May 2024

It may be the end of an era for beloved seafood chain Red Lobster, which officially declared bankruptcy on Monday after months of speculation and dozens of abrupt restaurant closures.

Now, the company is speaking out to loyal customers — and investigating the role that its shrimp supplier may have played in its demise.

Related: Red Lobster Suddenly Shutters Dozens of Locations Without Warning Employees, Begins Auctioning Off Equipment

In a letter posted to social media, Red Lobster thanked customers for their nearly five decades of loyalty and assured the masses that the chain wasn’t going anywhere.

We’re here to celebrate every moment, big or small, with our valued guests. pic.twitter.com/JmAoNGP4a8

— Red Lobster (@redlobster) May 21, 2024

“Bankruptcy is a word that is often misunderstood. Filing for bankruptcy does not mean we are going out of business,” Red Lobster wrote. “In fact, it means just the opposite. It is a legal process that allows us to make changes to our business and our cost structure so that Red Lobster can continue as a stronger company going forward.”

Red Lobster noted that companies including Delta Airlines and Hertz “emerged stronger” after filing for Chapter 11 (Delta in September 2005, Hertz in May 2020) and found ways to bounce back.

“Birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, and yes, weddings. We’ve been here for them all,” the chain penned. “Red Lobster is determined to be there for these moments for generations to come.”

Red Lobster’s downfall was a slow burn, primarily blamed on an $11 million loss in November 2023 due to the chain rollout of an “Endless Shrimp” promotion. The deal offered customers all the shrimp they could eat for $20, and it proved to be a bit too popular.

Last week, it was reported that stores had begun shuttering without warning around the country, with dozens auctioning off all of their furniture and equipment online and some employees claiming they were given no notice ahead of time.

In a filing on Sunday, Red Lobster CEO Jonathan Tibus called out former CEO Paul Kenny and Red Lobster’s seafood supplier and owner, Thai Union, regarding decisions made surrounding the “Endless Shrimp” promotion and that Red Lobster is “currently investigating the circumstances” around the decision to make the promotion permanent instead of limited-time.

Related: Endless Shrimp Deal Is Too Popular, Red Lobster Loses $11M

“I understand that Thai Union exercised an outsized influence on the Company’s shrimp purchasing,” Tibus wrote. “[Red Lobster is] exploring the impact of the control Thai Union exerted, in concert with Mr. Kenny and other Thai Union-affiliated entities and individuals, and whether actions taken in light of these parties’ varying interests were appropriate and consistent with applicable duties and obligations to Red Lobster.”

Thai Union completed its purchase of Red Lobster in 2020.

In sports movies, coaches are larger-than-life figures, delivering inspirational speeches, running up and down the sidelines or even getting kicked out of games. One of my first soccer coaches had a much more understated style. Before games, he wished us luck with a cheerful smile. He certainly was not detached, however. During games, his advice was infamously constant and direct. He would call out phrases like “eyes up, “look for the pass” and “get back, ” each aimed at a certain player, often enough that we started using them as nicknames for each other.

While real-life coaches are often less dramatic, they are some of the first examples of effective, personal leadership that many people encounter. The coaches who often help shape us seem far removed from the world of business leadership and mentorship. But though coaching attire may not cross over into the board room, my time as both a player and a leader has taught me that direct, personal coaching techniques should.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to leading your company and developing your employees into effective leaders. However, harnessing coaching principles and techniques in your communication and mentorship can help you develop strong leaders and foster a productive work environment. Here are five coaching strategies you should consider implementing in your leadership style. These approaches will help you lean into the mindset of a coach, enabling you to lead your company, mentor your employees and develop a high-functioning team.

Related: Boss or Leader? 8 Principles to Truly Effective Leadership

1. Show up to practice

A coach’s main role is to be present during practices, drills and games. Likewise, If you only observe your employees’ work at an annual performance review, you’ll be too far removed from their work to be an effective mentor or help them develop their own leadership style. You need to observe their habits and strengths throughout, not just a few times a year or at the culmination of major projects. At Outpace SEO, our founders are present in meetings that are primarily led by the team leads they are mentoring. This allows them to take a hands-on approach to leadership training and observe their mentees in action.

2. Get to know your team

Effective coaching depends on the personal knowledge of a team and players. Be present in meetings, team-building exercises and your team’s daily life to develop a thorough understanding of your key players. This will help you develop an in-depth awareness of your team so that you can select the most effective potential leaders and build a workplace that functions smoothly and successfully.

The best coaches help players learn things about themselves, and you should know your employees well enough to do the same, identifying their skill sets and where they still need further professional development. Delegating may be necessary, but it should not translate into detachment. Where possible, schedule regular meetings with the developing leaders in your team regardless of whether you have an urgent task to discuss.

Related: 10 Leadership Lessons From Successful CEOs

3. Adapt your coaching style

Just like players on a team, different employees function differently and respond best to different versions of involvement and feedback. Some employees may need more frequent check-ins, while others may prefer reporting back or meeting when they have questions. Some employees may actually prefer more blunt constructive criticism to move forward quickly, while others need a more gradual mentorship approach with positive feedback and gentle redirection. Part of being a strong leader is being flexible. Don’t be afraid to ask the employees you are mentoring how they learn most effectively.

