Extractive summaries of and key takeaways from the articles curated from TOP TEN BUSINESS MAGAZINES to promote informed business decision-making | Week 256|August 5-11, 2022
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China’s official growth figures are bad enough to be believed
The Economist | July 28, 2022
When china’s Politburo, the 25-member committee that oversees the Communist Party, met this time last year to ponder the economy, China’s rulers seemed quite confident. Their annual growth target was in easy reach and they were keen to crack down further on the country’s overstretched property developers. As The Economist went to press, the Politburo was preparing to meet again. But the economy looks quite different. China’s attempts to stamp out any outbreak of covid-19 have crippled manufacturing intermittently, and consumption more persistently. Distressed developers have stopped working on pre-sold flats—and aggrieved homebuyers have refused to pay their mortgages until construction resumes.
That is not beyond them. But there is so far little sign of it. The most recent data showed that the economy grew by only 0.4% in the second quarter, compared with a year earlier. This was not only bad, but worse than expected by private forecasters. In a large teleconference in May, Li Keqiang, China’s prime minister, urged local officials to do more for the economy. But he also cautioned them to seek truth from facts, abiding by statistical regulations.
When he was himself a local official in the north-eastern province of Liaoning, Mr Li sought the truth about the provincial economy from three facts in particular: the electricity it consumed, the cargo travelling on its railways and the amount of loans disbursed by its banks. These indicators, he felt, were more reliable than the official GDP figures. In a similar spirit, John Fernald, Eric Hsu and Mark Spiegel of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco have shown that a judicious combination of eight alternative indicators (including electricity consumption, rail cargo, retail sales and consumer expectations) does a reasonably good job of tracking China’s economic ups and downs. Seven of these indicators (all except consumer confidence) have already been updated for the three months from April to June. They can therefore be used to cross-check the latest official growth figure.
Using much the same method as Mr Fernald and his co-authors, the Economist calculation showed that the Chinese official growth measure was honest. The Economist approach cannot reveal every kind of statistical skulduggery, it does suggest China made no extra effort to fudge the figures in the second quarter, despite the unusual ugliness of the time. China’s rulers want to fight the downturn, the virus and doubts about their country’s data. They are doing a better job on the last two counts than on the first.
3 key takeaways from the article
- China’s attempts to stamp out any outbreak of covid-19 have crippled manufacturing intermittently, and consumption more persistently. Distressed developers have stopped working on pre-sold flats—and aggrieved homebuyers have refused to pay their mortgages until construction resumes.
- The most recent data showed that the economy grew by only 0.4% in the second quarter, compared with a year earlier. This was not only bad, but worse than expected by private forecasters.
- A judicious combination of eight alternative indicators (including electricity consumption, rail cargo, retail sales and consumer expectations) does a reasonably good job of tracking China’s economic ups and downs. And the Economist calculation showed that the Chinese official growth measure was honest.
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Topics: China, Economy, GDP
The Rise of the LinkedIn B2B Influencer
By Ivan Levingston | Bloomberg Businessweek | August 8, 2022
Marr is part of a small but growing segment of the marketing world known as business-to-business influencers. Most people are familiar with the army of young influencers making viral videos on TikTok and Instagram for brands looking to reach consumers, predominantly in beauty, fashion, travel, and food, but also in finance and pets. Now, enterprise businesses that sell to other companies are tapping into the trend by working with influencers like Marr.
While channels for B2B marketing can include anything from in-person appearances at conferences to Twitter posts, the key forum is LinkedIn. The Microsoft Corp.-owned social network has attracted more creators by bolstering its staff who work with them, says Ben Jeffries, chief executive officer of Influencer, which links brands with online personalities. “You’ve got creatives taking LinkedIn more seriously,” Jeffries says.
LinkedIn says it had more than 144,000 members with “creator” in their job title as of December 2021, up 16% from the previous year. It’s been focused on helping creators share stories and engage with audiences, and, as of July, more than 11 million members had turned on creator mode—a program the company started offering in March 2021 that allows a member to be identified as a content-producing authority with particular expertise. LinkedIn is also encouraging influence work by enabling newsletters and now has more than 18,000 people regularly publishing on the platform, including prominent businesspeople Melinda Gates, Ariana Huffington, and Richard Branson.
