Curated Shares

• At first I didn’t agree with firing an employee on the spot for fat shaming a colleague, but with extra context as the story unfolds, I get it. And the other employees seem to respect and appreciate the action the leader took. What do you think?

• Let’s get smarter about cybersecurity, here’s my contribution for the day: Dataconomy shared that 62% of surveyed cybersecurity leaders reported AI-driven attacks against their staff in the past year. Incidents include those involving prompt-injection and deepfake audio or video that have resulted in significant business disruption and loss.

What’s prompt-injection? It’s a cybersecurity attack in which a malicious actor puts deceptive info/data into a Large Language Model (LLM) that tricks the AI into performing unintended or unauthorized actions.

• According to a recent study detailed in Inc., food perks still rule as a great way to motivate employees and show appreciation. “”The researchers found quite clearly that food-related benefits showed the strongest impact on workers, with social benefits in second place. They found food perks yielded ‘stronger direct effects on customer responsiveness and both showing indirect effects through value and indebtedness feelings.” Mindfulness-related benefits ranked third, but physical and health-related benefits exerted the “weakest downstream consequences.” Importantly, the report notes that if frontline employees are working in a supportive environment, “the effects of food and social benefits are enhanced.” On the other hand, research showed that “job stressors” and “motivational constructs” did not significantly impact the effects of employer-provided wellness benefits.”

• Sometimes people are straight up rude, and you don’t want to let them slide, but you don’t want to get in the mud with them either. How do you ensure the win goes to you? You “hold the frame,” a la Jack from Titanic. Thanks to TheConvoGuy for this one.

• How to get the biggest boost from your workout.

• Are you working in a high-context or low-context culture? In high-context cultures like the US and Germany, direct communication is valued; what’s left unsaid risks misunderstanding. In high-context cultures like those in India and most of Asia, there’s more of a reliance on shared/assumed understanding; being direct can be perceived as rude. For optimal results in all communications, it’s important to know the cultural influences in the mix. More here on LinkedIn and for the longer version, try this link to Fast Company. Thanks to Niki Notes’ editor, Natalie Lorenzo, for the share.

• Dr. Michael Hunter shares what he’s learned about healthier aging. It’s not the same old same old (haha, see what I did there?) so check it out on Medium.
  

Kindness is Contagious, Pass It Along!

• Carrie Edwards of Virginia won $150,000 in the lottery…and promptly gave it away to 3 charities. 
• Construction workers used their heads—and a trampoline—to save a boy from a burning house.
• Yeah, the AAA guy could have just showed up to fix the dead battery for the car stuck on the side of the road, but instead he turned the moment into a teachable one for two small boys. Rock on AAA guy Mike Law!

Hat tip to the 1440 for sharing each of the above acts of kindness in their newsletter. What’s that? You’re not familiar with this free, unbiased daily news briefing? Awww, let’s fix that…scroll half-way down the page to subscribe to their daily digest.

Do Good Spotlight: Smile Farms

Smile Farms has become a nonprofit leader in creating meaningful jobs in agricultural settings for adults with developmental disabilities. It all started because Jim McCann, Founder/Chairman of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc., had a brother living in Independent Group Living Home (IGHL), a residence for people with developmental disabilities, so he teamed up with the home’s CEO, Walter Stockton, to create the farming program. Learn more about what they’re doing: Smile Farms.

⏳Until Next Time…

At long last, autumn! 

Enjoy! 😊

Niki