Author: Franz Malten Buemann

Most entrepreneurs and small business owners are familiar with other people not understanding what the heck you do and why. Your friends ask, “You can make money doing that?” Your parents pester, “Why don’t you just get a ‘real’ job?”Well, I’ve experienced this threefold because I run three small businesses: boutique accounting firm Gratiam Consulting, content creation company The Empowered CPA, and blow dry bar GLAMbar. I get questions not only from friends and family, but also from other business owners, especially when they learn my consulting business is successful enough that I’m turning away clients. “Aren’t you leaving money on the table?” they ask. “Wouldn’t it be easier to focus on growing that one business?Maybe it would be easier, but I wouldn’t have my work life any other way. I love getting to expand my impact through my businesses, helping different types of people in different capacities. Working on a variety of project types keeps me excited about my work by ensuring that no two days are the same, and makes it feel more fulfilling because I’m impacting so many people at different stages of their lives. Plus, I love knowing that I’ve taken a very rigid industry and molded it into something that suits me.But this structure obviously doesn’t come without its challenges, especially since I’m not the type of entrepreneur who is willing to hustle for 80 hours a week. When I left corporate life, it was because I wanted to create more time for my family, my health, and my mental well-being. Even while running three businesses, keeping space for all of that is a priority.I know there are others out there like me: multi-passionate entrepreneurs who have a wealth of business ideas and are determined to find a way to make them all work together. For those people, here are a few strategies that have helped me keep my three companies running (and growing!) without sacrificing the other things I value in life.I Thought Carefully About My Business “Portfolio”I’ll start off by saying that I think the mix of different types of businesses I have—and what they each require from me—is part of what helps me succeed. For one, I didn’t launch three businesses from the get-go. Instead, I worked on my consulting business for a few years and got it to the point where it was fairly stable, with new clients coming in 100 percent from referrals and a solid waitlist, before I turned my attention to another company. I think trying to do business development for three new ventures at once would have been challenging. I also thought carefully about how much each business would need from me week to week. As a client services business in a highly regulated (and deadline-driven) industry, my consulting practice requires the most attention from me and is the least flexible on time. If I tried to take on another business with similar needs, I could see myself burning out fast. Instead, my content creation business leaves me with a lot of flexibility to adjust my schedule when urgent needs come up for my other companies. Similarly, I have a partner in the blow dry bar, which means all the responsibility isn’t on me.I Regularly Remember That Saying No to Some Things Means Saying Yes to OthersIt’s an unfortunate law of the universe that when you add on another business, you don’t get to add on more hours to your day. Instead, I have to constantly remind myself that everything I take on is going to take time away from something else, and that means making hard choices about what I’m going to cut.For instance, when I started my digital content company, I knew that I was going to need five to six hours per week to create this content. If I wanted to do that without sacrificing family or personal time (or sleep), those hours were going to have to come from somewhere else. So I made the tough decision to stop taking on any new consulting clients. That meant leaving money on the table, but I knew it was worth it to me to be able to help more people through digital content, build a more passive income stream, and do it all without working myself into the ground.When considering running multiple businesses, you have to be really, really honest about your time commitments, not only with yourself, but with anyone else relying on you, like a spouse or business partner. Understand what you can and want to bring to the table, as well as what might need to change to make that possible.I Make a Plan (With Plenty of Padding for When the Plan Goes Wrong)It probably goes without saying, but good time management is the key to making all of this work. Each week, I sit down and look at what needs to get done, prioritizing things from least to most flexible.Because they are so important to me, I always make sure I have time for my personal responsibilities first, planning out time for meals, activities with the kids, and time at the gym. Then, I’ll check if there are any tax deadlines coming up for my consulting clients or accounting deadlines for the blow dry bar and carve out the hours I’ll need to do that work. Finally, I’ll see how much time I have left to work on more flexible things, like developing my digital courses.Of course, as every business owner knows, the best laid plans never work as we want them to. So I always build in a lot of padding with the assumption that things will go wrong. I plan with my consulting clients far in advance and set deadlines far before any federal due dates. I also try to always have a few tasks on my plate that can be shifted if an emergency comes up.I Swear by Systems and DelegationThe other cornerstones of my time management are setting up systems to reduce the amount of work I need to do in the future and delegating anything I don’t really need to do myself. For instance, creating an onboarding kit for my consulting clients drastically reduced the amount of time I need to spend on that process, while still giving them the high-touch experience I aim to provide. Also, bringing on an administrative assistant this year ​​has opened up my time to tackle things more beneficial to the goals I’m trying to achieve. I made sure to find someone who was also excited about being involved in a variety of projects so they could help across all my different businesses.Whenever I find myself spending a lot of hours each week doing something, I ask myself: Is there a system I could build to simplify this? Or training documents I could make to hand this off to someone else? Often, I find just a few hours of work operationalizing something can open up tons of time to focus on more valuable things in the future.I’m Constantly Revisiting My “Why”Finally, I’m constantly revisiting my goals for each business and my motivation for building them. Even though I’m proud of the consulting firm I’ve built and the financial stability it’s given me, I know I don’t want to keep growing it right now because I’m also passionate about helping as many entrepreneurs as I can by creating content and digital courses. At the blowdry bar, I get to work with great collaborators on a brilliant business concept—I’d feel foolish walking away from such an amazing opportunity. Thinking about this helps me figure out the right balance of energy to give each company based on what it’s giving back to me.I also think that having a regular pulse on why I started each business will help me tap into the point at which my desires change. We all go through different seasons, and at some point I may decide one of my businesses isn’t for me. Or, I may decide to start yet another one! Whatever decision I make in the future, I know that these tools will help me juggle everything, including the things outside of work that matter most.