To be sure, B2B influencer campaigns still account for a minuscule proportion of the vast sums spent on influencer marketing—potentially generating $11.7 billion in revenue by the end of this year as compared to $776 billion in total advertising revenue last year. Many agencies are holding off on appointing specialist teams, waiting for the market to develop further.
Still, many traditional enterprise marketers are getting in on the trend. Ryan Bares, IBM’s global social influencer marketing lead, says that when he joined the company in 2016, there was hardly an influencer program at all. Now it’s a key component of the marketing strategy, he says.
3 key takeaways from the article
- Most people are familiar with the army of young influencers making viral videos on TikTok and Instagram for brands looking to reach consumers, predominantly in beauty, fashion, travel, and food, but also in finance and pets. Now, enterprise businesses that sell to other companies are tapping into the trend by working with influencers.
- LinkedIn says it had more than 144,000 members with “creator” in their job title as of December 2021, up 16% from the previous year.
- To be sure, B2B influencer campaigns still account for a minuscule proportion of the vast sums spent on influencer marketing. Many agencies are holding off on appointing specialist teams, waiting for the market to develop further. Still, many traditional enterprise marketers are getting in on the trend.
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Topics: Marketing, Influence Marketing, Advertising
Corruption is sending shock waves through China’s chipmaking industry
By Zeyi Yang | MIT Technology Review | August 5, 2022
China’s chipmaking industry descended into chaos last week, with at least four top executives associated with a state-owned semiconductor fund arrested on corruption charges. It’s an explosive turn of events that could force the country to fundamentally rethink how it invests in chip development, according to analysts and experts.
On July 30, China’s top anticorruption institution announced that Ding Wenwu, the chief executive of the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, nicknamed the “Big Fund,” had been arrested for “suspected serious violations of the law.” Ding is not the only person in trouble. Two weeks ago, Lu Jun, a former executive at the Big Fund’s management institution, was also taken into custody, along with two other fund managers.
Established in 2014, the Big Fund was intended to use government money to build a supply chain of chips made in China, thus reducing reliance on the US and its allies. The fund epitomizes the way the Chinese government can throw its weight behind a strategic industry—in this case, semiconductors.
The idea of the Big Fund was to pour money into industries not getting funding from traditional routes like venture capital. Eight years later, a total of $30 billion poured into the industry—with $20 billion more on the way—has yielded a complicated mix of successes and failures. The Chinese government has yet to reveal the exact reason why Ding and other people are being investigated. But most media outlets and analysts have associated the case with a cluster of corruption investigations around Tsinghua Unigroup, a semiconductor company invested in by the Big Fund that failed spectacularly in recent years.
A significant part of the problem was a lack of precision. China knew it needed to invest in semiconductors but didn’t know what exact sub-industry or company to prioritize. The country has been forced to learn by trial and error, feeling its way through issues like the bankruptcy of Unigroup and the expanding technology blockade by the US.
The fact that the fund was driven by a political mission and not financial interests made it ripe for corruption, and analysts say the latest investigations may push China to manage semiconductor funding with more precision and professional knowledge.
3 key takeaways from the article
- China’s chipmaking industry descended into chaos last week, with at least four top executives associated with a state-owned semiconductor fund arrested on corruption charges.
- The fact that the fund was driven by a political mission and not financial interests made it ripe for corruption.
- A significant part of the problem was a lack of precision. China knew it needed to invest in semiconductors but didn’t know what exact sub-industry or company to prioritize. The country has been forced to learn by trial and error, feeling its way through issues like the bankruptcy of Unigroup and the expanding technology blockade by the US. The latest investigations may push China to manage semiconductor funding with more precision and professional knowledge.
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Topics: China, USA, Semiconductor Industry
The 4 most recession-proof industries to work in, according to LinkedIn
By Chloe Berger | Fortune Magazine | August 9, 2022
Layoffs have dominated the news recently, especially in tech and finance as big names like Amazon, Tesla, and Shopify cut down their workforces that had grown exponentially during the early pandemic. But despite fears of economic insecurity and high inflation, the latest jobs report shows a silver lining: employers added more jobs in USA in July than initially predicted.