4. Isolate skill sets

Just like a coach designs practices based on the needs of their team, do not wait for your employees’ weaknesses or learning gaps to become an issue. Instead, identify the areas where your mentees need to grow and allow them to work on projects that specifically target those skill sets. Treat these projects differently than their regular roles; they will need more direct involvement from you. It may be helpful to tell your employees which projects are specifically intended as learning opportunities and reassure them that questions and feedback are expected as part of the process.

Related: 5 Traits You Must Have to Create More Leaders

5. Be vocal

Coaches do not think in terms of delegation and feedback, but of continual guidance and gradual growth. This mindset is key if you want to not only lead your team effectively but also develop leaders within your company. Be vocal with feedback of all kinds, positive and constructive. This will help you organically stay in touch with your employees and increase employee engagement. Determine what types of feedback work the best for your team and make it a regular, scheduled part of your role.

Your involvement should not be limited to constructive feedback but should also include celebrating wins as a team. Whether it’s for individual accomplishments or business growth, public recognition of success is an important piece of the coaching process. From informally mentioning positive results or completed projects in meetings to recognizing and rewarding promotions or work anniversaries, it’s important that you keep track of your team’s wins, big and small.

Thinking of yourself as a coach empowers you to continually seek momentum for your business. Developing an involved, personal and positive leadership style will not only boost employee engagement and company productivity but also help you organically find and deliberately mentor new leaders.

Xander Schauffele emerged victorious on Sunday, taking home the Wanamaker Trophy at the PGA Championship at Valhalla Gold Club in Valhalla, New York.

And for Schauffele, 30, and the other golfers who finished near the top, the payoff was rewarding. This year’s championship purse was $18.5 million — $1 million higher than a year ago and the largest in the tournament’s history.

Related: How Much Money Does Masters Winner Scottie Scheffler Earn?

Schauffele is now $3.3 million richer, while second-place winner Bryson DeChambeau earned $1.998 million, followed by Viktor Hovland in third place with a prize of $1.258 million.

Meanwhile, the tournament drama started early. Before dawn on Friday, the second day of the tournament, early favorite and 2024 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, was arrested and booked on several charges including second-degree assault of a police officer, and is scheduled to be arraigned on June 3. He reportedly warmed up in jail before being released to make his tee time. Scheffler finished the tournament in a four-way tie for 8th place.

Related: PGA Championship Payout: How Much Do the Winners Take Home?

The PGA Championship purse was slightly less than the Masters this year, which saw a prize purse of $20 million and a payout to Scheffler of $3.6 million for winning the tournament for the second time.

Golfers in the top 10 all take home at least $500,000. All players received at least $4,000 just for finishing the 36-hole course.

Here’s how the payout went for the top 20 players this tournament.

1st: $3,300,000, Xander Schauffele

2nd: $1,998,000, Bryson DeChambeau

3rd: $1,258,000, Viktor Hovland

4th: $888,000, Thomas Detry and Collin Morikawa ($814,000 per player)

5th: $740,000

6th: $660,580 — Justin Rose and Shane Lowry ($639,440 per player)

7th: $618,300

8th: $577,790 — Scottie Scheffler, Billy Horschel, Robert MacIntyre and Justin Thomas ($521,418 per player)

9th: $539,030

10th: $502,040

11th: $466,810

12th: $433,340 — Taylor Moore, Rory McIlroy, Lee Hodges, Sahith Theegala, Dean Burmester and Alex Noren ($359,943 per player)

13th: $401,630

14th: $371,690

15th: $343,500

16th: $317,080

17th: $292,420

18th: $269,520 — Rio Hisatune, Harris English, Tony Finau, Keegan Bradley and Austin Eckroat ($230,764 per player)

19th: $248,380

20th: $229,000

21st: $211,390

22nd: $195,530

23rd: $181,440 — Russell Henley, Tom Hoge and Maverick McNealy ($170,137 per player)

24th: $169,990

25th: $158,980

The best commencement speeches are often motivational and thought-provoking, leaving new graduates optimistic as they head into the “real world.”

But for the Class of 2024 at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, new grads walked away with more than just a wealth of knowledge — they left their ceremony with an extra $1,000 in their pockets.

Related: ‘There Is More To Life Than Work’: Bill Gates Delivers Emotional Message To Graduates About Learning To Take A Break

Last week, the founder and CEO of Granite Telecommunications, Robert Hale Jr., spoke to grads at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth about their futures and shared a story about a time when his business suffered a $1 billion loss in just one day to explain the importance of perseverance through failure.

“It’s okay to fail,” Hale told graduates. “Life will give you challenges and if you take those challenges you’ll fail from time to time — don’t worry about it … don’t fear failure, understand that it’s just part of the process, and if you use that fear of failure to motivate yourself, you’ll be better for it.”

Then, as he wrapped up, he shocked the audience by announcing he was giving each graduate graduate $1,000 — but there was a catch.

“These trying times have heightened the need for sharing, caring, and giving,” Hale told students. “Our community needs you and your generosity more than ever.”

The students were given two envelopes with $500 each — one was intended for the students to keep for themselves while the other was for them to give to someone else in need.