submitted by /u/vjb_reddit_scrap [link] [comments]

If you think Pinterest is just a place to find recipes and fine-tune wedding planning details, think again. With over 431 million users coming to Pinterest every month to look for inspiration, Pinterest is an effective platform for building your audience and getting your product in front of potential customers who are ready to buy.

According to a HubSpot Blogs survey of 310 marketing professionals, 39% of marketers said Pinterest generated a high return on investment.
With an effective Pinterest strategy in place, you can generate organic web traffic, create targeted ad campaigns to reach your ideal buyers, and sell directly from the platform. Gather inspiration from these brands who are yielding big results through Pinterest.

Table of Contents:

IKEA
IT Cosmetics
Jonas Paul Eyewear
Michaels
Primally Pure
Mayvenn
Samsung
La Mer
Lavendaire
Golde
The Good Trade

11 Best Brands on Pinterest

1. IKEA
What we like: IKEA’s innovative integration of its lead-generating quiz and Pinterest recommendations.

IKEA is a globally-recognized brand with countless product options and configurations. Shopping for new furniture and houseware can be an overwhelming experience, and IKEA is reducing customer overwhelm through creative Pinterest marketing.
Potential customers can take IKEA’s Renocations quiz to unlock which IKEA items would best suit their home. At the end of the quiz, users are given a Pinterest board of IKEA products they make like, and can then pin the options to their personal boards for inspiration, or shop directly through Pinterest when they’re ready to buy.

This approach works because many customers turn to Pinterest for decorating ideas and to save potential product finds in one place. The integration of product recommendations and pre-populated Pinterest boards is creative and solves a real need for customers who are looking to streamline the furniture buying process.

2. IT Cosmetics
What we like: Savvy keyword targeting.

According to Pinterest, 91% of beauty searches on the platform are unbranded. That means when users are typing beauty-related keywords in search, they aren’t searching for specific brands. Upon learning this statistic, IT Cosmetics implemented a keyword-first Pinterest strategy to reach users who were searching for CC cream on the platform.
This strategy gave the brand the opportunity to be found by users who were interested in learning more about CC cream and other cosmetic products but didn’t yet have loyalty to any specific brand.

Looking through the IT Cosmetics Pinterest account, several pins are optimized to be found in CC cream-related. The brand’s Pinterest content shows its products in action through tutorial-based videos so users can see how the products work in real-time. This approach has helped IT Cosmetics expand its organic reach on Pinterest, and acquire new customers.

3. Jonas Paul Eyewear
What we like: Clear ideal customer identification.

Eyewear brand Jonas Paul makes affordable, on-trend frames for kids and teens. Knowing the ideal potential customers for the brand are parents looking for eyewear for their children, Jonas Paul creates organic and paid Pinterest content specifically for parents.
Implementing this strategy has helped the brand increase web traffic from Pinterest, resulting in higher order value than web visitors from other channels.

4. Michaels
What we like: Seasonal posts and use of Idea Pins.

Pinterest is a great place to find inspiration for your next creative project, so it makes sense that craft store Michaels would perform well on the platform.
The Michaels Pinterest account has a variety of beautiful search-driven posts that are aligned with what users are searching for each season. Content pinned to the Michaels Pinterest account often features videos of seasonal craft projects directly linking to items that can be purchased from Michaels.

The brand also runs keyword-focused holiday campaigns, targeting users who search for terms related to projects that can be executed with products from the store. In addition to driving online conversions, Michaels’ Pinterest efforts have also increased in-store traffic by 8%.