The personal impact of a recession may also depend on what industry you work in, as some tend to weather instability better than others. There are four industries in particular that typically remain stable during a downturn, according to the Kory Kantenga, senior economist at LinkedIn. He examined which industries had the least variation in hiring rates from January 2015 to June 2022. These industries are ranked from most to least stable:
- Utilities. This sector tends to remain flat and even experience increases in employment during recessions. When the coronavirus recession hit, utilities only experienced a small decline. While it’s the most stable industry of all four on this list. Those working in utilities experience the lowest employment level—that means it’s a more difficult industry to get a job in.
- Government. Like the utilities sector, the government sometimes even adds employment during recessions (again, with the exception of the coronavirus recession). Government has the highest employment level of all industries listed.
- Education. Despite reports of massive burnout and stories of teachers defecting to other industries during the pandemic, education remains a stable industry for those who choose to remain teaching. This industry has the second highest employment level.
- Consumer Services. Consumer services involve jobs in repair and maintenance, personal and laundry services, and membership associations and organizations. Employment levels increase during some recessions, but slightly decrease during deeper times of economic insecurity. Consumer industries have the second lowest level of employment of all four industries.
Simply laying off workers in government, nonprofit, and education fields can be more difficult because of how it’s generally received by the public. Even when hard times hit, industries like government, education, and nonprofits cannot easily adjust their workforces because changing their budget usually requires some type of social approval. Other industries, like utilities and repair and maintenance services, often experience less volatility because they remain less of a luxury and part of lifestyle even during a recession.
3 key takeaways from the article
- Layoffs have dominated the news recently, especially in tech and finance as big names like Amazon, Tesla, and Shopify cut down their workforces that had grown exponentially during the early pandemic.
- The personal impact of a recession may also depend on what industry you work in, as some tend to weather instability better than others. There are four industries in particular that typically remain stable during a downturn. These industries are utilities, government, education and consumer services.
- Simply laying off workers in government, nonprofit, and education fields can be more difficult because of how it’s generally received by the public. Other industries, like utilities and repair and maintenance services, often experience less volatility because they remain less of a luxury and part of lifestyle even during a recession.
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Topics: Economy, Recession, Employment
10 Principles of Effective Organizations
By Michael O’Malley | Harvard Business Review | August 08, 2022
As organization development evolves alongside institutional practices and insights into human behavior, a big piece of the field is still missing: a set of principles that convey what organizations must do well to thrive. Organizations are adept at identifying specific problems and have at their disposal a host of interventions designed to resolve them, but they operate without broader developmental criteria, or goals, that must be satisfied to preserve companies’ ability to compete and grow. Accordingly, 10 principles to guide developmental initiatives within your organization are:
- Encourage cooperation. Try to change the calculus of the relationship through rewards and punishments. A more effective and lasting strategy, however, is to change the nature of work relationships.
- Organize for change. Organizations that need to change often don’t. While employees often are portrayed as the villains in these scenarios for their resistance, people in fact are amenable to change in all facets of their lives when they believe in the necessity and appropriateness of change.
- Anticipate the future. Organizaional ability to anticipate the future has been thwarted by short-term impulses. No formulaic solution exists for the ability to peer into the future, but leaders can surround themselves with capable, perceptive people who collectively challenge the assumptions on which their current actions are based in order to imagine other possibilities.
- Remain flexible. Organizations must be at once disciplined and flexible, prudently reacting to the unexpected during turbulent times and flexibly bending when rushes of demand are placed on them — then regaining their shape once the need for transformation has passed.
- Create distinctive spaces. The quality of environment is a potential competitor for scarce mental and emotional resources that can either enable or undermine learning and task performance. Research consistently finds that employees who have greater contact with nature experience less stress and have better problem-solving skills, impulse control, attention spans, coping abilities, and productivity.
- Diversify your workforce — and create an inclusive environment. Overall, companies — like environmental ecosystems — require large numbers of different agents to enhance system reliability and resilience. Although diversity is necessary, conflicts can arise among dissimilar people that can impair team performance that requires adept leadership to fix.