Related: Sheryl Sandberg’s Advice to Grads: Banish Self-Doubt, Dream Bigger and Lean In, Always

“As the degree conferral was about to begin, Hale came forward and let the graduates know he had one more bit of advice for them. He told the eager crowd that for him and his wife Karen, ‘the greatest joys we’ve had in our life have been the gift of giving,'” UMass Dartmouth said in a release. “Hale let the Class of 2024 know that the two large duffle bags being brought up on stage by security were packed with envelopes full of cash.”

There were roughly 1,200 students in UMass Dartmouth’s 2024 graduating class.

Hale’s current net worth is an estimated $5.4 billion.

After 20-plus years of enduring increasingly diminished returns as a bottom-shelf member of the media, along with recent “downsizing” at my now-former network, I realized that it was time to stop working for other people and to start working for the man in the mirror.

Successful entrepreneurs always advise “follow your passion.” And so I did. My secret passion? I’ve always wanted to helm historical walking tours.

(Yes, shockingly, I’m also super single.)

I am a mass consumer of walking tours. Over the years, I’ve booked countless pavement-pounding adventures the minute my flight’s wheels arrive on far-away runways. And I consistently marvel at how these knowledgeable hosts hold patrons in the palm of their hands whilst dispensing all manner of amazing info within any city I’m visiting. From morbid Jack the Ripper strolls within London’s White Chapel district to sweaty Art Deco slogs down Miami Beach to a driving Dearly Departed tour (because Los Angelenos ONLY walk on red carpets) that illuminates areas where A-listers OD’ed, I log the good, bad and ugly experiences while thinking about how I might’ve made them better.

So with a mission in my heart and years of research in my head, I just had one big question: how does this industry even work?

The first step

“I think the biggest mistake people make when starting out is thinking that this is easy because it is not,” says Seth Kamil, President and Founder of Big Onion Walking Tours. There are all kinds of incorporation and insurance considerations, but before that, a biggie is defining what’s going to make your tour different.

Seth founded, what remains the gold standard in New York walkabouts, as a graduate student at Columbia University in 1991. His mission statement was two-fold: A) Churn out thought-provoking tours that focus on the history, architecture, local personalities, etc.; and B) Provide real-world experience plus much-needed income to other graduate students or recent, underfunded PhD’s which, to date, are the only types of employees he hires.

“All our guides have education backgrounds and are historians who lead tours,” adds Kamil, “not tour guides who dabble in history.”

[Note to self: Google “black-market PhD degrees”.]

“Podcasting can be a solitary business,” says Tom Meyers who, for fifteen years alongside Greg Young, has hosted the ridiculously popular, NYC-history-based-behemoth that is The Bowery Boys. “But when we’re on one of our walking tours, [an offshoot of their enterprise that began in 2018] we get to hang out with fans and sometimes get ideas from them for upcoming shows!”

“We have slightly nerdier tours, like the ‘Jane Jacobs versus Robert Moses’ walk, which I’m especially proud of because I think it taps into the DNA of our podcast,” says Meyers. “I had dreamed of that tour for years, but it wasn’t until we finally got the perfect guide, Aaron Shielke, to research and write it, that the reality happened. Today it’s one of our most popular walks and Aaron now even gives tours to city planners!”

(To know me is to know that I just had a full-on dorkgasm regarding the description of that walk.)

“This can be a dream job if you do it right,” says Randy Walker, a New Orleans-based writer who has hosted French Quarter ghost adventures, primarily through Haunted History Tours, for over a decade. “Whether the night is awful, exciting, or both, it is never boring.”

It also goes without saying that if you’re looking to entertain visitors underneath the umbrella of an established company? Make sure you know a bit about the damn company.

“Our prospective guides have to be good storytellers, obsessed with New York history, and have a sense of humor,” advises Meyers. “They also have to know the show — we don’t test them, but they do get bonus points if they point out things we said in any of our past 430 episodes!”

Related: Can a Great Bloody Mary Cure a Bar’s Financial Hangover?

Getting the word out on the street

“We were word-of-mouth, listings in print media and ‘pagers plus payphones,'” remembers Kamil. “I approached Big Onion like a business, leading tours and presenting a full walk even if only one person showed up — it cannot be all about making money in the short-term because building a dedicated client base is more important.”

The word-of-mouth thing works for me, but further afield necessities, like securing a website and dealing with eventual online anger, were worrisome.

“Those things are horrible because you have no power and one insult negates hundreds of compliments,” laments Walker of online-reprobates-masquerading-as-objective-reviewers. “I equate it to that Adam-Sandler-running-a-resort sketch when he was hosting Saturday Night Live: ‘If you’re sad now, you’ll probably feel sad there.’ Basically, Yelp was invented by angry white people.”

Adds Tom of live hecklers: “It’s quite common for passing pedestrians to add their own commentary. Greg and I were once filming something in Seward Park when a woman in her 80s interrupted the shoot yelling, ‘What do THEY know, why don’t you ask ME?!’ Of course, she was probably right.”

The name game

Regarding my business’s moniker, my long-time Compound Media graphic artist/genius, Matt Smith, kindly provided me with the below image and preliminary title, but as for a permanent name? I’m not married to Thirsty History Tours, Liver Let Die Historical Bar Crawls, Bar Apple Walking Tours, Old Brew York Tours, Pisstorical Bar Crawls or — even though blunt is usually best — Historic Big Apple Bar Crawls.