5. Primally Pure
What we like: Educational content to nurture new customers.

Primally Pure is a natural beauty brand that makes non-toxic deodorant and body care products. The brand’s Pinterest account has been one of its key drivers of growth.
On Pinterest, the Primally Pure account is focused on holistic lifestyle education and captures users who want to learn more about skincare and the potential side-effects of conventional product options. With many pins leading back to the company blog where there are in-depth articles on various topics the brand’s ideal customer would be interested in, this inbound marketing approach is an effective way to build trust and educate an audience.

6. Mayvenn
What we like: Video demonstrations of Mayvenn’s various products.

Mayvenn sells affordable hair extensions and related products to hairstylists and salon owners. With this ideal customer in mind, Mayvenn’s Pinterest content has a variety of tutorial-based posts to show stylists how they can use Mayvenn’s products on their clients. In addition to tutorials, Mayvenn shares pins related to hairstyle inspiration that are easily searchable.
The brand also features photos of their products fully styled so users can see exactly how the potential hairstyle they want to create will look.

7. Samsung
What we like: Aspirational product content.

Samsung is a global brand that makes a range of products, but on Pinterest, the brand’s home appliance account truly shines.
Appliances and home inspiration are popular search topics on Pinterest, and Samsung has created an impressive brand account creating beautiful imagery with its products front and center. The brand stays at the forefront of Pinterest’s latest features using video and Idea Pins to showcase how its products work to users who are looking for pins to help them create their dream homes.
The Samsung Home Pinterest account also has boards related to key home-related search topics such as “How to Clean” and “Kitchen Ideas.” The content on these boards consists of organic and user-generated pins that subtly feature Samsung’s products.

8. La Mer
What we like: Cohesive brand identity and Pinterest-exclusive products.

Luxury skincare brand La Mer is known for having high-end products that are often deemed celebrity favorites. The brand leverages Pinterest as a key part of its marketing strategy.
Not only are the visuals on the La Mer account cohesive, but the brand has found creative ways to generate new business through Pinterest. La Mer launched a video ad campaign to showcase the benefits of its products. Users who engaged with the ads were sent product samples to increase engagement and customer reviews.
In addition to its ad strategy and sampling campaign, La Mer has created product sets that are exclusively available through Pinterest, enticing users who discover the brand through Pinterest to make a purchase that isn’t available anywhere else.

9. Lavendaire
What we like: Natural-looking videos showing the company’s products in use.

Lavendaire is a personal development brand that sells journals and apparel. The Lavendaire Pinterest account organically garners three million monthly views to drive traffic to the brand’s products and other content channels.
A particular area where Lavendaire shines on Pinterest is through the creation of Idea Pins. The Idea Pins feature is a primary focus area for Pinterest, and the Lavendaire brand frequently shares new Idea Pins showcasing the company’s journaling products.

With journaling being a high-traffic search term on Pinterest, pins shared by Lavendaire are optimized to show up in journaling-related search results helping Pinterest users find and connect with the brand and community.

10. Golde
What we like: Colorful visuals, and recipe-based content.

Wellness superfood brand Golde has an impressive Pinterest account that features its product line in a variety of ways. The account has video posts that are beautifully shot and feature Golde products used in recipes and tutorials.

In each of the brand’s educational and recipe videos, the pin is linked directly to the product featured helping the brand drive sales from users who are looking for recipe inspiration and new creative ways to use products such as matcha and cacao.

11. The Good Trade
What we like: Organic traffic generation.

The Good Trade is an online publication that covers topics related to sustainability and slow living. The company’s Pinterest account has almost 10 million organic monthly views, which is an impressive feat.
Though The Good Trade doesn’t currently run Pinterest ads, the brand creates pins for all of its articles, generating traffic back to its website.

The brand relies on keywords and hashtags to create pins that can be found through search and has built an engaged audience on Pinterest to convert into readership.
If your company isn’t on Pinterest yet, now is the perfect time to get started. Whether you have an eCommerce business, brick-and-mortar store, or your content is your product – users on Pinterest are likely searching for what you have to offer.

A 2021 Wyzowl report found that the use of video content from brands has increased roughly 25% over the past six years.

Lately, the conversation has been focused on short-form video lately, but interactive video is one we should be talking more about.
Learn what interactive video is, how to create one, and examples from some top brands.

