Fri. Sep 25th, 2020

Diane

Why corporate well-being initiatives need to get personal

By Diane 1 week ago

It’s now been several months since companies first implemented their COVID-19 crisis response initiatives. Although in many parts of the world the virus continues to present serious health and economic challenges, company leaders must balance such urgencies with the need to take a longer-term view of their company’s prospects. To better understand this dynamic, PwC recently conducted a CEO Panel SurveyPDF, asking nearly 700 CEOs how their company’s business model will change after the pandemic. Their responses spoke volumes about how the future of work is likely to evolve.

As the leaders of small private firms and US$1 billion-plus public companies, representing a diverse cross section of industries, countries, and regions, these CEOs make the decisions that will redefine how and where work gets done — with implications for untold numbers of employees. The survey revealed that CEOs’ plans focus on three key areas: to become more digital

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4 Ways Gratitude Helps Entrepreneurs Right Now

By Diane 1 week ago


4 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


In business, the return on investment (ROI) for your money is valued in terms of the ratio between your net profit and the cost of investment.  A financial analyst quickly calculates this value which generally reflects success, failure and or progress on the part of an entrepreneur or investor. 

The ROI for health and well-being, for entrepreneurs, investors and us all alike, is not as easily calculable. There is plenty of research in health and medicine that discusses how to improve health, regain health and sustain good health. A clear takeaway from the research on gratitude is that gratitude supports well-being in terms of physical, mental, emotional and social health, especially in the time of coronavirus.  In other words, the ROI for well-being from expressing gratitude is particularly strong at this time.

Related: Why Gratitude 

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This is How Technology Will Solve Chronic Pain

By Diane 1 week ago


4 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


The technological revolution has brought with it unprecedented medical innovations. Today, antibiotics and drugs are universally known and utilized, surgical procedures are safer and more efficient than ever, and easily accessible databases house patients’ comprehensive health records and guide doctors as they select the most viable treatment options. 

However, medicine’s tech-fueled growth has been uneven; while certain specialties have experienced far-reaching improvements, others — most conspicuously the musculoskeletal sphere — are lagging behind the curve, to the detriment of millions upon millions of patients. 

Approximately 20 percent of Americans suffer from chronic pain, and nearly 20 million Americans suffer from high-impact chronic pain, which prevents them both from working and from enjoying their lives. 

Musculoskeletal education is largely glossed over in medical schools, and consequently, the lion’s share of today’s doctors —at no fault of their

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Connecting the dots in an uncertain world

By Diane 1 week ago

In 1945, a U.S. defense contractor employee was working on the magnetron, a microwave-emitting tube used in radar systems to detect Nazi warplanes, when he noticed something unexpected: The bar of chocolate in his coat was melting. Percy Lebaron Spencer hadn’t been the first to observe this effect of the magnetron, but he was the first to be curious enough to experiment with it. With a prototyped metal box and a high-density electromagnetic field, he investigated its effect on different foods, such as popcorn and eggs. The first microwave was born, with a helping hand from serendipity.

In his new book, The Serendipity Mindset, Christian Busch, director of the global economy program at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs, makes the case that serendipity is the result of a sensibility that allows people to spot and act on unexpected, fortuitous connections when others would dismiss them. And he

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Planning a Strategic Pivot

By Diane 1 week ago


7 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


“It’s not going away, and we have to face that reality.” That’s what the CEO and founder of a high-tech manufacturing startup with 180 employees told his leadership team in early July to convince them they needed a strategic pivot to address COVID-19.

Previously, the startup’s executives took things one step at a time, putting out the various COVID-related fires that flared up: supply chain disruptions, canceled orders, employees having difficulties with work-from-home setups or needing flex-time to manage kids or elderly relatives.

Seeing more of the broad picture, the CEO realized the company was going in the wrong direction. One of the board members recommended my recently-published book on strategic pivoting to adapt to COVID and plan for the post-pandemic recovery.

After a quick read, the CEO convinced the other leadership team that the

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Lessons from COVID-19 about communicating risk

By Diane 1 week ago

Using a beer can, a measuring tape, spray cans full of starter fluid, and Styrofoam mannequin heads, the YouTube personality Uncle Rob made a popular video illustrating the power of face masks to stop aerosol spray at various distances.

The video is my hands-down favorite among the wide range of messaging tools individuals and organizations have used to persuade people to take steps to reduce risks to themselves and others amid COVID-19. A close second would be the widely shared “Stay Home, Save Lives” memes that my fellow Chicagoans made using a cardboard cutout of our mayor with a stern look on her face. Both use creativity and a generous dose of humor.

More pedestrian but equally important examples are the graphics showing how (and how not) to wear a mask, and color-coded maps of states showing progress controlling the disease. The World Health Organization produced a series of

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