Extractive summaries of and key takeaways from the articles curated from TOP TEN BUSINESS MAGAZINES to promote informed business decision making | Week 238|April 1-7, 2022
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Shaping Section : Ideas and forces shaping economies and industries
The serious business of being a social influencer
The Economist | April 2, 2022
The use of personal endorsements used to be about harnessing existing celebrity power. Elizabeth Taylor touted Colgate-Palmolive’s shampoo in the 1950s, and Michael Jordan’s deal in 1984 with Nike revolutionised both basketball and branding. Influencers turn the logic on its head: selling things helps make them more famous. Initially dismissed as credulous Gen-Z folk who had mistaken posting selfies for having a job, these entrepreneurs have become a big business, boosted further by the e-commerce surge from the pandemic. Total spending on influencers by brands could reach $16bn this year. Whereas the number of wannabe influencers outside China is in the millions, an elite of under 100,000 of them who have over 1m followers each get the bulk of revenues and the front seats at fashion shows.
Their staying power suggests that they add value in several ways. They can save money. Influencers’ networks reach new audiences, particularly younger shoppers. Global brands can localise their appeal by cutting deals with them. Yet one-third of brands do not use influencers. They worry about tarnishing their reputation. Having a swarm of freelance advocates is riskier than the command-and-control campaigns of the “Mad Men” era. And the industry is a Wild West, awash with fraud and manipulation.
Despite this, ignoring influencers is a mistake. Their share of digital advertising budgets is still low at perhaps 3%, but it is rising fast. The boundary between entertainment and e-commerce is blurring. And the most popular marketing strategy of the 2010s—ads targeted through Google and Facebook—is under threat as new privacy standards, including on Apple’s iPhone, make it harder to spy on potential customers.
To get the most out of influencers, brands should set a clear strategy. They should expect more regulation on consumer protection. The guiding principle should be to use only influencers who disclose to their audiences that their posts are paid. As the Wild West phase ends, brands should also embrace new analytical tools that help them gauge the performance of influencers, sorting the con-artists from the stars.
3 key takeaways from the article
- The use of personal endorsements used to be about harnessing existing celebrity power. Oline influencers turn the logic on its head: selling things helps make them more famous.
- Social influencers staying power suggests that they add value in several ways. Yet one-third of brands do not use influencers. They worry about tarnishing their reputation. Despite this, ignoring influencers is a mistake.
- For all firms with brands—and together those brands are worth over $7trn—it is time to realise that influencing is more than just a hobby. But to get the most out of influencers, brands should set a clear strategy.
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Topics: Marketing, Branding, Social media, Celebrities
Economic conditions outlook, March 2022
By Alan FitzGerald | McKinsey & Company | March 30, 2022
Geopolitical instability is now cited as the top risk to both global and domestic economies in the latest McKinsey Global Survey on economic conditions. That’s the consensus among executives worldwide, who have cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a leading risk to growth for the past two years. About three-quarters of respondents cite geopolitical conflicts as a top risk to global growth in the near term, up from one-third who said so in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the share of respondents citing the pandemic as a top risk fell from 57 to 12 percent, as much larger percentages now identify energy prices and inflation as threats to the global economy.
At the same time, overall sentiment about the economy remains largely positive, but it continues to trend downward. For the third quarter in a row, respondents are less likely than in the previous one to report that economic conditions in their respective countries and across the globe are improving. They are also less likely to believe that either global or domestic conditions will improve in the months ahead. The near-term economic outlook is especially gloomy among respondents in developed economies, whose views are increasingly downbeat compared with their emerging-economy peers. According to the survey results, executives expect that the economic effects of the invasion of Ukraine will be strongly felt. Seventy-six percent of all respondents cite geopolitical instability and/or conflicts as a risk to global economic growth over the next 12 months, and 57 percent cite it as a threat to growth in their home economies. The COVID-19 pandemic remained the top risk in Greater China.