You can use interactive videos for a number of purposes, including increasing engagement, fostering two-way communication, and boosting conversions.
In Q1 2022, we surveyed over 500 global video marketers to ask about their video strategy. Roughly a quarter of marketers surveyed (28%) said they currently leverage interactive content in their videos.
Of those who do leverage it, 8% plan to invest in it more than any other video type.
There are multiple types of interactive videos:

Branched stories – This allows viewers to choose their own path when watching a video and decide what they will watch.
Hotspots – These are clickable areas within a video that allow viewers to discover something new in the video.
Polls and quizzes – You can engage your audience with questions related to the content in your video.
360-degree view – This allows viewers to immerse themselves in the video and get an augmented reality experience.

Interactive video is still relatively new to many marketers with 27% leveraging it for the first time this year. Considering leveraging it? Let’s go over the benefits of this strategy.
Benefits of Interactive Videos
The biggest reason to leverage interactive videos is the high return on investment.
Our video marketing report revealed that interactive video offers the fifth-highest ROI, behind product-related, funny and trendy, and behind-the-scenes videos.
In addition, 47% of marketers surveyed say interactive content is one of the most effective lead generators.
When it comes to engagement, interactive video is also one of the best performers. In fact, 47% of marketers surveyed say interactive content is one of the top three video types that get the most engagement.
This video type can also leave a deeper impression on its viewers. With so many brands fighting for our attention, one way to keep them engaged longer is through interaction.
Doing so can help your brand awareness and recognition, helping you stand out from the competition. In fact, 7% of marketers say interactive video is most likely to go viral.
Lastly, you can gain more insight into your audience through interactive content. Say you include a quiz in your video, not only do you get insights from the video itself (views, time watched, etc) but you also learn more about them through quiz results.
So, you end up getting more data through a single piece of data.
How to Make an Interactive Video
1. Brainstorm your concept.
Before you create your interactive video, you have to build a concept. What will the video be about? What’s the journey you want to take viewers on?
Your answers to these questions should be driven by your marketing objectives. Otherwise, it will be difficult to create a successful concept.
Once you have that sorted out, how will you engage the audience? Given the various types of interactive content you can have, you’ll need to determine which one will work best.
2. Choose your video platform.
The platform you choose will depend on the type of content you’re creating and what you want to accomplish.
Popular interactive video platforms include:

Eko
Verse
Adobe

Once you select the right platform, it’s all about putting the pieces together, creating a draft, reviewing it, and re-editing until you have a great final version.
3. Analyze results.
Once your video goes live, the hard work isn’t done. It’s now time to assess its performance.
During your concept phase, you ideally set some KPIs. If this is your first time creating an interactive video, use your other videos as a benchmark.
This way, you’ll know what numbers to expect and have a baseline to evaluate your results.

Interactive Video Examples
1. Mile 22
To promote this new action movie “Mile 22,” the marketing team behind the film created an immerse, interactive video that allowed you to choose your path and get snippets from the movie based on your selection.

What makes this video interesting is that it doesn’t rely on just the trailer to build excitement. It takes the viewer on the journey of the characters and gives them a peek into how things play out.
2. Sweet Digs
Usually, if you want to catch the latest episode of Sweet Digs, you head to YouTube. However, recently, Refinery29 decided to switch things up with an interactive video instead.

In this interactive video, viewers get a tour of someone’s home, as usual, but this time, they get to make guesses as they watch about costs, designs, and more.
It’s a great way to bring some freshness into an established series and keep viewers engaged.
3. Boursin
Ever wonder what a fridge full of Boursin products looks like? With this interactive video, you can.

This brand reimagines what a food commercial looks like by offering viewers a 360 virtual experience through a fridge.
As the gold carpet guides them through the fridge, the viewer sees various Boursin products and can move the mouse to see other items in the fridge.
Like all new technology, interactive video might have started as a sort of fringe technology that seemed slightly intimidating and inaccessible. Now, that’s changing.
There are lots of exciting things happening in the world of video marketing but interactive video might just be the most exciting of all.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

At some point in your career, you’ll likely quit your job – it’s a normal part of any career. When it does come around, learning how to leave your job on good terms will be key.
However, even though quitting happens all the time. it’s easy to ruffle some feathers during the resignation process and burn bridges.

In this article, you’ll learn how to preserve a healthy relationship with your employer, manager, and colleagues.

Tell your manager first.
Give two weeks’ notice.
Organize your files.
Finish strong.
Offer to train your replacement.
Write a goodbye email to your teammates.
Express gratitude.
Don’t blast your manager, team, or the company.
Give feedback on your experience.

1. Tell your manager first.
With such big news, it’s important that your manager hear this news directly from you first.
Hearing this from someone else can cause unnecessary friction between you and your manager and end your relationship on a sour note. In addition, you don’t want the news to spread until you discussed an exit strategy with your team.
Otherwise, you may get bombarded with questions and concerns regarding the impact of your departure on ongoing projects without a clear path forward.
Instead, inform your colleagues only once you’ve had the conversation with your manager – even those with whom you’re close.
Your company may want to share the news formally through a press release or an email. With this in mind, it’s best to wait for the all-clear.