Credit: Matt Smith

None of my options moved me unless, you know, a site containing any of those words is still available. As anyone who has ever tried to name something knows, anything you really like is already taken. “We grabbed our domain name in the 1990s, so it wasn’t hard back then,” notes Kamil.

Come to think of it? I probably should’ve kept, even the crappiest of these nominees, to myself.

Making it legal (and funded)

Then there’s the getting legit bit: New York has always found new ways to fun-police any small business and my category is no different. Sightseeing guides, in all shapes or forms, must be licensed. So the most daunting requirement for this former C-student was taking the local history exam. This quiz consists of 150 questions, requiring a minimum of 97 correct answers, plus a nonrefundable $50 exam fee. (Yikes.)

“We are big advocates of the Guides Association and we only hire those who have passed the official exam,” explains Meyers. “But our guides love that test because taking it is like a night out for bar trivia!”

(Thanks for that, Tom. Doesn’t make feel even remotely more confident about this test.)

In happier paperwork news, the Alliance for Downtown New York’s Walking Tour Incubator Grant Program gives money to entrepreneurs starting walking tours in lower Manhattan. [Note: If me writing about starting a walking tour in lower Manhattan for Entrepreneur doesn’t get me a grant based on entrepreneurs starting walking tours in lower Manhattan? Well, it’s time to look into the lucrative work that is ditch digging.]

Expect the (alcohol-infused) unexpected

“I was hosting one tour on The Bowery and a man walked out of a flophouse, approached our group, dropped his pants and said to a client, ‘Will you be the mother of my children?'” recalls Kamil of a 1994 gig. “We quickly walked away with the woman being shocked, her date angry and me telling them I should charge extra as they will tell this story forever.”

While 24/7 intoxicated interlopers are an expected Manhattan job hazard, The Big Apple’s got nothing on The Big Easy.

“My very first night, I’m nervously trying to hit every word correctly in front of a bachelorette party and, as I am doing this, a rubbery thing hits me on the cheek,” winces Walker. “Well, they had an inflatable sex doll and decided to rub its dick into my face.”

Tenured tour guides also excel at picking out the free-loaders.

“It’s common to have people try to join the group, thinking they’re being sly,” laughs Meyers. “We see you!”

Related: At the Comedy Cellar, the Customer Is Always Right – Entrepreneur

On-the-asphalt experience

I’ve inadvertently been training for this labor of love per previous pieces on The Ear Inn (via both New York magazine plus a video package for Maxim), Neir’s (Entrepreneur) and The Heidelberg (The New York Times) for my entire adult life.

Yael Bar-tur, social media consultant and co-host of the awesome Ask A Jew podcast, recently let me premiere my business for her 40^th birthday which included…*gulp*…30 of her closest pals.

Yael’s feedback was encouraging, yet vaguely insulting: “You were so thorough and meticulous in your preparation that it reminded me of those homeless people who walk around with a stack full of notes while mumbling to themselves.” But it went well enough that I heard from some friends of her friends wondering if I could helm a follow-up walk for the much easier group of four. Answer? Yes!

Robin and Nick Meahn, of the latter party, emailed a much kinder review: “You’re a riot! Great bars, comfortable pace, crazy history — definitely a fun way to spend an afternoon in the city!”

My most recent effort centered around another birthday via Emmy-award-winning reporter and two-time Drunk History vet Lauren Sivan. This little-sister-I-never-wanted was game to the point of dressing up as “Sexy Alexander Hamilton” during the proceedings. Not to be outdone and to paraphrase an old adage: Dress for the job you want, not the job you…uh…currently don’t have, I wore a movie-accurate homage to Daniel Day Lewis’s “Bill The Butcher” character in 2002’s Gangs Of New York. Annoyingly, Sivan assumed I was going as Willy Wonka.

Credit: Matt Smith/@FiveFanPS

On these three initial tours, we hit Paris Café (1873), The Dead Rabbit, (2013, but the edifice was built in 1828), Fraunces Tavern (a debatable 1762), Old Town Bar (1892), Pete’s Tavern (1864), and an indefensible Joey Roses (2022, mostly because comedian, Joe DeRosa, was on Sivan’s tour and owns the joint).

The stops went great, I studied up on all of the locales, but boy was I nervous about getting stumped by super inquisitive patrons. This, it turns out, is not a fear unique to me. “Every new guide fears answering a question with the response: ‘I don’t know'”, advises Walker. “The reality is there’s so much history, nobody knows it all and most tourists are there to have a good time while rooting for you.”

There are no small tours, only small tips

A reporter once asked Yankee great, Joe DiMaggio, why he played so hard during meaningless games. The Hall of Famer’s response: “There might have been somebody in the stands today who’d never seen me play before and might never see me again.”

Seth discovered the simple truth firsthand of why you need to go big every single outing during an early Big Onion gig. “We learned this on a rainy day in 1992 when one person showed up and I did the full walk for all of $10,” recalls Kamil. His decision not to cancel or give it less than his all became his first big break. “The person on the tour ended up being an editor for The Washington Post and we were subsequently featured on the front page of their Sunday travel section.”

Positive press is the kind of payment money can’t buy, but actual gratuities are the gain when it comes to this game and my guy in NOLA learned this lesson when it came to being cute while requesting a little something for the effort.