While respondents tend to report improving—rather than worsening—conditions in the global economy and in their home countries, the percentages of executives saying so continue to decrease over time. Their outlook for the next six months is even more downbeat, especially for the global economy. This month’s result also marks the first time since July 2020 that less than a majority of respondents feel optimistic about the global economy’s prospects. For the third quarter in a row, the survey results suggest a widening gap in optimism between developed-economy and emerging-economy respondents. In developed economies—where respondents cite geopolitical conflicts as a risk to growth more often than their peers do—sentiment is declining at a faster rate than in emerging economies.
3 key takeaways from the article
- Geopolitical instability is now cited as the top risk to both global and domestic economies in the latest McKinsey Global Survey on economic conditions. Rising interest rates are also a growing concern.
- While respondents tend to report improving—rather than worsening—conditions in the global economy and in their home countries, the percentages of executives saying so continue to decrease over time. Their outlook for the next six months is even more downbeat, especially for the global economy.
- For the third quarter in a row, the survey results suggest a widening gap in optimism between developed-economy and emerging-economy respondents. In developed economies—where respondents cite geopolitical conflicts as a risk to growth more often than their peers do—sentiment is declining at a faster rate than in emerging economies.
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Topics: Global Economy, Geo-politics, Global Business
Dubai wants to be the new capital for crypto and oligarchs.
By Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez | Fortune | March 29, 2022
Dubai wants to be the new crypto capital of the world, as well as wealthy Russians looking to avoid the worst of economic sanctions imposed by the West, and so far its efforts are bearing fruit.
Bybit and Crypto.com, the two cryptocurrency exchanges are the most recent additions to the growing league of crypto-related companies stepping up operations in Dubai, one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, has been courting crypto exchanges to the country as regulations remain hostile or unclear in other countries.
In March, Dubai passed legislation that has likely helped it recruit crypto companies. Dubai’s government will regulate virtual assets and established the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority, to oversee the sector. The move is a departure from other countries like Singapore, that have looked to curb some aspects of the crypto sector in recent months. Singapore, where Bybit was previously headquartered, issued guidelines in January that forbid crypto firms from advertising their services to the public, saying crypto was “highly risky and not suitable for the general public.”
But crypto companies are not the only ones Dubai has been going after. While Western countries have imposed sanctions meant to harm the Russian economy and its rich oligarchs, Dubai has instead thrown open its doors for wealthy Russian investors. At least 38 businessmen tied to Russian president Vladimir Putin own villas valued at more than $314 million collectively in the emirate, according to the New York Times. With the uptick in sanctions, the number of Russians seeking property in Dubai has spiked.
The link between Russians and crypto assets is something that Western countries like the U.S. have been weary of since tightening sanctions on the country. Because cryptocurrencies can be traded somewhat anonymously and can be exchanged largely without the participation of banks and other third parties, Western governments have signaled that they could be used to evade sanctions, although these claims have been denied by people involved in the industry. In an interview with CNBC Tuesday, Wally Adeyemo, the deputy U.S. treasury secretary issued a warning to any crypto-related companies helping Russians avoid sanctions.
3 key takeaways from the article
- Dubai wants to be the new crypto capital of the world, as well as wealthy Russians looking to avoid the worst of economic sanctions imposed by the West, and so far its efforts are bearing fruit.
- Bybit and Crypto.com, the two cryptocurrency exchanges are the most recent additions to the growing league of crypto-related companies stepping up operations in Dubai. While Western countries have imposed sanctions meant to harm the Russian economy and its rich oligarchs, Dubai has instead thrown open its doors for wealthy Russian investors. At least 38 businessmen tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin own villas valued at more than $314 million collectively in the emirate.
- The link between Russians and crypto assets is something that Western countries like the U.S. have been weary of since tightening sanctions on the country.