2. Give at least your two weeks’ notice.
Most people will tell you that it’s standard practice to give your employer notice two weeks ahead of your exit. However, you can actually do so earlier – in some cases, it’s preferred.
If you’re an individual contributor managing one or two projects, two weeks may be appropriate. However, if you’re a manager overseeing multiple high-impact projects, announcing earlier will give your team more time to prepare for your departure and find a replacement.
The earlier you notify your manager, the better impression you will leave, as they will appreciate having a solid window to build a plan for your absence.
A two weeks’ notice letter is a formality, but sending your resignation information to both human resources and your manager clarifies that you’re leaving the company and solidifies the date of your last day.
When you write your two weeks’ notice letter, keep it short and sweet. You don’t need to delve into the reasoning of why you’re leaving or what would’ve made you stay at the company. All you need to do is include three main elements in your resignation letter: the fact that you’re resigning, when you’re last day of work will be, and a brief note of appreciation for the opportunity.
Here’s an example of a resignation letter you can follow:
[Date]
Dear [Manager]
I’m writing to let you know that I’m resigning from my position as [position[ at [company]. My last day will be on [date].
This was a tough decision to make. [Company] has done great things for my career development. I greatly appreciate the amount of time and effort you invested into my professional growth and all the opportunities you gave me.
I will continue to support the team during the next two weeks and am happy to discuss an exit strategy to ensure a smooth transition.
Sincerely,
[Name]
[Signature]

3. Organize your files.
In the days before your departure, make sure to review the projects and files you manage. Are there important documents you should share with your team? Are your files easily referenced? Can someone easily pick up where you left off?
If not, this is the time to do it.
Think of this as the last impression you leave. What do you want people to say once you’ve left? Making things easy for people will make people see you as a valuable, organized team member they were lucky to work with.

4. Finish strong.
While it’s tempting to slack off the last few days on the job, maintaining your productivity will show your team and your manager that you are reliable.
Humans have a recency bias, which means they tend to remember and emphasize the most recent observations about people more than the ones in the distant past.
If you slack off during your final weeks, especially when your team is working on a big project or if you have several important tasks to finish, you’ll leave your team with the burden.
You might be thinking, “Who cares? I won’t be working with them anymore.” While you may not ever return to this company, you could work with your colleagues again somewhere else.
You could also leverage them for future opportunities down the line. With this in mind, you want to keep your foot on the gas until that last day.

5. Offer to train your replacement.
Helping your replacement learn the ropes of your position will accelerate their learning curve and help greatly with the transition. Why do it? Well, it’s an opportunity to display your gratitude to your former employer for the opportunity and ensure they’re not left lost.
It’s an extra step you don’t always need to take (and oftentimes won’t have the opportunity to). However, your generosity will leave a mark on your colleagues and pay off in the future.
If you can’t directly train your replacement, you can write a training guide that covers key processes and contacts.

6. Write a goodbye email to your colleagues.
Out of all your colleagues, you’ll usually grow closest with your teammates. They deserve to know about your future plans directly from you. Seeing your Slack get deactivated is a sour way to find out.
There are a few ways you can do this:

Send a heartfelt goodbye message.
Set 1-on-1 coffee chats to share the news.
Have a group in-person or virtual lunch to announce the news.

Whichever method you select, use that time to discuss positive moments you shared with your teammates and express your gratitude for working alongside them.
You can also give them your personal contact information to stay in touch.

7. Express gratitude.
The people who impacted your career the most deserve a personal thank you.
Even if you didn’t have a close relationship with your manager, their job was to oversee your growth. As such, they likely invested time and effort to help you grow in your career.
As such, take the time to give thanks and express your gratitude. This is especially important if you’d like to use them as a reference for future opportunities.

8. Don’t blast your manager, team, or the company.
When you’re leaving a job, it’s tempting to go on a Twitter rant about all the things you hated about your workplace. Before you do that, take a breath.
In fact, wait a few weeks after leaving your company to share anything on social media. Emotions are usually high when you’re leaving your job and you want to avoid saying something you’ll regret later.
That’s why it’s better to wait a few weeks, once the anxiety and stress have hopefully subsided, and you have a clear mind.
While it’s fine to critique your former company, avoid making unsubstantiated claims, name-calling, or anything that you wouldn’t want a future employer to see.

