When news breaks of a CEO succession, much of the attention is given to the new leader and how they will change the company. But new research shows that the leave-taking process of the outgoing chief executive is often mishandled, with negative impacts on succession and the organization. Rebecca Slan Jerusalim, an executive director at Russell Reynolds Associates, and Navio Kwok, a leadership advisor at RRA, say that boards are often surprised when a CEO gives notice, and they often make that person feel excluded during the handoff process. The researchers share stories from the front lines about CEO psychology, best practices for outgoing leaders and their boards, and broader lessons for effective transitions. Jerusalim and Kwok wrote the HBR article "The Vital Role of the Outgoing CEO."

Many marketers today focus on getting consumers to consciously change their behavior. But that’s a sure path to failure, according to Leslie Zane, founder of Triggers Brand Consulting. She says neuroscience research shows that mastering instinct is far more effective than persuasion. And she shares her key lessons for aligning with the instinctive mind to improve company brands, new products, social campaigns, or your own personal brand. Zane is the author of the book The Power of Instinct: The New Rules of Persuasion in Business and Life.

When a company, division, or product line has been struggling for some time, it can feel nearly impossible to get things back on track. But big turnarounds are possible, provided you have a team willing to work hard, be creative, and embrace change. When he was president and CEO of Marvel, Peter Cuneo oversaw the resurgence and sale of the media company, but even before that he had a long track track for turning around many types of consumer-facing businesses. He shares the strategies that work best for shaking up organizations and teams and boosting their performance. Cuneo is also the managing principal of Cuneo and Company.

The worlds of business and politics might seem worlds apart, but executives can learn a lot from the most successful political communicators. Terry Szuplat spent several years on the speechwriting team for President Barack Obama, helping to carefully craft his messages and win over audiences. He has gone on to coach business leaders including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, and he says that many of the same principles for good speechwriting and delivery apply - whether you’re giving a presentation to your team, pitching a client, or making comments in a moment of crisis. He explains the importance of authenticity and personal stories, structure, language choice and presence. Szuplat is the author of the book Say It Well: Find Your Voice, Speak Your Mind, Inspire Any Audience.

Imagine you’re leading a small organization, but you’re struggling to recruit and afford the senior talent you need to grow. You could hire a part-time executive. So-called “fractional leadership” is common in startups and is spreading to other businesses and nonprofits. But while a fast-growing number of senior leaders seek this work arrangement, many companies are unsure of how to go about it. Tomoko Yokoi and Amy Bonsall are experts on the practice. Yokoi is a researcher at the TONOMUS Global Center for Digital and AI Transformation at IMD Business School. Bonsall is a former executive at IDEO and Old Navy who works as a part-time chief product officer with several organizations. They explain when and how fractional leadership works best—for the individual as well as the organization—and how to do it right. Yokoi and Bonsall wrote the HBR article “How Part-Time Senior Leaders Can Help Your Business.”

Huntington & Ellis, A Real Estate Agency, an affiliate of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, has announced it has ranked No. 2,781 on Inc. Magazine’s annual Inc. 5000 list, a prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. Achieving a 192% three-year growth rate, this marks the brokerage’s fourth-consecutive year being recognized and…

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Ryan Rodenbeck Owner Spyglass Realty, a member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® Austin, Texas https://www.spyglassrealty.com   Region served: Greater Austin Years in real estate: 20 Number of offices: 2 Number of agents: 145 How do you ensure open and honest communication with your agents, especially when it comes to their performance and growth?…

The post Harnessing Transparency and Technology for Success appeared first on RISMedia.

Universal Consulting Opportunities (UCO), a subsidiary of Stellar MLS, has announced an agreement with Arab MLS to enhance its real estate practices across the Arab region and beyond. UCO will advise Arab MLS to further drive efficiency, transparency, user experience and the way people connect with properties, starting with Egypt, Dubai, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and…

The post Stellar MLS Subsidiary Working With Arab MLS to Enhance Practices in the Arab Region appeared first on RISMedia.

Move Concierge, a service that connects utilities and home services for new homebuyers, has announced a key partnership with Side, a real estate brokerage platform that helps agents create and grow their own boutique companies.  Through this partnership, real estate agents who work with Side will have access to Move Concierge services through Side Marketplace,…

The post Move Concierge Announces Partnership with Side appeared first on RISMedia.