“We try different things and the dumbest one I ever did was saying ‘tips OR hugs are welcome'”, laughs Walker. “Sure enough, 30 pairs of eyes lit up, drunkenly embraced me, but did NOT fill my wallet.”

Adds Randy: “If I don’t make $80 to $100 per tour, I’m not happy. There’s no science to it, you can’t tell who’s going to be a good or bad tipper.”

To quote the aforementioned Bill The Butcher: “Don’t you NEVER come in here empty-handed again, you gotta PAY for the pleasure of MY company!”

My three downtown events garnered a little over two grand and I don’t pretend that this will be the average take as things progress. Yet with more movable feasts on the ole calendar, it has occurred to me that this might be the one freelance gig that AI can’t take. Yet.

Related: 7 Ways to Snag Tourist Dollars and Keep Locals Happy at the Same Time

In a world where success stories often seem like overnight sensations, it’s refreshing to hear the journey of someone who has truly embraced perseverance and resilience. From a blue-collar background to founding a social media platform and later a B2B software company, Scott Kaplan‘s experiences offer valuable insights into personal development, entrepreneurship, and the transformative power of sports. Perseverance and finding joy in one’s work emerge as recurring themes throughout Kaplan’s discussions.

Related: Try This Breathwork Technique to Unlock New Ways of Problem-Solving

He emphasizes the importance of pushing through challenges and setbacks, never losing sight of the ultimate goal. Kaplan’s journey serves as a reminder that success rarely comes without hard work and dedication. By embracing perseverance, individuals can overcome obstacles and achieve their dreams. Time management, self-reflection, and aligning actions with personal values are also key factors in Kaplan’s path to success. He stresses the significance of managing time effectively, prioritizing tasks, and staying focused on the bigger picture.

“I don’t know what a snooze button is,” Kaplan told Jeff on this episode. “Once my brain starts getting going in the morning, it’s like, ‘Let’s go!'”

Kaplan encourages listeners to engage in regular self-reflection, allowing them to assess their progress, identify areas for improvement, and make necessary adjustments. By aligning actions with personal values, individuals can ensure that their work is fulfilling and meaningful. Adaptability and innovation are crucial in the ever-evolving world of business, as Kaplan’s journey exemplifies. From transitioning from radio to founding a social media platform and later a B2B software company, Kaplan demonstrates the importance of embracing change and staying ahead of the curve. By being open to new ideas, technologies, and market trends, entrepreneurs can seize opportunities and drive business growth.

About The Jeff Fenster Show

Serial entrepreneur Jeff Fenster embarks on an extraordinary journey every week, delving into the stories of exceptional individuals who have defied the norms and blazed their own trails to achieve extraordinary success.

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Related: Use This Simple Strategy to Push Through Limitations in Your Life

Hemingway famously wrote that the best way to determine if someone is trustworthy is simply to trust them. In most businesses, particularly in tech, trust has historically been hedged on two main factors: security and compliance. I believe this approach (much like Hemingway’s advice) is not only outdated but also costs companies millions every year.

As a chief trust officer, I’ve worked with dozens of companies in retail, software and even biotech, helping to turn their trustworthiness into a product they can take to market. This approach has led to faster sales and higher customer satisfaction, but it requires an entirely new way of thinking — and operating. And the reality is that most businesses are thinking about trust in the wrong way: It’s not about accumulating checkmarks on an IT or compliance list — it’s about enabling, defending and creating real business value.

At a time when technological, sociological and even geopolitical forces are pushing us to reevaluate authenticity and how to foster trust in a world full of misinformation and deep fakes – I’ve been thinking about this challenge a lot.

Simply put, if trust in your company or product is required to make a sale, you can and must turn it into an intentional product based on evidence of how you run your business. Here’s how to transform trust into a go-to-market product with significant ROI (and why it has never been more important):

Trust is taking a beating

Cyber attacks, data breaches and online fraud have exponentially increased in recent years, but it’s not just cybersecurity that’s causing trust issues. Edelman’s 2024 trust barometer revealed more than two-thirds of respondents believe business leaders are purposely trying to mislead people.

Companies like Meta and Boeing have famously made headlines for devastating customer trust issues in recent years. In the software sector, I’ve seen firsthand how the downstream effects of declining trust can negatively impact companies, whether through costly audits and compliance checks or by chipping away at their long-term valuation.

Whatever your business, thinking about trust as a product can be an invaluable way to streamline sales, boost revenue and support core business metrics. And trust really does matter in the grand scheme of your company’s success: trusted companies have been shown to outperform their peers by 400%.

Building a new trust framework

For most companies, trustworthiness will be scrutinized most during the sales process. But I believe businesses need to start thinking and talking about trust well before they get to this stage. The reality is, that trust has to be a core part of how you run your business, and customers care about that more than you think.

The best place to start is by understanding exactly what your customer needs — and then finding ways to ensure those needs are being served by your organizational practices and operations. Here’s the trust framework I use:

1. Productize your process

Customers care about how your product is made – and they want to hear about how you deal with problems just as much as how you’ll help them succeed (this is especially true in software, where prospective buyers require evidence of safe processes and trustworthy, predictable behavior to give the green light on a purchase).

So how do you do this? Compile evidence of your trustworthiness into relevant trust stories that demonstrate to your customers why they can and should trust how you do what you do — whether it’s a view into your data storage practices, supply chain, or your approach to company governance. By getting ahead of the curve and proactively removing the possibility of trust friction, you can accelerate sales and value generation.