9. Give feedback on your experience.
If you really want to share constructive criticism with your former manager and employer, an exit interview is the best place to do it.
You’re able to share your thoughts with an HR representative and dive into your experience in this workplace. Many people shy away from the exit interview but don’t be afraid to be candid.
You can be honest about your experience – the good, the bad, and the ugly – while still maintaining your professionalism. Plus, your employer will appreciate you disclosing your concerns in a closed setting instead of on social media.
Regardless of the situation you were in when you left your job, quitting is always nerve-racking. You’ve built relationships with your boss and colleagues and you may be stressed about their reactions. What if your manager gets mad or frustrated at you? Will you seem ungrateful for leaving the opportunity they gave you?
Despite all these scary thoughts, you must remember that you’re almost certainly not the first person who has left the company, and you definitely won’t be the last.
Quitting your job is a delicate process. Taking these steps now to leave on good terms is an investment in your future because you never know who you’ll need down the line.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in July 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Last Updated on May 2, 2022 by Rakesh Gupta Big Idea or Enduring Question: How to auto-remove the permission set or permission set group assignment from the users after a specific date of assignment?  Objectives: After reading this blog, you’ll be able to: Understand the differences between permission set and
The post Assign an Expiration Date to Permission Set or Permission Set Group Assignment appeared first on Automation Champion.

When you think of leadership resources, terms like ROI, budget, and management might come to mind. But the data is in.
There’s a new way to think about leadership. It’s time to focus on the relationships that are essential to business success.

According to a 2021 Gallup report, only 20% of employees feel engaged at work. Low employee engagement is a quality of life issue, and it’s also expensive. Low engagement costs companies $8.1 trillion per year.
Whether you’re starting your first job or managing a tough team, these resources for leadership development can help. These are the tools that can help you thrive both personally and professionally.
While there are many qualities that make someone a great leader, this list focuses on three areas that anyone can use:
Leadership Resources for Empathy
Leadership Resources for Communication
Leadership Resources for Support and Development
Let’s get started.

Leadership Resources for Empathy
Empathy makes it onto every top ten list for leadership qualities. Empathy can improve:

Innovation
Engagement
Retention
Inclusivity

But a 2021 EY study says that 54% of employees left their jobs because of a lack of empathy from their boss.
These resources can help you be a more empathetic and authentic leader. And they can help you whether you’re working to support your teammates or leading your own team.
1. The Radical Candor Framework
Book, Podcast, and Workshops
Price: $18 for the book, cost varies for other services

Commitment: Varies depending on the services you choose
What it offers:
After an important presentation, Kim Scott’s boss, Sheryl Sandberg– yes, the one who wrote Lean In– had some feedback. Harsh feedback. The kind of feedback that stings. But because Scott knew that Sandberg was coming from a compassionate place when giving her feedback, Scott accepted it, moved on, and became better.
Scott took this pivotal interaction and used it to develop a framework for giving better feedback at work. It’s a framework for feedback that embraces both brutal honesty and profound empathy.
Why we like this leadership resource:
The Radical Candor Framework offers worthy advice on how to add empathy to your interactions at work. It’s a useful tool for leaders at any point in their careers.
2. No Straight Path
Podcast
Price: Free

Commitment: 30-50 minutes per week
What it offers:
This new HubSpot podcast hosted by Ashley Menzies Babatunde examines the human stories behind the glossy façade of business leadership.
Instead of drawing a clear line from start to success, Menzies unpacks the ups and downs of life. This podcast talks about how setbacks and unexpected gifts can form a path toward leadership and achievement.
Why we like this free leadership resource:
Tactical business podcasts can often skip the challenges or put a positive spin on hard moments. This show offers a fresh alternative. It emphasizes the quality of empathy not just for others, but also for yourself.
3. LinkedIn Learning
Online courses
Price: $19.99 a month for an annual subscription

Commitment: Course times vary from 20 minutes to 5+ hours
What it offers:
If there’s a professional skill you want to advance, chances are, LinkedIn Learning has a course for it. It offers classes in everything from Excel, to audio production, to coding.
Why we like these resources for leadership development:
Their programming doesn’t just teach traditional ideas about leadership. Top-rated courses in 2021 included:

Unconscious Bias
Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Critical Thinking

4. TED Radio Hour
Podcast
Price: Free

Commitment: About an hour, once a week
What it offers:
Around here, we love a good TED talk. But trying to pick just one out of volumes of valuable presentations is as tricky as trying to pick one thing to watch on Netflix. That’s what makes the TED Radio Hour podcast so valuable.
Why we like this free leadership resource:
It takes some of the most intriguing TED talk topics — like making amends, balancing work, play, and rest, or even gratitude– and builds episodes based on them.
5. Blinkist
Mobile App
Price: $8.34 a month for an annual subscription

