Must Reads
There is so much to read, so much to know, so many sources to follow. And the volume of news and information just keeps growing exponentially. How to keep up? Even more, how to rediscover the serendipity of learning something new and interesting for its own sake?
Here, for your enjoyment and interest, are the articles Temin and Company considers “must reads.” They are primarily on the topics of reputation and crisis management, the media, leadership and strategy, perception and psychology, self-presentation, science, girls and women, organizational behavior and other articles of interest.
They are listed below with the most recent articles first, and to the side, by category.
We hope you enjoy them and would appreciate your comments. And whenever you have any favorite articles for us to add, please let us know so that we might include them for other readers to enjoy.
There is so much to read, so much to know, so many sources to follow. And the volume of news and information just keeps growing exponentially. How to keep up? Even more, how to rediscover the serendipity of learning something new and interesting for its own sake?
Here, for your enjoyment and interest, are the articles Temin and Company considers “must reads.” They are primarily on the topics of reputation and crisis management, the media, leadership and strategy, perception and psychology, self-presentation, science, girls and women, organizational behavior and other articles of interest.
They are listed below with the most recent articles first, and to the side, by category.
We hope you enjoy them and would appreciate your comments. And whenever you have any favorite articles for us to add, please let us know so that we might include them for other readers to enjoy.
Should Boards Foster Customer-Centricity?
Tony Chapelle, Agenda, June 13, 2016
Many corporate executives and board directors advocate the benefits of the corporate organizational structure known as customer centricity. Rather than organizing a business into product or regional units, about 30% of Fortune 500 companies have set themselves up according to customer segments.
Recently, panelists at the global conference for the WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation discussed the concepts of centricity, customer satisfaction, marketing, loyalty and retention.
Davia Temin, a strategy and reputation consultant and CEO of Temin and Company in New York, says there aren’t many alternatives to being customer-centric in the long run. “It used to be that whether you [just] paid lip service to customer service was between you and the customer,” she says. “But today, when someone walks out of your store and has a bad experience, they can go to Twitter, Facebook or Yik Yak. So the board’s governance muscles have to get strengthened around the customer service experience because it’s a reputational opportunity, but also risk.” […read more]
Period. Full Stop. Point. Whatever It’s Called, It’s Going Out of Style
Dan Bilefsky, The New York Times, June 9, 2016
One of the oldest forms of punctuation may be dying
The period — the full-stop signal we all learn as children, whose use stretches back at least to the Middle Ages — is gradually being felled in the barrage of instant messaging that has become synonymous with the digital age
So says David Crystal, who has written more than 100 books on language and is a former master of original pronunciation at Shakespeare’s Globe theater in London — a man who understands the power of tradition in language […read more]
FOMO: This Is The Best Way To Overcome Fear Of Missing Out
Eric Barker, Barking Up The Wrong Tree, June 5, 2016
You hear about FOMO a lot these days. In fact, the word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013. What does it really mean? A recent study on the subject defined it as: …”the uneasy and sometimes all-consuming feeling that you’re missing out – that your peers are doing, in the know about, or in possession of more or something better than you”. Under this framing of FoMO, nearly three quarters of young adults reported they experienced the phenomenon. It’s certainly not a good thing. […read more]
Unless You’re Oprah, ‘Be Yourself’ Is Terrible Advice.
Adam Grant, The New York Times, June 4, 2016
We are in the Age of Authenticity, where “be yourself” is the defining advice in life, love and career. Authenticity means erasing the gap between what you firmly believe inside and what you reveal to the outside world. But for most people, “be yourself” is actually terrible advice. […read more]
This Is How To Make Good Habits Stick: 6 Secrets From Research
Eric Barker, Barking Up The Wrong Tree, May 29, 2016
We all want to get to the gym, be more productive, be kinder to our loved ones… and then we don’t do it. Why? Well, building solid personal habits can be hard. In fact, research shows it takes an average of 66 days to build a new good habit. But it doesn’t have to be that difficult. This article takes a look at the scientific tricks to building good habits — and ones that stick. […read more]
Social Network Effects in Hiring
Laura W. Geller, Strategy+Business, May 21, 2016
Job seekers are keenly aware that who they know matters. A contact at a prospective employer can push a resume to the top of the pile, put in a good word, or arrange an introductory lunch. Companies, for their part, are happy to oblige. Employee referrals help them cut through the noise, target searches, and save money. Social networks play a positive role in the hiring process. But what can these useful connections tell us about performance on the job? Does the advantage of knowing someone carry over once an individual joins a firm? […read more]
How To Be Persuasive: 7 New Secrets From Hostage Negotiation
Eric Barker, Time, May 17, 2016
We all have to have difficult conversations. And they’d be easier if you knew how to be persuasive. Whether it’s dealing with family members, buying a car or negotiating a raise, persuasion is always a useful skill. But much of what you read doesn’t work in tough scenarios. So this article’s author asked the FBI’s lead international hostage negotiator, Chris Voss, who has handled the most challenging scenarios imaginable — ones where lives are on the line — to share a few of the techniques he uses. […read more]
Hearsay Social Founder: It’s a Huge Mistake for CEOs to Leave Social Media to Millennials
Clara Shih, Fortune, May 16, 2016
To bring about wholesale business transformation, company leaders must personally own and drive Social Business strategy—including and starting with the CEO. This article’s author shares three ways CEOs can do this. […read more]
This Is How To Be Persuasive: 7 New Secrets From Hostage Negotiation
Eric Barker, Barking Up The Wrong Tree, May 15, 2016
Chris Voss, former FBI lead international hostage negotiator and author of the book, “Never Split The Difference,” shares some of the most counterintuitive — and effective — negotiation techniques you’ve never heard about. […read more]
The Morning Risk Report: A Crisis Plan Only Takes You So Far
Ben DiPietro, The Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal, May 10, 2016
Every organization needs a crisis-response plan, but those plans won’t address every situation, while the time to put out a proper response continues to shrink given the growing role social play plays in disseminating news.
So, Johnson & Johnson Corp. is still held up as gold standard for crisis response for the way it handled a nationwide Tylenol recall in 1982, but if the company took three days to respond today it would be roundly criticized, said Davia Temin, chief executive of crisis management firm Temin and Co. “Now, they would be lucky to have five minutes,” she said last week at the Women Corporate Directors conference. “You need a crisis plan, but it would be a huge mistake to think you will follow it.” […read more]