Staged listing photos have been an effective—and expensive—tool meant to pique the interest of inquiring home seekers. But given the ever-growing landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) in real estate, that hurdle could soon be a thing of the past.  At least, that is where things are headed for Palazzo, an AI-driven interior design platform that…

The post Startup Palazzo Seeing Success Expanding Its Virtual Staging Offering to Brokers appeared first on RISMedia.

From left, Shelly Vincent, Laura O’Connor, Dan Troup, Shaleen Khatod and moderator Dave Garland. Photo by AJ Canaria.  It isn’t as shiny and new as it was a couple years ago, when ChatGPT took the world by storm, but AI, or large language models, are still highly influential and fast-evolving pieces of technology that real…

The post Homebuyer Dreams, Macaroni and Cheese: What Is the AI ‘Recipe’ of the Future? appeared first on RISMedia.

The debate around NAR’s Clear Cooperation policy continues among brokers, MLSs, and other real estate industry players. Opinions are sharply divided on this policy, which dictates how and when property listings are created and shared. This polarizing debate threatens the MLS operating model that has successfully served agents and consumers for decades with the most…

The post Technical Capabilities Can Help the Real Estate Industry Navigate Clear Cooperation appeared first on RISMedia.

The 21st International Istanbul Yarn Fair, Türkiye’s largest yarn-focused event, will run from Feb 26-28, 2025, aiming to foster industry growth. Occupying over 50,000 sqm, the event will feature 500+ exhibitors showcasing innovative yarns. Aiming for 20,000 visitors, the fair supports industry growth by fostering collaborations and showcasing products meeting global standards.

As real estate agents, you face countless challenges and obstacles in your journey to success. It’s easy to get discouraged when things don’t go as planned, but here’s something every agent should consider, regardless of how long you’ve been an agent: Every failure is actually a stepping stone to greater achievements. This is the essence…

The post Falling Upwards: The Art of Failing Forward in Real Estate appeared first on RISMedia.

Above, Terri Chapman Making your way in real estate is a journey that’s difficult to navigate alone. From becoming an agent to climbing the ladder into leadership, coaching can help guide real estate professionals through every step of their journey, laying the foundation to earn the trust and confidence they need to successfully navigate the…

The post Growing Through Every Step of Your Real Estate Career appeared first on RISMedia.

As we kick off the fourth quarter of 2024, it’s more critical than ever for real estate professionals not to take their foot off the gas and coast through the remaining weeks of the year. With so much noise in today’s post-settlement world, those prepared and running alongside the change will be the ones ahead…

The post Pushing to the Finish Line: Strategies for a Productive Fourth Quarter appeared first on RISMedia.

India's Textile Minister approved 12 new research projects worth ₹13.3 crore ($0.16 million) under the National Technical Textiles Mission. The projects focus on areas like geotextiles, smart textiles, and composites, led by institutions like IITs and CRRI. Total funding under the Mission now stands at ₹509 crore ($6.11 million). IPR guidelines aim to boost innovation.

Burberry has introduced its first virtual scarf try-on experience in its ‘Wrapped in Burberry’ holiday campaign. Partnering with AR provider WANNA, the immersive experience lets customers view iconic Burberry scarves in real-time, with over 50 styles and two classic options. Available online and in select stores, customers can share images and directly access product pages for purchases.

Looking for holiday gift ideas? Maria's easy Ice Resin earring tutorial may be the perfect gift for someone special!

Maria kicks off a series on how to choose a planner to get you organized in the new year!

The A5 planner world has a new player for 2016 with the introduction of the completely customizable Simple Stories Carpe Diem planner.

Here is an easy DIY charm tutorial! I'll show you how to make charms yourself and how to change out charms for your Midori Traveler's Notebook and other traveler's notebooks. This easy how-to project just requires a few supplies and tools to make a personalized planner charm.

Maria unboxes the February 2017 kit called "Fresh Picked" from the new subscription box for planner lovers by Mommy Lhey Designs.

Tariff policy under the new government will indeed be a challenge and will trigger new inflationary cycles if campaign proposals are fully enacted, making apparel expensive for Americans, trade body AAFA recently said. AAFA will continue to push Congress and the Administration to renew expired and expiring programmes like the AGOA, the GSP and the Haiti HELP/HOPE preference programme.