- Promote personal growth. Nature and nurture are implicated in personal growth and that an important dimension of growth and using one’s strengths is to correctly match employees’ native interests and abilities to their personal development and work assignments.
- Empower people. The only managers that matter are the ones who can support people’s confidence and assure that they have control over their affairs, can cope with disappointments, and are able to achieve goals that matter to them.
- Reward high performers. Despite the rhetoric of attracting and retaining the best, the aggregate talent within organizations often is mediocre. The reason is simple. Decisions regarding hiring, pay, promotions, and retention are based on factors other than merit such as friendship ties, tenure, petty jealousies, favoritism, politics, and discrimination. The consequences to organizations are obvious.
- Foster a leadership culture. Despite the known value of leadership, organizations frequently show little genuine interest in the quality of leadership by foregoing meaningful assessments and by being far too accommodating of managerial miscreants who may be productive but are toxic to the organization’s culture. The organizations that excel are those that diligently work to develop more enlightened leaders who boldly embrace sustainable corporate practices and are attuned to basic human needs and welfare.
3 key takeaways from the article
- As organization development evolves alongside institutional practices and insights into human behavior, a big piece of the field is still missing: a set of principles that convey what organizations must do well to thrive.
- Organizations are adept at identifying specific problems and have at their disposal a host of interventions designed to resolve them, but they operate without broader developmental criteria, or goals, that must be satisfied to preserve companies’ ability to compete and grow.
- Accordingly, 10 principles to guide developmental initiatives within your organization are: encourage cooperation, Organize for change, anticipate the future, remain flexible, create distinctive spaces, diversify your workforce — and create an inclusive environment, promote personal development, empower people, reward high performers, and foster a leadership culture.
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Topics: Organizational Development, Organizational Performance, Leadership
Network effects: How to rebuild social capital and improve corporate performance
By Taylor Lauricella et al., | McKinsey & Company | August 2, 2022
Social capital—or the presence of networks, relationships, shared norms, and trust among individuals, teams, and business leaders—is the glue that holds organizations together. When teams feel connected, they tend to get more work done and do it faster. When colleagues trust their managers and one another, they tend to be more engaged, more willing to go beyond minimum work requirements, more likely to stick around, and, as research shows, more likely to recommend that others join their organization. Social capital matters to an organization’s performance. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, connections in the workplace have been in short supply.
In a postpandemic environment, referrals, personal connections, and perceptions of how inclusive and communal a company is will loom ever larger in people’s decisions about where to look for work—and whether to stay at their current jobs. It’s imperative, then, that business leaders manage social capital in the same way they manage financial, human, and other forms of corporate capital: systematically and intentionally. They can start by assessing the company’s social capital along three dimensions:
- Motivation. Are employees motivated to build and maintain relationships, and are they in an environment that encourages such relationship building?
- Access. Do employees have access to the networks and relationships they are looking to build?
- Ability. Do employees have what they need (such as time, resources, and skills) to build and maintain those networks and relationships?
Based on this assessment, leaders can use multiple levers and a combination of organizational and individual initiatives to build or strengthen connections in the workplace. At the organization level, for instance, business leaders may embed network or community-building requirements into performance evaluations. At the individual level, they may offer coaching and mentorship to employees on ways to boost engagement and connections in the workplace.
3 key takeaways from the article
- Social capital—or the presence of networks, relationships, shared norms, and trust among individuals, teams, and business leaders—is the glue that holds organizations together.
- It’s imperative, then, that business leaders manage social capital in the same way they manage financial, human, and other forms of corporate capital: systematically and intentionally. They can start by assessing the company’s social capital along three dimensions: are employees motivated to build and maintain relationships, do employees have access to the networks and relationships they are looking to build and do employees have what they need (such as time, resources, and skills) to build and maintain those networks and relationships?
- Based on this assessment, leaders can use multiple levers and a combination of organizational and individual initiatives to build or strengthen connections in the workplace.
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Topics: Networking, Social Capital
Life Lessons: Become The Best Version Of Yourself
By Rodger Dean Dunca | Forbes Magazine | August 9, 2022
In a world of grenade-lobbing commentators and social media brawls, calm and reasonable thinking is needed more than ever. Especially thinking that helps people navigate the sometimes-perplexing issues of everyday living. That’s what you’ll find in The Path to a Meaningful Life by Frank Sonnenberg.