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Topics: Global Economy, Cryptocurrency, Sanctions, Russia
Netflix Still Hasn’t Figured Out India
By Lucas Shaw | Bloomberg Businessweek | March 30, 2022
Two-and-a-half years after it launched in India, Netflix Inc. had its first big hit. Based on a sprawling novel by Indian-American author Vikram Chandra, 2018’s Sacred Games was a Hindi-language TV show exploring Mumbai’s criminal underworld and one police officer’s efforts to save the city. The drama stood out in a country best known for romantic musicals, which was the point. The New York Times named Sacred Games one of the best foreign-made shows of the last decade, and Netflix described it at the time as its most-watched locally produced show in the country.
The success seemed to indicate that the company’s plan for India was coming together. Netflix’s formula for international expansion, which has worked everywhere from Canada to Japan, starts by targeting wealthy, young consumers in large cities who’ll pay to watch Stranger Things or Narcos. Then, to reach progressively larger audiences, the company hires a local team to commission projects from the country’s biggest producers, offering them creative freedom they wouldn’t get elsewhere.
Certain things about India were working in Netflix’s favor. The country has a robust local film industry, a growing middle class, and rapidly expanding access to the internet. Several months before Sacred Games was released, Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings told a group of Indian business leaders that Netflix would sign up 100 million customers in the country.
Almost four years later, it has only 5.5 million subscribers in India. Netflix describes the second season of Sacred Games as a success, but hasn’t announced a third season. Many of its other shows have been canceled after just one season. In a call with investors in January, Hastings expressed frustration with the lack of progress in India, alarming employees who aren’t used to their boss being so forthcoming about Netflix’s failings. The stakes are higher than ever. Slowing subscriber growth has investors worried, and the company’s share price has fallen almost 40% so far this year, wiping out more than $100 billion in value. Netflix’s struggles are even more notable when contrasted with rivals Walt Disney Co. and Amazon.com Inc., whose Indian services draw millions more viewers.
3 key takeaways from the article
- Two-and-a-half years after it launched in India, Netflix Inc. had its first big hit – Sacred Games, a Hindi-language TV show.
- The success seemed to indicate that the company’s plan for India was coming together. Netflix’s formula for international expansion, which has worked everywhere from Canada to Japan, starts by targeting wealthy, young consumers in large cities who’ll pay to watch Stranger Things or Narcos. Then, to reach progressively larger audiences.
- Several months before Sacred Games was released, Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings told a group of Indian business leaders that Netflix would sign up 100 million customers in the country. Almost four years later, it has only 5.5 million subscribers in India. Netflix’s struggles are even more notable when contrasted with rivals Walt Disney Co. and Amazon.com Inc., whose Indian services draw millions more viewers.
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Topics: India, Streaming Industry
Leading & Managing Section
When to Cooperate with Colleagues and When to Compete
By Randall S. Peterson and Kristin J. Behfar | Harvard Business Review | From the Magazine (March–April 2022)
Let’s acknowledge an uncomfortable truth about workplaces: The people who thrive in them are those who know how to both collaborate and compete with their colleagues. They clearly understand how work relationships affect their interests and the organization’s, carefully consider the risks and trade-offs, and dispassionately decide how much to invest in each coworker and when to walk away. To do so effectively, you must first understand where you and your colleagues fall on the conflict-collaboration spectrum.
Relationships are negative when interests are opposed and the parties are either in competition or in outright conflict over goals. Relationships are positive when people share interests and decide to cooperate to achieve selective goals or to collaborate when their goals are fully merged. In between are relationships in which two people largely work independently. But these can be hard to maintain and carry their own risks.
Once you’ve figured out the type of relationship you and your colleague have, you can use various tactics to manage it. That requires you to step back from the existing emotional and behavioral dynamics and carefully analyze your situation. Consider how your disparate and mutual interests align with the goals of your organization. Ask yourself what is in it for you and what is in it for the other person. How do his or her interests create risk for you? What can you tolerate, and what must you prevent? And how can you ensure that the benefits of working together are realized?
We all navigate a range of cooperative rivalries at work. Understanding and figuring out how to optimize each of them is crucial. The solution is not to find positive relationships and avoid negative ones. You must recognize that conflict and competition inevitably arise among interdependent coworkers but can still be managed in ways that reap rewards; that while independence might seem like a solution it is rarely, if ever, a panacea; and that your goals and your work partners’ will evolve over time. Career success depends on relationship management as much as any other skill. Get it right, and both you and your organization will benefit.