Turkiye’s apparel exports to Germany fell by 8.73 per cent to $1.92 billion in January–August compared to the same period in 2023. Despite this decline, Germany remained Turkiye's top apparel export market, accounting for 17.43 per cent of total exports. Trousers and shorts were leading export items, valued at $415.2 million. Turkiye’s overall apparel exports for Jan-Aug totalled $10.99 billion.

In October, the US consumer price index for garments rose by 1.1 per cent month-over-month, reversing prior declines in 2023. Current clothing prices are 7.6 per cent higher than 2019 averages. Import prices for cotton-heavy apparel stabilised at $3.70/SME, still above pre-pandemic levels. Consumer confidence rose to its highest since January 2024, with spending on apparel up 1.7 per cent YoY.

Skirts, spanning casual to formal styles and materials like cotton, denim and silk, are a significant part of women's clothing export market. Notably, skirts saw an 8.47 per cent growth in 2022, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. The US and Germany are leading skirt import markets, with the US showing 18 per cent growth. Despite geopolitical and economic challenges in 2024, recovery is expected by 2025.

The Philippines’ apparel exports are projected to reach $1 billion next year, backed by an expected boost from the FTA with South Korea expected to be effective in Q1, the Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines said. It believes the FTA will attract South Korean players to set up units in its economic zones and domestic manufacturers can penetrate the zero-tariff Korean apparel market.

Managing new entity and payer enrollment with payers can be a complex, time-consuming process for health care organizations. Whether launching a new practice, merging with another entity or expanding into new markets, the administrative burden of enrolling with insurance payers and Medicare/Medicaid is significant. From navigating payer-specific requirements to meeting tight deadlines, it’s easy for...

The post Why it’s Simpler for Health Care Organizations to Outsource Payer and Entity Enrollment appeared first on Anders CPA.

Wednesday, December 11 at 11:00 am CT Remain in compliance with both Section 1071 and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act with an efficient application process. While financial institutions are correctly concerned about how Section 1071 implementation will impact their processes, don’t miss this HMDA refresher to help prepare for the March 1st reporting deadline. As...

The post WEBINAR | Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Refresher – Including What Reporters Must Know Prior to Section 1071 Implementation  appeared first on Anders CPA.

Guillermo Rodriguez welcomes Samuel Fisher, Co-founder of Green Dispensary Marketing, to discuss effective marketing and SEO strategies for cannabis dispensaries. Samuel emphasizes the importance of building a dispensary’s own digital assets, such as a well-optimized website and strong Google “My Business” profile, rather than relying solely on third-party platforms like Weedmaps and Leafly. He shares...

The post The CannaBiz Success Show: Essential Marketing and SEO Strategies for Cannabis Dispensaries with Samuel Fisher appeared first on Anders CPA.

Small and mid-sized businesses have more IT-related responsibilities than ever, from implementing AI to keeping up with modern cyber threats. It’s become far too much for a small IT team or IT administrators to tackle on their own. Virtual or outsourced CIO services can help a business plot its technology strategy for the future, manage...

The post What Are Virtual CIO Services? appeared first on Anders CPA.

When it comes to a true flying car—I don't mean just a VTOL vehicle, I mean something that can both drive and fly—we've seen a lot of wild forms over the years.

The AeroMobil 4.0

The Xpeng AeroHT

The Alef Model A

The LuftCar

The GAC Gove

Notably, one that actually flew was the KleinVision Aircar, which had folding wings:

Another vehicle that successfully flew last year was the Samson Sky Switchblade.

However, Samson Sky reckons that in order to make the design production-ready, both the wings and the massive rear stabilizer, which contains the propellers, must be folded into the body for driving mode. So their latest design envisions this arrangement:

I hate to be skeptical, but gosh that looks like a lot of moving parts! I wonder what the maintenance will look like.

Here's a strange pairing of objects, from Chinese manufacturer Olight. Their Baton 4 Premium Edition is a tiny LED flashlight—less than 2.5" long--that comes with its own charging case.

Despite its tiny size, the Baton 4 has a 1,300-lumen output, and the company claims it can throw its beam 170 meters (558'). Though the press image isn't so aspirational.

