No 27 - Say Cheese

This newsletter started as an experiment to test LinkedIn's new functionality almost 10 months ago. Subscribers keep growing, admittedly slowly but surely, and the stats tell me that on average over two hundred people read every edition on average. Not bad and a big thank you to everyone who does.

Pro tip: If you're going to do one, don't throw caution into the wind and just do it like I did to see what happens, your best chance of getting subscribers is with your first edition. Don't let that stop you, they'll likely be an audience for what you want to write about. I'll subscribe and might even mention you in mine.

I enjoy writing about the things that pique my professional curiosity unencumbered from my day-to-day responsibilities and being my authentic self, as cliche as that might be. Which probably explains why I've become a fan of Mike Winnet in recent months. (Just an excuse to tag Mike in three newsletters in a row, a joint record shared with Elon Musk).

It is only right that I reflect on its future and the direction I should take it in. If you have any thoughts, please do send them my way in the comments or slide them into my DMs. Afterall, it's this feedback that prompted me to post them on a Saturday.

This week I pretend that the world isn't on fire and avoid talking about what must be the strangest and most turbulent month in recent history. If your head is spinning from everything that happened last month and you're hoping for a quiet(er) more stable October, I'M WITH YOU!

We set targets for ourselves once a year, personally and at work and theses can either by pushed by yourself or given to you, sometimes without the ability to question their reasoning. The problem with these targets is that they are done in the moment, often with little thought of what might happen in the micro and macro environment over that time. It's hard to plan for the unplannable, no one can see into the future, and no one knows what challenges may appear regardless of what you can and cannot control.

And yet we beat ourselves with these targets regardless as a measure of our success. Is there any wonder why burnout and mental health continues to be an issue that's talked about on LinkedIn on a daily basis?

One of the reasons we have seen a number of start-ups, in particular Fintech's reduce their headcount as they try and extend their runway. It's something that we've been looking at on the Inside Fintech podcast recently and we are likely to see more of this activity. Have they failed? Have they projected figures and growth badly?

I particularly liked Jennifer Liu 's article on "Why the workplace feels so chaotic", it's well worth a read. Steven Bartlett also shared a bit from his slightly famous Podcast regarding Gen Z and their propensity to bounce from job to job in his interview with Simon Sinek the other day. That fight or flight, or indeed settle for what you have has perhaps been eroded by the value Gen Z and others put on their time and happiness for better or worse.

Many of us will have also worked with a 'diva' that fires warpath reply all emails sucking time, air and happiness from the workplace, making everything feel more chaotic, more urgent. It's their way of projecting their unhappiness at a situation often in response to pressure from elsewhere. It can breed toxicity and makes for a less than ideal employee experience, but everyone copes in their own way. Some people go quiet, or quieter. Not quitting in the way that is buzzing right now, but mentally disconnecting themselves from work, reminding themselves that there's more to life and they need to put themselves first.

My favourite LinkedIn post of the week award goes to Carl Reader about having a weekend and not working yourself into the ground. If the weekend wasn't for taking a break, it would have been spelled WEAKend. But then, I'm writing this on a Saturday afternoon, it doesn't feel like work and I'm drinking a delicious Italian coffee outside a local cafe. Don't feel bad for me.

On the positive side of the fence, there is an increasing awareness of all these things and a desire for businesses to provide a better employee experience. Reward, recognition and employee benefits have all improved and it was something I had the pleasure of delving into at Zest with the head of product. As we recently launched our latest version and with it a new, more powerful version of our insights centre. If you have even a passing interest in how to improve the employee experience through insights and employee benefits, our first podcast is well worth a listen. Also, you'll make me look good! Thank YOU! :)

There's been lots said about customer experience and whether it is being put back in its box, as many brands don't seem to be getting any better at it. Graham Hill (Dr G) thinks it's dead and doesn't hold back. Some of the structural issue from the pandemic remain and the normal we are experiencing isn't the normal of a few years ago. in many ways.

One area that conflicts me is "Brand Love", do people really love brands and are we capable of actually loving them or is it all fluff?

My good friend and resident genius Michael Baggs had this to say...

Lots of talk right now about brand love and how to make people love your brand. Here's ten mins of my thoughts from the other morning about how nobody really cares about your brands, your company or blah as much as you do, so don't expect roses

Listen to his latest podcast, he's also pretty dam funny, but also, people do really seem to love Mash Gang , the AF brewery that he cofounded during the pandemic. I think we need to separate the idea of brand love from love love. They are not one and the same thing. Love is a strong word that is thrown around like confetti. Let's aim for brand happiness and content instead is my blunt to the point view without diving deeper as the sun has gone for a break behind the clouds and my coffee is getting cold.

For my weekly recommendation. I could get wax lyrical about the latest season of Cobra Kai, but I'm going with Karen Pirie The Guardian review gave it four stars and said "this female-led crime drama absolutely sings". Clearly it doesn't 5 star sing but it's on my watch list and since there's been a podcast theme throughout this edition, it is also fitting.

Have a great weekend or WEAKend whatever you are doing. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment, like and all that usual good stuff.

Until the next one, take care.