The author went for an insightful conversation wtih Sonnenberg about the topic. And Sonnenberg shared seven important lessons:
- Don’t reinvent the wheel. Before you begin any undertaking, consider whether it’s been done before—and apply lessons learned.
- Celebrate learning. Treat every experience as a learning opportunity in which mistakes are tolerated, feedback is welcomed, and failures are viewed as hurdles rather than roadblocks.
- Learn and move on. Mistakes don’t make you a failure but beating yourself up makes you feel like one.
- Make people comfortable. When analyzing problems, focus on the act, not the individual.
- Dig beneath the surface. Several factors often contribute to failing. Therefore, don’t be impatient and shut down discussion after the first cause is identified.
- Live and learn. Ask yourself whether a mistake is being repeated. Making a mistake is acceptable. Just don’t let it return for an encore.
- Optimize the learning experience. Strike a balance between the point at which you review a situation versus waiting so long that you forget the details.
And a few more guidelines to keep you on track:
- Challenge yourself. Step outside your comfort zone. If you don’t push your limits, you’ll never get better.
- Focus your efforts. Trying to be excellent at everything leads to mediocrity.
- Start doing more by doing less. Subtracting from your list of priorities is as important as adding to it.
- Embrace continuous improvement. Strive for small improvement in everything you do. Remember, progress is one step closer to excellence.
- Score small wins. Hit singles rather than home runs. Small wins will keep you motivated as you pursue your long-term goals.
- Give it your best shot. Strive for excellence, not perfection.
- Request feedback. Treat feedback as a gift rather than as a slap in the face.
- Lead by example. Virtue isn’t demanding more of others; it’s expecting more of yourself.
- Do what’s right. You must live with yourself for the rest of your life.
And some habits that stunt personal growth, according to Sonnenberg:
- Laziness. If you don’t try, you have no one to blame but yourself. When you do nothing, nothing happens.
- Indifference. If you’re not willing to make the commitment, don’t complain about the outcome.
- Being close-minded. It’s hard to see the light with your eyes squeezed shut.
- Being self-destructive. If you keep telling yourself you’re a failure, you’ll ultimately convince yourself.
- Negativity. If you believe you can’t, you won’t.
- Egotism. If you think you know everything, you’ll assume there’s nothing more to know.
The bottom line is that the one who may be holding you back is you.
3 key takeaways from the article
- In a world of grenade-lobbing commentators and social media brawls, calm and reasonable thinking is needed more than ever. Especially thinking that helps people navigate the sometimes-perplexing issues of everyday living. That’s what you’ll find in The Path to a Meaningful Life by Frank Sonnenberg.
- During an insightful conversation Sonnenberg shared seven important lessons: don’t reinvent the wheel, celebrate learning, learn and move on, Make people comfortable, dig beneath the surface, live and learn, and optimize the learning experience.
- And a few more guidelines t\o keep you on track are: challenge yourself, Start doing more by doing less, focus your efforts, embrace continuous improvement, score small wins, give it your best shot, request feedback, lead by example and do what is right.
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Topics: Personal Development, Leadership
11 Ways to Brand Yourself as a Speaker
By Shaan Rais | Entrepreneur Magazine | August 10, 2022
Knowing how to present an argument or weave a cautionary tale into actionable steps that inspire, motivate or educate an audience isn’t just a valuable skill — it can also be profitable. To position yourself as a dominant force in your industry and advance your career/business, branding yourself as a speaker is a profitable growth strategy. 11 tips to get you started are:
- Turn up the charisma. When it comes to public speaking, charisma goes a long way. If you’re not a natural orator, start by studying some of the greats. Watch their videos to learn how they carry themselves, what they say and how they make people feel. Then start practicing your version of charisma until it feels natural.
- Subject matter expertise is required. To be taken seriously as a speaker, you need to be an expert in your niche. The path to mastery is education. Spend time studying and practicing your craft.
- Develop a signature style. Your style should be acceptable to your industry but personalized enough to communicate your uniqueness. The important thing is that you stay true to yourself and find a way to let your personality shine.