The charging case, which can double as a powerbank, has a built-in 5000mAh battery; the company says it can fully charge the Baton 4 up to five times, providing 190 days of runtime.

The fanatical EDC crowd loves flashlights, stashing stuff inside other stuff, and charging longevity. This object seems tailor-made to scratch all three of those itches.

These run $95.

Dorel Juvenile is the world's leading juvenile products company. When they wanted to develop a new infant car seat, they turned to Pennsylvania-based ID firm DesignThink.

DesignThink as the Innovation Incubator for the Ultra Lightweight Maxi Cosi Coral XP

A Cold January Day in 2017

The team at DesignThink was asked to visit Dorel Juvenile Group USA to review a "Special Project". The development team at Dorel JG wasted no time introducing us to their latest infant car seat (ICS) project. They were experimenting with the idea of developing a seat that would reduce the struggles parents faced when trying to transition their baby from the car and carry their baby in the removable seat portion of the ICS. The team at DesignThink has designed several car seats over the years and we instantly recognized the unique opportunity, as well as the challenge that this project offered, and were eager and excited to get started.

Our Role as the Innovation Incubator

We partnered with Dorel to act as the innovation incubator to lead the project team through the fuzzy front-end and define the product's overall features and characteristics of use. Upon successful concept definition, the project would be positioned under the Maxi Cosi brand and ultimately transferred to the Maxi Cosi team in Europe and a European design group to carry the innovation to production.

The Problem at Hand

By removing the seat from the base that is installed in the car, parents can take the baby with them while running errands or visiting people and places. However, a problem associated with this system is that some removable seats can weigh up to 16 lbs. and the baby can weigh up to 35 lbs. for a combined arm-crushing weight of 50+lbs.!!

We established two primary goals: 1) reduce the overall weight of the seat to lighten the load, while maintaining structural integrity as to achieve a top crash test rating, and 2) develop new methods that enable parents to more easily lift the seat when moving in and out of the vehicle and when transporting the child in the seat.

Our Approach (Decades of Experience and User Understanding Put to Test)

DesignThink is one of the leading firms in car seat development having brought several seats to the market and has a long history of creating break-through innovation, but this project pushed our team in new ways. The structure for the project utilized DesignThink's simplified "DEEP" process;

Define that for which we will solve

Express possible solutions as quick thumbnail stories

Explain the "what – why – wow" related to user needs

Prototype to demonstrate the merits of the idea

How the Project Unfolded

A series of innovation workshops were hosted at our studio to enable the team to think and problem solve with product at hand. The objective was to think in the "ideal" (do not worry about cost and construction initially) and to "fail fast" (explore, evaluate, and evolve). The following provided the high-level framework for how the team identified and pursued their ideas.

Established Design Targets

Led by our usability team, along with team members from Dorel, we hosted a several day innovation workshop at our studio. We began with a collaborative defining of the design targets based on use, expectations, pain points, and opportunities, which we affinitized and moved directly into physical prototyping to address and evaluate how well the concepts improved the user experience during day-to-day interactions.

DEEP: Innovation Workshops to prototype your idea. You are encouraged to be chaotic and messy! Fail fast! Dorel made sure plenty of product was on hand to fuel the innovation.

Inutitive Carry

Enhanced Confidence

Improved Transitions

Development of Design Targets

Role-Play is the Best Way

To truly understand and empathize with users, we role-played, exploring typical use-case scenarios to inform our ideation. Placing ourselves in the same situations helps us quickly evaluate and improve our concepts.

Handle-Carry:

Evolution for improved ease when attaching the seat to the base and removing the child from the vehicle

Cradle-Carry:

Exploration to improve how parents can bond with the baby in a more natural holding position

Cross-Body Strap:

Exploration to provide alternate ways to carry the baby while reducing the effects of weight and fatigue on the parent

Iterative User Evaluation Cycle

Our early thoughts and ideas were evaluated by the team and with parents in our research lab. These ideas were then refined to strengthen the evolving direction. The learnings obtained through this method enabled the team to focus on the most meaningful directions and build their value. Listening, understanding, and empathizing allowed our team to develop new ideas in this category that were previously unexplored.

DesignThink presents the refined design direction.

A series of prototypes and user evaluations enabled us to reach a stage of concept definition for an ultra lightweight car seat that provides parents with improved ways to carry, hold, and secure their baby.

