'Ben Thinking' for the week of 06.02
It’s Pride month!
This gives me an opportunity to share that Akhia is a company that recognizes that. We have a diversity value (“Keep being different”) and have been very diligent in our approach to ensuring things like benefits, messaging and branding reflect this.
The climate in celebrating Pride has changed a bit; according to LinkedIn companies are taking a step back from Pride this year. This year has been difficult to really get any traction on…anything. Which is why I’m grateful for our commitment and that we can continue to celebrate what this month stands for.
Onto what I’ve ‘Ben thinking’ about:
CEO poll results show unique opportunity.
This poll from Chief Executive and AlixPartners is full of rich data. However, I’d like to call your attention to two key stats:
- 48 percent have paused hiring.
- 45 percent say they have paused making major investments in their business in response to the tariffs.
Why do I think these are important? Because they show you the opportunity that is ahead. While others are backing off…you have a chance to speed up. No, not in a reckless way…but think about an untapped market you want to be first to…or a vulnerable market, where it seems like your competitors maaaaybeee backing off a bit? How do you think that impacts the service and support that the market is receiving? Do you have a chance to make a play?
The answer isn’t always slowing down. If you have convictions around what you can offer, or more importantly, why you are offering it…don’t hold back.
May is over. Thank goodness we don’t have to think about mental wellness anymore!
May was Mental Health Awareness Month. Of course, I know a lot of you don’t just think about this one month a year. But sometimes it’s hard to keep it top-of-mind on a daily basis with so much going on around us.
HBR recently shared best practices for employee mental health. I’d highly recommend saving/referencing it for reminders, because you can’t take care of anyone if you don’t take care of yourself first.
Are employee surveys helping with engagement?
Turns out…those surveys we love so much may be more a ‘nice to have’ than we thought. Business Insider tackles this in great detail. The article linked in the headline is a nine-minute read. SO, if you don’t have time (or don’t have a subscription) I asked my good friend Claude for a summary:
Employee Engagement Surveys: The Billion-Dollar Band-Aid
- They're everywhere and expensive: Companies spent nearly $1 billion in 2023 on engagement survey software, driven by research showing disengaged workers cost the economy $1.9 trillion in lost productivity and are 2.5x more likely to quit.
- Employees are skeptical: Two-thirds of workers believe companies don't meaningfully respond to survey results, viewing them as executive "pat-on-the-back" exercises rather than genuine improvement tools.
- Anonymity cuts both ways: While surveys can give voice to introverted or underrepresented employees, the lack of real dialogue often prevents building actual trust and addressing the root causes of workplace issues.
- Action beats data collection: The biggest organizational mistake is collecting survey data without acting on it or communicating back to employees what changes were made, turning surveys into "snitchware" rather than improvement tools.
Bottom line: Engagement surveys can be valuable, but only when companies commit to genuine follow-through rather than treating them as a checkbox exercise.
Do managers really need 1:1 meetings?
Bloomberg is asking the tough questions this week.
The answer to this is simple, but hard: it depends. As is the case with a lot of things, it’s all about what’s best for your situation.
Do you know why you’re having the meeting? What are you hoping to get from it? Or are you just blindly blocking the time because it’s a box to check?
Meta is turning over ad production to AI.
If you haven’t been keeping up with AI, this was bound to happen sooner rather than later: a major tech platform automating a service that will allow you to do more, control more and measure more – all while doing less.
This is a tough one to break down here, so I’d give the WSJ article I linked to a read. However, I know time is money, so here is the TL,DRAIGS (Too Long, Don’t Read AI-Generated Summary).
- “Zero-to-Ad” Automation by 2026
Meta is building end-to-end AI tools that will let a brand upload a product image and budget goal; the system generates creative (image, video, copy) and handles audience targeting and spend optimization—no human production crew required. - Hyper-Personalization in Real Time
The forthcoming platform will swap ad scenes, copy, and formats on the fly (e.g., snowy mountain vs. city street) using signals like geolocation and user behavior, effectively creating micro-variants for each viewer. - Upside for SMEs, Skepticism from Big Brands
One-click ads could be a boon for small-to-mid-size businesses lacking creative budgets, while large advertisers worry about ceding more control to Meta and about AI visuals that still suffer quality issues or brand-fit gaps.
Speaking of AI, ICYMI – Veo3 is here and making videos that could come very close to passing the Turing Test.
Worried you’re missing out? If you want to stay plugged in on all things AI, you can subscribe to my AI Round-up for stories like this. Same witty, charming banter you have come to enjoy here—just about AI.
CEOs weigh in on the future of everything (WSJ)
In case you needed a reminder that we’re living in a very unique business environment…CEOs have some thoughts on all of the challenges facing businesses today.
Tired of hearing about ‘uncertain times’?
They’re not going away. But you still need to make decisions and lead your organization. HBR shared an article where it outlined four questions you can ask when making a decision. And let me tell you – this article immediately went into ChatGPT as a reference for my strategy threads.
I loved number two: In a year from now, if this decision was used as an example, what would it say about our leadership?
Here’s one more way to help your decision-making, from CNBC’s Make It.
Are we on the brink of a huge cybersecurity risk?
Before you answer that – or read the article from ZDNet – ask yourself if you’re prepared for the current cybersecurity risks. (If you answered no, I’m here to help you take the first steps.)
Back to the first question: yes, we are. Making it worse? Most company leaders aren’t paying attention to the cause of it. Making it potentially catastrophic? Most people know it’s a risk, yet continue to make and release it anyway.
Came across this article in the Ohio Manufacturing Association’s newsletter. It’s a six-point prep plan from Safex to help ensure your manufacturing facilities are prepared for severe weather.
This is supposed to be fun!
Want to see a brand have fun? And break free from having to be pinned into a traditional medium approach? Oh, and did you love ‘The Sopranos’?
Feel free to share with anyone else you think would enjoy the articles and resources!
-Ben