2. Set up a trust shop

While security and compliance traditionally belong to IT, a trust practice must be much more holistic — not to mention championed and adopted by a broad cross-section of company leaders. Every segment of your business — from operations to marketers to the C-suite – should be talking about your trust practices and telling your trust stories.

And, of course, adding a chief trust officer to your team will inevitably accelerate the investment in trust as a core value driver (not to mention demonstrate to others the importance you place on trust as an organization as a whole).

3. Map to C-suite metrics

As with any practice, you need to know whether your trust practice is working. So how do you measure it? Use the same metrics your CFO does, such as impact or influence on customer acquisition costs, churn and sales.

Be sure to align your trust practice to business value metrics that will get management buy-in. I’ve personally seen results that speak directly to executives, such as decreases in time to close deals, increased revenue, and fewer (if any) disruptive audits.

The bottom line: trustworthy companies and products command a premium in the market.

If trust plays a critical role in your business outcomes, then changing the way you think about it — and treating it as a product — can ultimately add tremendous value. But the best measure of success? For most businesses, it’s knowing that, at the end of the day, your customers want to work with you because your company is genuinely trustworthy. And that proof is in your trust product.

If you struggle with confidence and self-esteem, you’re not alone. Over the years, studies have shown that a majority of people — about 85 percent — struggle with self-confidence. Improving self-esteem can have significant long-term benefits. Gaining confidence is a difficult process, but you can seek help from experts or people with valuable life experiences to share. Self-help books have exploded in popularity over the past decade, many of which have the explicit goal of helping readers improve their self-esteem.

These 10 best-selling self-improvement books, spanning three decades, have helped readers take important strides and improve their well-being. Check them out — they might help you, too.

The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem: The Definitive Work on Self-Esteem by the Leading Pioneer in the Field – Nathaniel Branden (1994)

Image credit: Bantam | Entrepreneur

What We Love: This book about confidence is an oldie but goodie. In it, Nathaniel Branden — a pioneer in the self-esteem movement (and former romantic partner of Ayn Rand) — answers four questions: What is self-esteem? Why is it important? What can we do to raise our levels? And what role do others play in influencing our self-esteem? He also addresses six self-esteem cornerstones: the practices of living consciously, self-acceptance, self-responsibility, self-assertiveness, purposefulness and integrity. Branden outlines steps for success in each of these areas, and he cautions that the task of sustaining them falls on each individual.

What Readers Say: One reviewer writes: “As someone who is pretty self-aware but only just now dabbling into my deeper issues (self-esteem being my core struggle), I found this book to be supremely helpful. It offered me a ton of ‘Aha!’ moments on how I relate to myself and others. It puts into perspective that self-esteem isn’t the prize at the end of treatment or work — it’s the actual work you do.” Another says: “I’m a psychotherapist, and I have gotten a lot out of this book personally and have recommended it to a lot of my clients.”

Best Place to Buy: Currently listed at $13.95 on Amazon

The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are – Brené Brown (2010)

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What We Love: There’s a reason why one of Brené Brown’s speeches ranks among the most popular TED Talks of all time. She’s a research professor and bestselling author, and this book offers guidance on living wholeheartedly, something Brown equates to living your life from a place of worthiness. Through the book’s 10 guideposts — with titles like “Cultivating Authenticity: Letting Go of What People Think” and “Cultivating Creativity: Letting Go of Comparison” — Brown teaches readers to view themselves as “enough,” let go of productivity as self-worth and move away from self-doubt and the need to feel constantly in control.

What Readers Say: One reviewer writes: “I initially avoided this book out of concern that it was one of many under-evidenced self-help titles. Changing my mind on reading this was undoubtedly one of the best decisions I have ever made, and I am a much better person for it … I think I can guarantee that something in this book will profoundly change you.” Another says: “The author talks a lot about how making a major change in your life isn’t something you wake up and do one day, it’s something you practice every single day. And most will struggle with it, but without the struggle, we lose out on so much. I will have far fewer regrets on my deathbed having read this book.”

Best Place to Buy: Currently listed at $5.49 on Amazon

The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun – Gretchen Rubin (2011)

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What We Love: Gretchen Rubin’s writing and analysis put her at the forefront of research on habits, human nature and happiness, and her works have been translated into more than 30 languages. This book, which topped the New York Times bestseller list, was sparked by a simple question she asked herself on a rainy afternoon on a city bus: What do I want from life, anyway? In this book, Rubin outlines her own resolutions for the year she spent working on her own “happiness project.” She focused on a different area each month, like vitality and boosting energy for January, which meant having goals like an earlier bedtime, better exercise and simply acting more energetically. Rubin’s angle here isn’t telling readers to do something — rather, it’s to share her own experience in hopes of inspiring readers to think differently about their own happiness.

What Readers Say: One reviewer writes: “The quirkiness of this 12-month plan for a focus on happiness distinguishes it from other self-help books. It allows for a plan that can be modified to fit any individual.” Another says: “A realistic, genuinely practical (but not easy), lifelong approach to making the constant adjustments we know we need to be our best selves.”

