Hi,

This year seems to be a mixed bag for businesses–I’d love to hear how it’s been for you. My company hit our targets and then some, including retaining all our clients and adding a few new ones too. It’s been truly rewarding having great client relationships and the best team I’ve ever had–all at the same time. I’m looking forward to 2024, and I hope you are too. But first… let’s get October under wraps and have a little Halloween fun this coming Tuesday. 🦇 🎃🧙‍♀️🦴

Here are my shares for all you thoughtful leaders this week:

• I was going to share a post with you that I thought was cool–about the air masks and oxygen tanks on airplanes. Then I read the comments. Then I felt silly for almost sharing what appears to be a bogus story. So instead, I’m sharing a reminder: read a few of the comments before you share from social media. 😉
• Okay, this one is true. Big companies including Google, Delta Air Lines, and AT&T are bringing on-site therapy to the workplace. Psychologists are available to employees in the workplace. (The therapists are not employees so there is no conflict of interest.) I love this level of support for employees to help reduce the epidemic of mental illness so many are experiencing as we try to navigate a world unlike anything our predecessors lived in. It’s not all smooth sailing, though. Check out the article by Trey Williams for Fortune.
• What foods are most ordered via Uber? Does your inquiring mind want to know? Here you go. (Q: Niki, how does this relate to work? A: Tips on what to order for your team as a surprise for lunch!) Seriously, though, it’s a great set of lists.
• Are perfectionist tendencies holding you back from your fullest potential? Maybe this article from Chief can help.

Do Good Spotlight
🌟 Alex’s Lemonade Stand 🌟

This foundation is close to our teams’ hearts. The story behind the ALSF is remarkable: When Alex was 4 (she was diagnosed with childhood cancer just before her 1st birthday), she wanted to set up a lemonade stand and use the money she earned to help doctors find a cure. Her first “Alex’s Lemonade Stand,” raised $2,000 in one day. She continued to grow the program with the help of an amazing community of supporters. When she passed away at the age of 8, her stand and inspiration had raised more than $1 million.

ALSF was started by her parents in 2005 to continue the work that Alex began. Their mission is simple: to change the lives of children with cancer through funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families, and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer. We are inspired by Alex’s story and donated in memory of Ronald Hogas. Here’s where you can learn more and support a wonderful cause: Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

• Rise25 is a podcast production company that makes it reaaaallly easy for businesses to produce podcasts. They’ve helped thousands of B2B businesses build stronger relationships with clients, strategic partners, and other audiences by doing the heavy lifting involved in creating successful podcasts. I have to say, I like the feature they did on me in their newsletter–almost as much as I enjoyed being interviewed by Dr. Jeremy Weisz for his InspiredInsider podcast.
• Regular readers of Niki’s Notes know I’m a BIG fan of remote work. But I’m also a fan of considering new data as it emerges, and it’s looking like old-fashioned togetherness has benefits that don’t make themselves obvious until they’re missing for a while. This by Emily Badger for The New York Times talks about the benefits of unstructured, unplanned, random intermingling of people. Serendipity is looking increasingly important to innovation. How can we work more serendipity into remote work? I’ve gotten push back on this before, but I’ll suggest again, perhaps now that employees value working from home and it’s working for them, and many employers are pushing for back to the office for all kinds of reasons, a hybrid of the WFH option could be having cameras on all the time at your workstation, so everyone would be just as visible as they are at in-person offices. Cameras could always be turned off, but with cameras and mics on, maybe for part of the day, people could experience more opportunities for serendipity even while working remotely. (I have a feeling this is going to be one of those things that becomes normal over time and some of you will say, “You know, Niki was saying that 5 years ago.”)

Please remember to take care of yourself and the people around you as you lead with confidence and kindness through these challenging times. I’m here if you need to talk to someone who will just listen–we’re all in this together.

Niki