crisis is brewing, warning signs occur. If you miss those signals, you may be walking down a precarious path fraught with danger that’s waiting for your arrival. To become better insulated from the undesirable underbelly that politics can have in uncertain situations, consider the following as you go forward in life.

 

The Political Game:

Most cover-ups occur due to pressure brought from a superior force. And it’s cast upon those that have limited abilities to confront it. Therefore, when you’re the lesser force in the equation, be vigilant about why an entity might abandon you, due to the pressures forced upon them. Therein will lie one of the safeguards you can use to protect yourself.

When politics are involved, people will align with unimaginable sources to safeguard themselves. Consider the forces you might form to shield yourself too. Just keep in mind that no alliance is permanent. Hence, be aware of when they shift. As they do, that’ll be your cue to reassess the forces against you and the possible time to form new alliances.

Mindfulness:

Be mindful of the role you’re playing in someone’s political game. Consider how disposable you are and what the kingmaker’s goals are. You should also take into mind the type of characteristics he possesses. Ask yourself, is he someone that stands behind his words? What proof has he shown of that in the past? What were some of his most dire situations where he stood up for those he represented? And, if so, when did he abandon them?

You’re seeking a roadmap of his past activities that might indicate how he’ll act and react in future situations. That’s important because you’re going to base your interactions with others in his sphere based on his prior actions. Sometimes, that insight will allow you to become insulated from the drudgeries of the politics that might grip him.

Connections:

Connect with those in power while realizing that their power is fluid – just like it’ll flow to them, then through them, one day, it’ll eventually flow away from them. So, be aware of whom you’ll connect with as power shifts. Also, be translucent when doing so. That means you should be cognizant that there are no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, just permanent interests.

Thus, always consider if you’ll align yourself with the power that’s behind the face of power or those that defy that source. To assess which may be better, determine the path to whom authority is flowing, and the probability of it igniting new leadership. Either way, understand the political game you’re in, and you’ll have a better chance of protecting yourself. Accordingly, you need to choose wisely.

Reflection:

No one is immune from injustices. Because justice herself can be an unfaithful mistress. If you think because you do the right thing, by following the rules and keeping interested parties abreast of your actions, you’ll escape harm, think again. Politics make for strange bedfellows. Always remember, those with substantial influence and power don’t want to lose it. To prevent that from occurring, they may combine forces with the most unsavory characters to maintain their authority. And that can leave you in the lurch.

Consider the thoughts and ideas mentioned earlier when you first sense betrayal or shifting support. Even better, attempt not to place yourself in such a position by always being aware of what’s occurring around you. If you’re never in a place where danger lurks, it will never find you … and everything will be right with the world.

 

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

 

Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

 

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

 

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

 

 

#Politics #coverups #role #Negotiate #Business #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #Negotiator #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #BodyLanguageExpert #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #GregWilliams #success #negotiation examples #Negotiation strategies #negotiation process #negotiation skills training #negotiation types #negotiation psychology #Howtowinmore #self-improvement #howtodealwithdifficultpeople #Self-development #Howtocontrolanegotiation #howtobesuccessful #HowToImproveyourself