Best Place to Buy: Currently listed at $5.98 on Amazon

You Are a Badass – Jen Sincero (2013)

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What We Love: In the first paragraph of her book, Sincero writes, “What little I knew about the self-help/spiritual world I found to be unforgivably cheesy … At the same time, there was all this stuff about my life that I desperately wanted to change and, had I been able to bulldoze through my holier-than-thouism, I could have really used some help around here.” If this hits home, give You Are a Badass — written by a New York Times bestselling author and success coach — a try. In chapters with titles like “Love The One You Is” and “Your Brain Is Your Bitch,” Sincero dives into concepts like self-perception, spirituality, healthy views about money, meditation and purpose, all via accessible language and actionable how-tos.

What Readers Say: One reviewer writes: “Stop what you are doing and get this book … This was the last book I read in 2017. The timing of it was perfect, because it helped me to formulate my goals and resolutions for 2018. This book helped me come up with my theme for the year: ‘Love yourself.'” Another says: “Her writing style does not feel like a self-help book at all. It’s like having real-talk with a self-loving, educated girlfriend.”

Best Place to Buy: Currently listed at $8.89 on Amazon

The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance — What Women Should Know – Katty Kay and Claire Shipman (2014)

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What We Love: In this book, broadcast journalists Katty Kay and Claire Shipman draw practical advice from their own life experiences, as well as those of other prominent women in media, business and politics. They combine these ideas with research in genetics, behavior, cognition and gender to arrive at self-esteem advice for women of all ages. “The newest research shows that we can literally change our brains in ways that affect our thoughts and behavior at any age,” the authors write. “A substantial part of the confidence code is … our choice. With diligent effort, we can all choose to expand our confidence. But we will get there only if we stop trying to be perfect and start being prepared to fail.”

What Readers Say: One reviewer writes: “I was expecting a touchy-feely book about how girls should have more confidence and drop everything to pursue their dreams, but I was incredibly pleasantly surprised at how scientific this book is.” Another says: “This book mentioned so many things that I used to do myself … I could see how I’m stacking the deck against myself without even knowing it. I read it before a salary negotiation, and as a result, I upped my initial asking number (and they gave it to me)!”

Best Place to Buy: Currently listed at $10.99 on Amazon

Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person – Shonda Rhimes (2015)

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What We Love: Shonda Rhimes might have had three shows on television, but she didn’t have it all — especially when it came to confidence. Six words her sister said at a 2013 Thanksgiving dinner changed her life: “You never say yes to anything.” Rhimes realized she consistently said no to public appearances, interviews and events for one simple reason: fear. Self-esteem, unhappiness with weight and social anxiety all prompted her to decline invitations. And although it terrified her, she decided to change that in the hope that embracing new things would lead her closer to happiness. In this book, she chronicles the year she spent saying yes to every single thing that scared her — and inspires readers to do the same.

What Readers Say: One reviewer writes, “She’s funny. Like laughing-out-loud-in-public funny. Like people changing seats on the bus because you’re smiling and snickering to yourself funny. Like spitting up coffee and pastry on the Kindle screen funny … In addition to being funny, she’s pitch-perfect in her capacity to convey authenticity, vulnerability and confidence all within the same paragraph.” Another says: “I felt overwhelmed by my responsibilities: work, school, mom, wife, trying to be everything to everyone … By the end of the first chapter, I was ready to start saying yes to more things in life.”

Best Place to Buy: Currently listed at $10.42 on Amazon

Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life – Gary John Bishop (2016)

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What We Love: If you’re stuck in your head when it comes to self-confidence — and you respond well to tough love — look no further than Gary John Bishop’s book. “Here’s what you’ve forgotten: You’re a fu*king miracle of a being,” he writes. The author also serves up a fresh wake-up call for those who believe they’re not in control of all aspects of their life, transparently reminding readers that other people and circumstances aren’t what’s standing in their way — it’s their own negative self-talk. In that vein, Bishop also provides strategies to boost self-esteem, as well as “assertions” for readers to repeat until they believe. For example, “I am not my thoughts; I am what I do.”

What Readers Say: One reviewer writes, “With the help of Gary’s words, I realize that I am my hero and, ultimately, this is really good news for me. I was so busy waiting for things to get better that I wasn’t in action about living a happy life … I feel like I am finally awake after an extended nap.” Another says: “One of the best books I’ve read. He doesn’t just talk about changing your life but he lays out clear steps to make it happen. Must read!”

Best Place to Buy: Currently listed at $14.99 on Amazon

The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery – Brianna Wiest (2020)

What We Love: Brianna Wiest, the bestselling author and columnist, does not hold back. In The Mountain Is You, she makes it clear that becoming the best version of yourself requires sacrifice, including jettisoning the things that are holding you back. “Your new life is going to cost you your old one,” she writes. “It’s going to cost you your comfort zone and your sense of direction. It’s going to cost relationships and friends … The people who are meant for you are going to meet you on the other side.” She dives into the complexity of self-sabotage, why people do it and how hard it is to break out of one’s comfort zone. In doing so, she makes a compelling argument that people’s biggest obstacle is often themselves.

What Readers Say: One reviewer writes: “This book is a treasure trove of wisdom, offering profound insights and practical guidance to overcome self-destructive patterns and embrace personal development and growth.” Another says: “I read this book while I was in my first six months of a 12-step addiction program, getting out of a toxic relationship, changing jobs, coming to terms with my poor choices over 20 years. Now, I look back a year later and wonder how I ever survived. Briana’s writing is so beautiful. I tell my friends, ‘She gently gives you the hard truth,’ and that is what I needed.”

