#66: Your agile career, 1 hr with Zuckerberg, what B2B buyers care about, and what the f*ck happened today
Live from New York… it’s… The Katie Martell Weekly!
FYI: The Mean Girls Musical is everything you’d hope it would be, and then some.
In this NYC edition of the World’s Best Newsletter:
1. Watching the news is stressing us out
2. We have literally never been so divided
3. My suggested daily news intake
4. What B2B Buyers Really Care About
5. Brian Solis spent an hour with Mark Zuckerberg and you should read the takeaways
6. What is Career Agility?
7. Quote of the week - say it out loud
1. Watching the news is stressing us out
I call it “what did he Tweet now” anxiety.
A new study from the American Psychological Association found that more than 50% of Americans are stressed out by the news, many reporting anxiety, fatigue, or sleep loss as a result.
1 in 10 of us check the news every hour, while 20% constantly monitor their social feeds.
Why do we watch? This Time article explains the human brain is also wired to pay attention to information that scares or unsettles us—a concept known as “negativity bias."
2. We have literally never been so divided
According to the same study, 6 in 10 adults report current social divisiveness causes them stress. And, when today America is more divided along party lines than ever before, it's understandable why.
Also helpful: How to manage conversations when you disagree politically.
Find areas where you agree.
Be open and kind.
Keep calm when tensions rise.
Have conversation goals.
3. My suggested daily news intake
"What the f*ck happened today." It's not just our collective general sentiment these days, it's the name of a great daily newsletter curated by Matt Kiser.
He bills it as "today's essential guide to the daily shock and awe in national politics. Read in moderation." Subscribe here.
4. What B2B Buyers Really Care About
A new article in HBR illustrates the new value dimensions of B2B purchases as offerings become commoditized.
What to do when you sell tech like everybody else's?
Double-click on its inspirational and individual value.
(AKA great marketing.)
"As B2B offerings become ever more commoditized, the subjective, sometimes quite personal concerns that business customers bring to the purchase process are increasingly important."
Research now shows that "considerations such as whether a product can enhance the buyer’s reputation or reduce anxiety play a large role."
5. Brian Solis spent an hour with Mark Zuckerberg and you should read the takeaways
Read the full recap, highlights:
Mark Zuckerberg wants you to know that he's very sorry.
Facebook now believes that up to 87 million users, not 50, mostly in the US, may have been affected by Kogan’s personality quiz app.
Not everything is Facebook's fault... Mark places some of the onus of responsibility on Facebook users who didn’t read the ToS, manage their data settings or fully understand what happens when you put your entire life online.
A scathing (albeit appropriate) analysis from Brian:
"There’s still a fair amount naïveté in play here when it comes to user trust, data and weaponizing information against Facebook users.... there’s more that lies ahead that the company and its key players cannot see yet... a history of missing significant events... a history of downplaying these events, acting too late and apologizing after the fact.
"I didn't know" is not a suitable response... there’s nothing to make me believe that sophisticated data thieves, information terrorists and shape-shifting scammers aren’t already a step or two ahead of the Facebook team.
Remember, following the 2016 election, Mark said it was “crazy” that fake news could somehow sway an election. He's since recanted that reaction, but it was still his initial response and belief."
And, buried in the piece but most important out of all of it IMO:
"People and their relationships with one another are being radicalized and weaponized right under their noses. No one is teaching people how this even happens. More so, we are still not exposing the secrets of social design that makes these apps and services addictive. In the face of social disorder, people are still readily sharing everything about themselves online and believe they are in control of their own experiences, situational analyses and resulting emotions. I don't know that people could really walk away even if they wanted to and that's what scares me the most. Regulation is coming."
Mmhmm. Read it all.
6. What is Career Agility?
The illustrious Marti Konstant has been studying the career paths of nimble employees. Inspired by the idea of agile software development methods, she's modified the principles into a model for helping others flourish in the workplace.
"These self-directed individuals operate in multiple lanes, not single lane careers. They show an uncanny ability to adapt to setbacks and uncertainty. They are, like synonyms of 'agile,' buoyant, energetic, limber, lively, quick, rapid, and sharp."
Read an introduction to her upcoming book, and do yourself a favor - get a copy when it becomes available. I had the pleasure of reading early versions and, as somebody who identifies with an agile career mindset, it's both validating and incredibly actionable.
7. Quote of the week - say it out loud
"The one "hack" I'd suggest if you're in B2B is find the things ppl in your industry say but nobody actually ever says out loud"
In this Twitter thread, Anand Sanwal (CEO / Co Founder of CB Insights) explains how the CB Insights newsletter has grown from 489 subscribers in 2010 to 400,000+ weekly readers.
BONUS: I also highly recommend Anand's presentation: "Don't Do These 68 Things In Your SaaS Company" and could tell you stories of personal experience about #1, #5, #9, #10, #12, #15, #16, #18, #20, #24, #27, #30....... aaaaand most of them. Spot on.
Super-special VIP first-class exclusive offers just for you, newsletter subscriber elite.
New this week: Product Marketers - Unite!
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Down the cape? No suh! Right here in the hub on April 27 at the Product Marketing Community -- #PMCBoston
Register by April 6 to avail of a $50 discount on a $149 ticket. Enter promo code -- KATIEVIP. First 10 to register before April 13 receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
Special thanks to Rowan Noronha for writing that particularly clever copy.
More events you should know about:
I am beyond excited about my session at Oracle's Modern Customer Experience NEXT WEEK all about rabble-rousing, ascending B2B brands. Use code CONNECT18 for $500 off.
Trust me you do NOT want to miss the lineup at Marketo's Marketing Nation Summit this year, April 29th - May 2nd in San Francisco. It's gonna be good. Save $350 with code "Pinaud350"
Join me May 2-4 in Boston for the 4th annual Content Marketing Conference. I'm sharing the Master of Ceremony duties with the illustrious Jon Burkhart. See you there?
I'll discuss the intersection of social + video at Brightcove's PLAY event, May 20th - 22nd in Boston. Save $50 with code "BOSTONCONTENT."
My femvertising framework will be discussed at a Chief Marketer event, Marketing to Women in the #MeToo Era, June 19th in NYC. Learn more and join me!
Have a great weekend, and thanks - as always - for reading The World's Best Newsletter.
Best,
Katie
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