2 key takeaways from the article
- The people who thrive in workplaces are those who know how to both collaborate and compete with their colleagues. They clearly understand how work relationships affect their interests and the organization’s, carefully consider the risks and trade-offs, and dispassionately decide how much to invest in each coworker and when to walk away. To do so effectively, you must first understand where you and your colleagues fall on the conflict-collaboration spectrum.
- Once you’ve figured out the type of relationship you and your colleague have, you can use various tactics to manage it. That requires you to step back from the existing emotional and behavioral dynamics and carefully analyze your situation. And make your choices strategically.
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Topics: Organizational Behavior, Teams, Cooperation, Competition
Politics in the Workplace: How Can Managers Keep the Peace?
By Lemaro Thompson | MIT Sloan Management Review | March 28, 2022
In an age of increased polarization in which political ideology and identity have become intertwined, workplace political discussions may be more common, but they can have detrimental outcomes.
In this fraught political climate, is it possible to have fruitful workplace political discussions? Many scholars and consultants say yes. The solution involves employing the right style and technique. If people were to adopt a listening mentality, practice empathy, and provide ground rules for debate that allowed employees to disagree respectfully, then political discussions would be less acrimonious. In a perfect world, we would always follow these steps, but the unfortunate reality is that many political discussions are doomed from the start. The people who are least likely to compromise in a situation — the most ideologically extreme partisans — are also the ones who most frequently desire to talk about politics.
Political discussions make visible what is often ambiguous, if not invisible: partisanship. When workers’ political identities are made known, they are often stigmatized. Instead of being seen as individuals, they are labeled and stereotyped by others as opposing partisans.
Both scholarly studies and anecdotal data show many examples of political bias in action in the workplace. Feeling like the political black sheep of the office can result in social isolation and loneliness, which affects engagement and can lead to absenteeism and attrition. These workers also often fear that they might face reduced advancement opportunities or even be fired. Moreover, research on political polarization seems to indicate that this discriminatory behavior might be difficult to uproot, given that participants’ willingness to engage in political discrimination persisted, even at a significant cost to themselves.
Stories, statistics, and studies show that although political discussions may last but a few minutes, they can have long-term consequences. In other words, civil discussions are no antidote to post-discussion discrimination. What can managers do beyond providing guidelines for civil political discourse, five recommendations: create a top management team that is ideologically diverse, avoid political bias in making key decisions, provide resources on constructive political dialogue for employees, highlight the value of bipartisan cooperation, and if all else fails, set limits on political discussions at work.
3 key takeaways from the article
- In an age of increased polarization in which political ideology and identity have become intertwined, workplace political discussions may be more common, but they can have detrimental outcomes.
- Political discussions make visible what is often ambiguous, if not invisible: partisanship. When workers’ political identities are made known, they are often stigmatized. Instead of being seen as individuals, they are labeled and stereotyped by others as opposing partisans.
- What can managers do beyond providing guidelines for civil political discourse, five recommendations: create a top management team that is ideologically diverse, avoid political bias in making key decisions, provide resources on constructive political dialogue for employees, highlight the value of bipartisan cooperation, and if all else fails, set limits on political discussions at work.
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Topics: Politics, Organizational Behavior
Entrepreneurship
Everyone Can Benefit From Acquiring An Entrepreneurial Mindset—Four Key Attributes
By Bernhard Schroeder | Forbes | April 4, 2022
A lot of our potential success is based on our mindset. Psychologist Carol Dweck, from Stanford University, was the first researcher to explore the idea of fixed and growth mindsets. Well, if that is true, then in addition to a growth mindset, what kind of mindset do people need to have to become a successful entrepreneur, whether in a startup or in corporate entrepreneurship?