Commitment: 15 minutes a day
What it offers:
Blinkist offers bite-sized overviews of the latest non-fiction books that you can read or listen to on your phone. This helps you keep up with the latest research on the topics that are important to the people on your team.
Why we like this leadership resource:
This is a great learning tool for time-strapped professionals. Empathy begins with understanding, and this app makes it easy to recognize challenges and passions that may not be top of mind in your world.
6. Side Hustle Pro
Podcast
Price: Free

Commitment: Each episode is under an hour.
What it offers:
Side Hustle Pro highlights black female entrepreneurs who made their side job a profitable business. Host Nicaila Matthews Okome talks about finance, online business, and marketing. She also covers business trends in fashion, health, and wellness.
Why we like these free leadership resources:
This podcast has more than extensive interviews with business experts, there’s a Bootcamp series too. This is great for new listeners who aren’t sure where to start. The Bootcamp boosts newbies with an ebook, uplifting emails, and an engaged Facebook community. Many of her podcast guests share the challenges that led them to create their products and services.
More resources:
If you’re working on empathy skills on your own, you may enjoy these resources for active listening. Another great choice comes from CompassPoint. They offer online and in-person training for nonprofits and BIPOC leaders.

Leadership Resources for Communication
Communication is another leadership skill that anyone can develop.
But being a great communicator is much more than being funny or well-spoken. Most people think they’re good communicators, but the data disagrees. A 2022 Grammarly and Harris Poll says that businesses lose up to $1.2 trillion a year from ineffective communication.
And only 19% of U.S. employees think that leadership communicates effectively in their organization.
Get ready to improve your communication skills.
7. Toastmasters
Online learning and club membership
Price: Club membership costs $7.50 per month, and includes Pathways learning in the membership fee.

Commitment: Varies, may include attending meetings for one to two hours every one to two weeks.
What it offers:
Public speaking isn’t exactly a requirement for being a strong leader, but as you progress in your career, it might become part of your job (think: presenting at large team meetings or to a board), and it’s a skill that can help set you apart from the pack.
You can join a Toastmasters club and take part in their online learning program. Their resources can step up your skills with advice on topics like:

Presentation skills
Goal setting
Dealing with nervousness and building confidence

Why we like these resources for leadership development:
Toastmasters has been a leader in public speaking since the organization started in the early 1920s. With over 300,000 members and 15,000+ clubs, they offer a large community. They also have a broad range of tools to develop your communication and leadership skills.
8. Rapport Leadership Training
Online and in-person workshops
Price: Courses run from $199-2,595 per course

Commitment: Varies depending on the training you choose
What it offers:
Their focus is intensive 2.5-day courses. Rapport also offers self-guided online learning to work on leadership skills.
Options include:

Cultivating Culture
Emotional Intelligence
Feedback and Coaching

Why we like this leadership resource:
Rapport has 30+ years of experience in principles-focused training. Their intensive courses focus on applying new skills to real-life situations. Rapport online classes also include a range of different media to support unique learning styles.
9. Bunch
Mobile app
Price: Free

Commitment: Two minutes a day.
What it offers:
This coaching app is a simple way to add leadership learning to your busy schedule. It offers quick daily leadership tips. They also have leadership style quizzes and targeted suggestions for deeper learning.
Why we like this leadership resource:
This app personalizes the experience of learning. Instead of giving general tips, they work to align their content with your main interests. Bunch also offers a podcast, a blog, and an active Slack community for extra support when you want it.
10. Simon Sinek’s InspireU
Online courses
Price: Course fees range from $40-250, and there is also a free podcast.

Commitment: Course times run from under 25 minutes to 90+ minutes.
What it offers:
Live and on-demand online courses that cover Sinek’s teachings from his books. They also have resources for self-care and leadership from a range of experts. His popular “Start with Why” course includes both solo and partner exercises.
Why we like these leadership resources:
Sinek’s philosophies have influenced leadership thinking since his Ted Talk in 2009. This course focuses on the value of inspiration in leadership. If you are struggling with motivating yourself or your team, this could be a great resource to recharge.
11. MindTools
Club with access to exclusive resources
Price: Limited free access, and $27 per month for membership.

Commitment: Varies depending on the training you choose
What it offers:
Mindtools offers hundreds of resources for communication including:

Short trainings
Expert interviews
Book synopsis

Why we like these resources for leadership development:
Mindtools includes both personal and organizational learning modules. This can help you no matter what your leadership challenges are. Their free tools for communication alone contain a wealth of tools for growth.
Whether you want to dig into value propositions and body language or get the basics of giving feedback, Mindtools is a great resource for leadership development.
More resources:
The GLSNext mobile app offers insights from business leaders in videos, blogs, and podcasts.