Our Results

User-Centered Insights lead to Market Defining Solutions

Having developed many juvenile products such as car seats, strollers, and highchairs, DesignThink understands the day-to-day challenges parents face, both physically and emotionally. We embarked on this project with Dorel to define a new car seat with features that take into account those challenges and offer relevant and meaningful solutions. Exploring innovation that is rooted in user insights enabled our team to quickly define those solutions and overcome technical hurdles to deliver new experiences to address real problems faced by parents when using an ICS.

Defining the Direction

As mentioned, DesignThink was hired as the innovation incubator in the fuzzy front-end to develop and define a new architecture for this seat. Our work was documented and handed off to the Maxi-Cosi team in Europe. The output of our innovation incubation became the driving framework used by the teams in Europe to create a truly meaningful and relevant solution for parents in this category.

The DesignThink team is very proud to have been selected by Dorel to play such an important "behind the scenes" role in setting the direction for, and contributing to the success of, the Maxi Cosi Coral XP.

It takes a Village to Design a Car Seat

Snapshot of the iterative concept development that led to the final product

You can see more of DesignThink's work here.

I have no idea who the target market for these is. Chinese tool manufacturer Arrowmax sells these Black Golden Honeycomb tools: Drivers, Allen wrenches and reamers.

They're sold individually or in sets.

On the company's website, there are literally no product descriptions for any of the tools—no explanation of the handle design, nor even what any of the tools are made out of. The only thing I was able to learn about the tools, was in the company's thin bio: Apparently these were featured, somewhere in the background, in the Marvel movie "Ant Man & the Wasp." Of course they were.

Despite some optimism that the US truck freight market would begin to recover from continued downward pressure during Q3 2024, U.S. Bank freight metrics showed challenges remain for motor carriers with shipments and spending softer in Q3. Shipments were off 21.2 per cent YoY, one of the largest drops. The bank’s national shipments index fell by 1.9 per cent in Q3 after a 2.2-per cent drop in Q2.

There have now been four or five years of huge ocean freight rate volatility, according to Drewry, which has cautioned its customers to expect little change in 2025, likely the fifth year in a row of high volatility. Shippers need to be aware that the shipping industry will continue to be disrupted and there are risks and a need for contingency plans and active vendor management, cautions Drewry.

October US container imports were 2,494,635 TEUs, marking the fourth month in a row of volumes exceeding 2.4 million TEUs, a threshold that has historically strained US maritime logistics, the November Global Shipping Report by Descartes Systems Group noted. For the first ten months of 2024, volumes grew by 13.1 per cent YoY. At seven of the top 10 US ports, transit time delays rose in October.

Global cotton markets saw slight declines and stabilisation in recent weeks, with NY/ICE December futures trading between 67–75 cents/lb since June, now at 71 cents/lb. The global A Index dipped from 85 to 83 cents, while China's index dropped from 101 to 97 cents due to a weaker yuan. Indian and Pakistani spot prices also declined, but both rupees remained stable against the dollar.

As the world begins to recover from 2020 and the economic detriment, what is next on the horizon? Download our recorded webinar discussing the current economic state and the positive uptick in the market. You’ll learn about: Economic impact on business post-pandemic Best practices for moving your business forward How to plan for the remaining fiscal year...

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Anders received a Marketing Achievement Award for best new website at the 2021 Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) Summit. Anders won in the Website category which included website projects with budgets under and over $34,999. The nomination highlighted the firm’s newly redesigned website that launched in May of 2020. Anders worked with St. Louis web design...

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This release describes how e-cigarette affect middle and high school students

The latest vital signs featuring the affects of exposure to electronic cigarette advertisements on middle and high school students in the United States during 2014.

The latest vital signs report detailing the affects of exposure to electronic cigarette advertisements on middle and high school students in the United States during 2014.

This release explains the latest campaign for TIPS from Former Smokers in it's 5th year.

More than 1.8 million smokers attempted to quit smoking and an estimated 104,000 Americans quit smoking for good because of the nine-week-long 2014 Tips From Former Smokers ( Tips ) campaign.

Report on the latest statistical data regarding adults and e-cigarette use.

Report on the latest smoke-free laws that are affecting public places.

The latest data on the disparities of the adult population of tobacco use in the U.S.