You need an entrepreneurial mindset: a way of thinking that enables you to seek out problem’s others have not solved, create potential solutions, overcome challenges, be decisive, and accept responsibility for your outcomes. It is a constant drive to improve your skills, learn from your mistakes, and take continuous action on your ideas. Anyone willing to do the work can develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Four key attributes of an entrepreneurial mindset are:
- Curiosity. Entrepreneurs are more curious and fully engaged with the world around them. They are observing the latest trends, noticing products or services that could disrupt an industry. When they notice things that don’t work well, entrepreneurs look to gain an understanding of how things actually work and then try to solve the problem.
- Opportunity recognition. Opportunity recognition is a process that’s found in the way that individuals with an entrepreneurial mindset approach life. In many ways, it is a constant awareness in which individuals look for ‘’new and improved ways’ of addressing problems by noticing them.
- Ability to pivot. Why is it that some people who find themselves in a no-win situation will still continue on a possible path to failure? For whatever reason, they lack the ability or desire to pivot. That is the ability to be attentive enough, fast enough, with the ability to re-evaluate a new approach when the factors out of their control change and shift. A synonym for “pivot” would be being nimble. You can rapidly recalculate an alternate approach as things shift. A smart pivot is not abandoning your overall vision for your startup. ‘All a pivot is, is a change in strategy without a change in vision.’
- Perseverance. Sometimes as a startup founder, you can find yourself facing situations where it can be tough to keep going. Or even feel like you can keep going. Yet, if you want your business to be successful you must do just that… keep going when the going isn’t easy.
3 key takeaways from the article
- A lot of our potential success is based on our mindset. Psychologist Carol Dweck, from Stanford University, was the first researcher to explore the idea of fixed and growth mindsets.
- You need an entrepreneurial mindset: a way of thinking that enables you to seek out problems others have not solved, create potential solutions, overcome challenges, be decisive, and accept responsibility for your outcomes. It is a constant drive to improve your skills, learn from your mistakes, and take continuous action on your ideas.
- Anyone willing to do the work can develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Four key attributes of an entrepreneurial mindset are: curiosity, opportunity recognition, ability to pivot, and perseverance.
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Topics: Entrepreneurship, Perseverance, Personal Development
4 Ways Olympic Athletes Can Leverage Their Journey to Build a Profitable Brand
By Lindsay Yaw Rogers | Entrepreneur | April 5, 2022
For most of the Olympians, what they start their athletic career, the only way to be successful on a global scale is to have tunnel vision — relationships, friendships, and hobbies are all sacrificial lambs in a bullheaded pursuit of the end goal: winning. Then, there comes an inevitable day when the armor of the illustrious athlete starts to crumble. And the question comes: What’s next? And how do I get out of the financial and emotional prison I’ve created for myself? The scales tip, and the waterfall of depression ensues. In working with dozens of Olympic and action sports athletes, the author suggests six lessons that help athletes avoid post-Olympic depression, increase revenue opportunities, and build a lucrative, meaningful future.
- Create now-versus-then personal identities. Identities consist of the various characteristics you use to categorize and define yourself, and the characteristics that are constructed by those around you. By crafting a cohesive set of identities, it allows you to build confidence in yourself and gives people a reason to connect with you, who you are (versus who they want you to be), what you believe and why. It also lets you control the perception of yourself out in the world. The key is that you have to get clear on what these are now versus what they were until now.
- Nail your origin story; make it personal. Crafting a powerful origin story is the key to building trust, rapport, and credibility in who you are and what you stand for. Having a powerful origin story also allows you to remain consistent across social media, in interviews, for developing a keynote or in sponsor discussions.
- Know whose hero you want to be. The most common mistake athletes make is that they jump to what they want their audience to think, feel, do without understanding what they are excited to do, willing to feel or motivated to act on. Knowing this will allow you to deliver words, stories, and truths that will make your audience’s lives better, more meaningful, happier, and richer. And that builds community.
