Focus on Environmental Activists, Saving Barnes & Noble, and a Fresh Look at Emails
Why Small Businesses Need to Pay Attention to Young Environmental Activists
Although there are several hot topics currently uniting today’s youth in America, one of the most compelling is the environment. Not only does concern about climate change and the health of the environment bring young people together, but it mobilizes them, taking them well outside of their classrooms, into the streets, and even to your front door. In nearly every big city around the country this year, there has been some sort of march or protest about climate change and social injustice - and the majority of people who are attending them are young and passionate.
But, these individuals are also incredibly smart and savvy, and that’s something that many business owners today are forgetting to recognize.
More than ever, young people, especially consumers, are demanding higher standards of businesses. And, as such, they are choosing to support businesses that are transparent, responsible, and as concerned about the planet as they are.
Want to attract new, loyal customers to your business?
Prove to them that you not only understand today’s climate (quite literally), but that you're also willing to do something about it.
Can a British Bookseller Save Barnes & Noble? An Argument for the Power of Appearance
Barnes & Noble has seen better days. In fact, for the last few years, it has seemed like the bookseller was witnessing its very last days. With empty shelves and disorganized stores leaving customers feeling disillusioned, that, yes, the end really is coming, Barnes & Noble has been in need of total resuscitation.
And James Daunt, the legend behind the Waterstones revival, Britain’s largest bookstore change, is hoping to be successful with his cover-to-cover CPR. Known for his extreme attention to detail (he “once spent weeks in a noisy, arm-waving debate about the ideal angle of tilt for bookstore shelving”), Daunt believes in the power of presentation and the importance of appearance - and with stellar results.
Having saved Waterstones in 2011 from a “death spiral” by “rethinking every cranny of the company, from small (those shelves) to large (the business model)”, Daunt doesn’t believe that Amazon, or digital books in any form, need to end the reign of physical bookstores. Bringing Waterstones back to profitability in a short four years, American book lovers are hoping he can do the same for Barnes & Noble, a business that has watched 400 stores close over the past two decades - and an even more concerning $1 billion in market value “evaporate” in just five years.
Aware of the slide in quality at Barnes & Noble, Daunt is turning his attention to the experience of the bookstore, noting that the stores, as of right now, are “a bit ugly”, with “piles of crap” around a place that feels very much unloved, by the consumers and the employees alike.
If his resuscitation is successful, there will be a notable shift in the overall feel of Barnes & Noble, one that will bring books back to the shelves - and people back to the stores.
Why Businesses Need to Fix Their Relationship with Emails
If you weren’t aware, your employees hate emails. While people on your email list have the choice to open your emails or not (and if you have a great subject line and relationship, they will open the email), your employees are forced to open their emails from you, whether at work or at home. Emails in the workplace represent tasks, things to do rather than something to look forward to. And, as more and more pile up, it leaves your employees feeling overwhelmed at best, which leads to disgruntled grumblings and overall dissatisfaction with what they do.
But this dysfunctional relationship with emails doesn’t have to be the reality in your business’s culture.
By becoming more aware of how your employees view the emails that are sent at work, whether by managers or co-workers, you can begin to create new systems that transform the way emails are used.
To get started, remember that:
Emails should not feel like to-do lists. The less you rely on the inbox to convey what needs to be done, the more you open it up to become a better, healthier form of communication.
Emails shouldn’t require rushed responses. By relaxing the expectations around email responses, you relieve the pressure and panic, allowing your employees to focus on work, rather than constantly responding to new messages.
Emails shouldn’t equal status. For some people, the number of emails you get signifies how important you are at work. Changing this attitude shifts attention away from the importance of emails.