Best Place to Buy: Currently listed at $17.99 on Amazon

Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness – Steve Magness (2022)

What We Love: With a background as an elite running coach and exercise scientist, Steve Magness has studied human performance — and the things that hold us back — for decades. While many of the lessons are derived from athletics, Magness offers guidance that can help anyone struggling with life’s obstacles, whether those emerge in a relationship, job, the battlefield or elsewhere. Magness offers four core pillars to resilience: “Ditch the Facade and Embrace Reality,” “Listen to Your Body,” “Respond Instead of React” and “Transcend Discomfort.” Readers will build confidence and learn to embrace resiliency by following those pillars.

What Readers Say: One reviewer writes: “I have read a lot of powerful books about mental toughness, and this was by far the best one I’ve read. His approach to mental toughness is different than most, yet it is logical and really makes sense. I liked the exercises given to help develop the mental skills described. Not only do the lessons apply to sports, but also to business and real life.” Another says: “It offers perspectives that can help coaches, parents, athletes, creatives or really anyone who strives. What I love most about it is that it reminds you of how much you actually love doing hard things … Magness doesn’t tell us why, but rather, he helps us understand why the process of doing hard things is more rewarding than having done them.”

Best Place to Buy: Currently listed at $15.99 on Amazon

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, 30th Anniversary Edition – Jon Kabat-Zinn (2023)

What We Love: When it was originally published in 1994, Wherever You Go, There You Are served as a groundbreaking text for those interested in mindfulness. Author Jon Kabat-Zinn, who founded the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts, offers a scientific understanding of how meditation can help people overcome stress and ultimately improve their awareness skills. “Mindfulness practice means that we commit fully in each moment to be present; inviting ourselves to interface with this moment in full awareness,” Kabat-Zinn writes. The new edition contains not only a new introduction but also updated research that Kabat-Zinn has collected over the past three decades.

What Readers Say: One reviewer writes: “I read this book back in the 1990s and just re-read it as my interest in learning about and practicing mindfulness has been high recently … It’s written from a mostly secular/scientific point of view, though Kabat-Zinn does reference the Buddhist roots of mindfulness.” Another says: “Kabat-Zinn speaks in a no-nonsense tone about mindfulness. In this book, he guides us to gain direct experience — taking baby steps at first, larger steps later — to gain a personal understanding of mindfulness.”

Best Place to Buy: Currently listed at $10.98 on Amazon.

Business travel is inherently risky because driving poses certain innate hazards. If you’re a business leader sending yourself, team members, or employees out on the road, the least you can do is equip them with the tools they need to operate as safely as possible and get out of a jam if they happen to run into one.

A great tool that’s designed to help fix flat tires, this HOTO Air Pump Pro Portable Air Compressor and Tire Inflator, is on sale for just $79.99 (reg. $119). Promised to be 85% faster than competitors, this four-preset air pump is made to be able to fill a tire in at most five minutes.

Running on a 12V pump motor, this fast-working pump features a powerful battery life that can charge as many as 15 under-inflated tires within a single charge. When you’re filling up, the pump also prevents you from overdoing things with its worry-free automatic stop that ceases operations when the proper inflation is met.

This fantastic tire pump can serve as a great safety tool for business travelers. It can also promote exercise and recreation when used to pump up sports balls and bike tires.

The versatility and quality of this small, compact device have added up to make it a hit amongst users and critics alike. It’s even earned a coveted nomination from MoMa Design.

Don’t forget that for a limited time only, this HOTO Air Pump Pro Portable Air Compressor and Tire Inflator is on sale for just $79.99 (reg. $119).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Many entrepreneurs value being able to choose where and when they work. However, you must maintain maximum connectivity to optimize your remote workflow, and the 8-in-1 Tablet Docking Stand was designed to do exactly that. It’s on sale for just $54.99, which is lower than Amazon pricing.

This docking stand is compatible with laptops and tablets and has all the ports you need. With 5Gbps data transfer speeds, working remotely won’t slow you down. Plus, high-powered devices up to 100W can be fast-charged with a Power Delivery port. A regular SD and microSD slot also make storing and accessing your media on memory cards easy.

The stand has three USB 3.0 ports, so you can connect a variety of peripherals, including a mouse, keyboard, external hard drives, and more. You’ll also be able to expand your visuals by connecting to the stand’s HDMI port. There’s even a 3.5mm audio jack, so you can listen to your favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks with wired speakers or headphones.

This docking stand also makes working with tablets and extra monitors much more comfortable. Its height can be adjusted to help you maintain a healthy posture, up to 70°. The tablet holder is also adjustable and can be tilted up to 180°. This can all benefit your daily ergonomics, which can help you be more productive (according to Forbes).

The docking station easily folds up for packing or storage. It has a tiny footprint and weighs less than a pound, yet its aluminum alloy construction is sturdy and durable. There are non-slip silicone strips on the bottom of the stand to hold it steady and keep it from sliding around.

Get the 8-in-1 Tablet Docking Stand today while it’s available at a price lower than you’ll find on Amazon, just $54.99 (reg. $69).

StackSocial prices subject to change.