Leadership Resources for Support and Development
Leaders are only as great as their team. It takes time and experience to support today’s workplace.
Do you want to build skills and business acumen? Are you curious about leadership philosophy? Do you want to grow your own business? Are you hoping to influence people where you work?
These leadership tools can help you understand and prepare for the challenges that might lay ahead. They can help you whether you’re leading from the top down or the bottom up.
12. Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead Hub
Book, Videos, Podcast, Workbook, and Training
Price: The book costs $20. Training costs vary by the facilitator.

Commitment: Varies depending on the resource you choose
What it offers:
Brown writes powerful books that can help you better understand how to lead. Her site also has hubs that enable a more intensive exploration of the themes in her books.
This includes the “Dare to Lead” hub, which offers a video, workbook, assessment, and other tools for aspiring leaders.
Why we like these resources for leadership development:
Sometimes, it feels like we have to know everything to be a leader. We have to learn how to manage projects, delegate tasks, and analyze outcomes. But then, there are the leadership lessons that don’t always get the biggest headlines, like learning to be accountable and embrace vulnerability.
Taking risks requires some degree of becoming vulnerable, and strong leaders know when to take calculated risks. But that doesn’t just apply to work leadership — Brown’s resources also explore how vulnerability and courage can help in other areas of life.
13. HubSpot Academy
Online courses
Price: Free

Commitment: Varies depending on the resource you choose
What it offers:
HubSpot Academy is best known for its excellent certification programs in Inbound Marketing, Sales, Social Media Marketing, and Content Marketing. But it doesn’t stop there. This leadership resource also offers 100+ lessons, courses, and learning paths to support leaders in every facet of business operations.
Why we like these free leadership resources:
The HubSpot team is constantly creating new content and updating courses to meet the needs of a rapidly changing work world.
14. Dale Carnegie Training
Online and in-person courses for groups and individuals
Price: Course prices range from $150-2500 per course.

Commitment: Varies by training. Most on-demand courses offer a full year of online access.
What it offers:
Carnegie has unique courses for both organizations and individuals. Online courses are available live online, on-demand, and with an online subscription.
Before 2020, 98% of Carnegie courses were available in person only. They scaled fast to create leadership resources that are available in 32 languages and in 86 countries.
Why we like this leadership resource:
We all need feedback from a real human being, and on occasion, it can be the most enlightening to get it from someone outside your company or industry.
Carnegie started teaching about leadership in 1912. The principles of his best-selling book focus on ideas about wellbeing that are only now taking hold in workplaces.
Whether you’re looking for broad instruction on leadership or more targeted learning for your specific challenges, Dale Carnegie courses can help.
They offer over 80 course options. Their website also has white papers, case studies, and webinars if you’re not sure where to start.
15. How I Built This
Podcast
Price: Free

Commitment: About an hour a week.
What it offers:
This podcast has over 400 episodes of business leadership know-how. Each episode features the founders of a business and how they got their start.
Why we like this free leadership resource:
Listening to founder stories is an easy way to take in topics like accountability and resilience. It’s also a chance to understand how founders manage complexity in their startups. These anecdotes can help you figure out which skills and tools can help you prepare to meet your goals.
16. HubSpot Podcast Network
Podcast
Price: Free

Commitment: Varies by podcast, usually about an hour
What it offers:
If you’re not ready to pick a favorite, the HubSpot Podcast Network offers 26 podcasts and counting. Each has a unique take on business development, growth, and priorities.
From stories of epic failure to the recovery that followed it, HubSpot hosts interview guests who share their most intriguing organizational, cultural, conceptual, and team insights.
Why we like this leadership resource:
If your schedule is tight, there is nothing like getting the basics done while listening to a strategic podcast. These podcasts cover targeted topics like change management, negotiation, and tech news. This resource can shed light on the big and small challenges you face as a leader every day.
So, spend some time with professionals from HubSpot and The Hustle. They offer insights you can use on your path to leadership enlightenment.
More resources:
Books are also great resources for leadership development. These two long-time bestsellers continue to be relevant and popular if you want to know how to lead effectively.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

If you want more resources for support and development, these are some other great tools to look into:

ASAE
In Good Company
Coursera
Black Founders

Put These Leadership Resources Into Action
It’s not unusual to seek out a list like this after a difficult conversation or challenge at work. And it’s just as common to add a bookmark to your browser and forget about it until the next issue pops up.
So, get started now, even if you can only spare a few minutes. One great resource could be all that you need to change the way you lead.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in May 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.