- Schedule a professional brand photoshoot. A brand photoshoot is designed to capture the images you’ll use to market yourself as a speaker. Your photos will become a trusted resource in branding, because they will help you create a consistent look and feel for all your marketing materials.
- Leverage the power of LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a robust platform that can help pinpoint your industry leaders and customers. Optimize the platform by letting your network know that you are available for speaking opportunities. Make sure you have a strong profile that showcases your skills and experience. Ensure that you share information about the subjects you’re open to speaking on, clips of your speeches, short videos, etc.
- Create a speakers kit. Your kit should include a bio, headshot and list of speaking topics.
- Be consistent across platforms. Influential brands are consistent. Encourage consistency across your online platforms by automating the communication through systems and processes. Ensure your website, social media and other materials have a similar look and feel.
- Develop a unique selling proposition. What makes you different from other speakers in your industry? Differentiation can be showcased through your signature style, messaging and positioning.
- Create and practice your signature speech. Your signature speech is your hallmark representing who you are as a speaker and will introduce you to a new audience. It should be concise, well-rehearsed, engaging, and actionable.
- Speak at industry events. Get involved with professional organizations or trade groups, and start networking with other professionals in your field. Practicing your signature speech at industry events, seminars, etc., is a phenomenal way to build your brand and get comfortable speaking in front of a large audience.
- Launch a podcast tour. Podcasts are a great way to share your message and knowledge with a new audience.
3 key takeaways from the article
- Knowing how to present an argument or weave a cautionary tale into actionable steps that inspire, motivate or educate an audience isn’t just a valuable skill — it can also be profitable.
- To position yourself as a dominant force in your industry and advance your career/business, branding yourself as a speaker is a profitable growth strategy.
- 11 tips to get you started are: turn up the charisma, subject matter expertise is required, develop a signature style, schedule a professional brand photoshoot, leverage the power of LinkedIn, create a speakers kit, be consistent across platforms, develop a unique selling proposition, create and practice your signature speech, speak at industry events, and launch a podcast tour.
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Topics: Communication, Branding, Public Speaking
All Founders Should Be Solving a Problem
By Austin Allison | Inc Magazine | August 4, 2022
In just a couple of years, the author build up a business having 300 Crew members serving 40 destinations with nearly $1B in real estate in their marketplace, and they have just getting started to provide a better and more sustainable way to own a second home from buyers and for communities. The author developed a business based on solutions to the problems he faced or observed as experienced by others. His tips for new founders on what to do and think about before you start your company are:
- Find a problem that you are passionate about. Don’t start a business just to start a business. It needs to be a problem burning inside you that you feel obligated to solve.
- Take time to understand that problem. If you can afford it, try to take time off before starting your company to spend time understanding that problem with a clear state of mind and no distractions.
- As you are thinking about the problem and business that you want to start, imagine a Venn diagram of 3 circles with one circle being what you love and are passionate about, the second with what you know (i.e. where are you advantaged compared to other founders) and third is what delivers a lot of value for consumers and makes the world a better place. If you could find the intersection of these things – what you love, where you are advantaged, and what delivers a lot of value for consumers, that’s the magic formula to creating a great business that has a lot of impact.
But it is important to remember that these things do not happen overnight. It comes from passion, time and energy blended with more than a decade of building relationships, knowledge from prior companies, a full year off that you can dedicated to understanding the problem, and much more. There’s no better time to start than today.
3 key takeaways from the article
- Einstein once said said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and only 5 minutes thinking about solutions”. A good advice for the entrepreneurs to follow.
- Find a problem that you are passionate about, Take time to understand that problem, and try to place your business in the form of a Vann diagram of 3 circles with one circle being what you love and are passionate about, the second with what you know (i.e. where are you advantaged compared to other founders) and third is what delivers a lot of value for consumers and makes the world a better place.
- It is important to remember that these things do not happen overnight. It comes from passion, time, and energy blended with more than a decade of building relationships, knowledge from prior companies, a full year off that you can dedicated to understanding the problem, and much more.
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(Copyright)Topics: Entrepreneurship, Startups, Problem-solving
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