- Create core messages anywhere north of neutral. You have to give people, brands, and partners a reason to be attracted to you. To do that, you have to understand that neutrality doesn’t get noticed, and ambiguity is always perceived negatively. So, to be remembered, build a loyal following, and to encourage brands to look in your direction, it’s important to figure out what you care enough about that you’re willing to take a stand for.
- Make the invisible visible. There is a voyeurism aspect to athletes’ lives that is endlessly fascinating, entertaining, and inspiring. Sharing your formula, the “how” behind what you do, helps people feel like they know you, but also like they have a tiny chance of being like you. It also creates a boomerang effect where the audience keeps coming back for more, and that means community — the ultimate gold rush for brands.
- Plan and target revenue opportunities. With a newly minted brand story and messaging strategy, it’s time to transition that into creating specific revenue opportunities. Five steps to generate revenue are: build an email list, create a sticky content calendar, build a keynote presentation, reach out to non-endemic brands, and hire a sports agent.
2 key takeaways from the article
- For most of the Olympians, what they start their athletic career, the only way to be successful on a global scale is to have tunnel vision — relationships, friendships, and hobbies are all sacrificial lambs in a bullheaded pursuit of the end goal: winning. Then, there comes an inevitable day when the armor of the illustrious athlete starts to crumble. And the question comes: What’s next? And how do I get out of the financial and emotional prison I’ve created for myself?
- Six lessons that can help athletes avoid post-Olympic depression, increase revenue opportunities, and build a lucrative, meaningful future are: create now-versus-then personal identities, nail your origin story; make it personal, create core messages anywhere north of neutral, make the invisible visible, and plan and target revenue opportunities.
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Topics: Entrepreneurship, Leading, Managing
How to Connect With Your Distributors? What they want to hear from your brand.
By Joel Goldstein | Inc | April 4, 2022
Whether you run an e-commerce or brick-and-mortar store, wholesale distributors are crucial in connecting store owners and manufacturers. If you are new to owning your own business, you may have found that it can be a bit tricky connecting with distributors. If you are ready to take the next step in building your business, building a relationship with a distributor is of the utmost importance. Here are some top tips to help you successfully connect with distributors.
Honesty and Transparency. While this may seem like a cliché, honesty truly is the foundation of any business relationship. From the perspective of a distributor, there is one rule that you should never break and that is to never sell direct to end users. If you feel the need to stop and justify some sort of story in order to condone selling directly, you have already violated that trust with your distributor.
Innovation. Having a truly unique and innovative product is one of the major things distributors want to hear from your brand. You are going to have to truly set yourself apart from the competition in order to sell your brand to them and make them want to be a part of what you are striving to accomplish. When you are ready to showcase your product to a potential distributor, make sure that it is shelf-ready, so they can see exactly what they will be potentially working with and what changes, if any, should be implemented prior to mass distribution.
You Can Offer Solutions. Yet another thing that distributors want to hear about your brand is that you are more than capable of being able to quickly implement solutions. Distributors are not looking to work with a brand backed by an individual who is quick to point the finger and blame someone else. They tend to seek out individuals who are quick to find an effective resolution to any problems that may be encountered.
Sales Leads and Marketing. Sales leads and marketing are two more things that distributors will want to know about your brand. If you are capable of generating leads, especially from participating in trade shows that can assist them in marketing your brand (those types of leads tend to be of the highest quality), they will want to take advantage of that. Being able to share that you are coming well-equipped with highly effective marketing tools in place, and also that you have the capability of efficiently generating new leads, will make it more likely your potential distributor will want to work with you and your specific brand.
3 key takeaways from the article.
- Whether you run an e-commerce or brick-and-mortar store, wholesale distributors are crucial in connecting store owners and manufacturers.
- If you are new to owning your own business, you may have found that it can be a bit tricky connecting with distributors. If you are ready to take the next step in building your business, building a relationship with a distributor is of the utmost importance.
- Some top tips to help you successfully connect with your distributors are: honesty and transparency, innovation, you can offer solutions, and sales leads and marketing.
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Topics: Distribution, Exchange Relationships, Business Model