Monthly Archives: April 2020

As COVID-19 hits the world with full force, many restaurants and other food service establishments have been left bereft of customers. Just the other day I saw a video from two employees in a deserted Starbucks overwhelmed with boredom a foreign and unnerving sight at a coffee shop typically bustling with customers.

While this abrupt change in the flow of economic traffic has put many individuals and small businesses in financial danger, our nations attempts at social distancing can at least provide service workers a small break from what can sometimes be one of the most difficult aspects of the job dealing with the occasional unruly customer.

The customer is always right. Its a frightful phrase circulated so often that I hesitate to even repeat it here my whole body quakes with shivers down my spine whenever it comes to mind. The phrase haunts the nightmares of all service workers, and it echoes in their thoughts every time a customer berates them for an unnecessary reason or for something that is simply out of their control.

But all there is to do is offer a generous smile, grant a hollow apology and then either laugh it off or cry it out after running to the back of the store to hide. Service with a smile is what must be done for the sake of business, because the world is full of hungry customers with wallets and social media accounts one negative post on Facebook or review on Yelp can tank an entire staffs livelihood and world as they know it, and no one can afford that in the midst of our current crisis.

Therein lies the problem with the customer is always right. The phrase gives the upper hand to the person being served, and with that great power comes great responsibility. It is essential that we remember that grocers are people, too, and baristas are working to make a living just like everybody else. Remembering mutual respect and everyday manners paves a much more prolific path in any transaction, especially in this time of crisis, with tensions high and a million questions raised.

Any lack of respect hurts, and it puts service workers on the defense. As much as I hate to admit it, as frequently as the customer is not right, it is not fair to say that the customer is never right. But as a food service worker who has been under attack before, I certainly would not want to lend any kind of helping hand to my tormentor.

I remember shaking as two women yelled at me from the window of my high school job after I forgot part of their order and wanting to curl up in a ball and cry. In my situation, the customer was not necessarily wrong on paper I had most definitely made a mistake.

But the right or wrong of an order is not as important as the right or wrong of the tone defining any interpersonal interaction. I have gladly amended orders and tried my best to solve any problems that I accidentally induced with a smile on my face. Those more frequent positive instances are thanks to the kind eyes I was met with in the requests kind eyes that people are in desperate need of right now.

It is all about having the right attitude.

On the flip side of things, I have been the customer a million times, too, and I have made the wrong choices with my attitude towards employees more than once. Ive grunted at a Wendys worker in frustration when he forgot to give me my Frosty, and Ive thrown a fit at an understaffed Firehouse Subs when they took too long to make my order. I have been in the wrong, too, and I am reminded of my embarrassing behavior every time I step into either of those places.

Now, more than ever, I am desperate to see a change in myself and in others. I cant even begin to imagine the range of emotions that service workers may be feeling right now in the midst of our global pandemic. No one deserves to be any more stressed out with unnecessary cruelties from customers.

All it takes to have a successful visit to a coffee shop, grocery store or restaurant for takeout is to simply remember the basics of being human the golden rule that we were all taught when we were waddling around in diapers.

Treat others as you want to be treated.

Moving forward, we should all open our eyes, remember this golden rule and use it to replace the customer is always right, a truly outdated phrase.

This column is not to make light of the severity of the COVID-19 situation. A loss of customers does mean a loss of money for many. This is merely a call to remember to always treat service workers with kindness especially in this time of financial uncertainty. While a coffee shop employee may be glad to be rid of customers, they may be completely lacking hours and payment. On the other hand, a grocery store clerk may be overwhelmed with more customers than ever before. You never know the situation, and all these hard workers need our humanity, respect and support as they lose wages, fight to maintain their lifestyles, become overwhelmed or underwhelmed with hours or whatever else it is that they might be struggling with in this time of crisis.

Hopefully we will live on a kinder Earth when we come out on the other side of COVID-19. Lord knows we are all going to need some happy and healthy human interaction when this mess is all over.

The rest is here:

Remembering to treat workers with kindness amidst COVID-19 - University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily

Buy Photo

Warren Wright(Photo: The Spectrum & Daily News file photo)

Now would seem an appropriate time (less the "hold hands and stick together"), to be reminded of the well-known counsel of Robert Fulghum's "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten," as quoted below:

Share everything

Play fair

Dont hit people

Put things back where you found them

Clean up your own mess

Dont take things that arent yours

Say youre sorry when you hurt somebody

Wash your hands before you eat

Flush

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you

Live a balanced life learn some and think some

and draw and paint and sing and dance and play

and work every day some

Take a nap every afternoon

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic

hold hands, and stick together

Be aware of wonder

Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup:

The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody

really knows how or why, but we are all like that

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even

the little seed in the Styrofoam cup they all die

So do we

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books

and the first word you learned the biggest

word of all LOOK

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere

The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation

Ecology and politics and equality and sane living

Take any of those items and extrapolate it into

sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your

family life or your work or your government or

your world and it holds true and clear and firm

Think what a better world it would be if

all the whole world had cookies and milk about

three oclock every afternoon and then lay down with

our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments

had a basic policy to always put things back where

they found them and to clean up their own mess

And it is still true, no matter how old you

are - when you go out into the world, it is best

to hold hands and stick together.

As Mr. Fulghum stated,wisdom has never been taught at the "top of the graduate school mountain," and likely never will be. Tragically this lack of wisdom is the primary reason why America faces the overwhelming, life-or-deathchallenges it does today. And the epicenter of this lack of wisdom is and has beenWashington, D.C. The most recent gross neglect and incompetence (COVID-19)and immeasurable pain and suffering causedis unconscionable and unforgivable! Sadly, the "sins and iniquity of the fathers," surely are visited upon their children for generations to come.

May we all better incorporate into our lives that which we should have learned in kindergarten!

Warren S.Wright is a resident of St. George.

Read or Share this story: https://www.thespectrum.com/story/opinion/2020/04/11/my-turn-all-we-really-need-know/2976304001/

Read the original:

All we really need to know - The Spectrum

Last month, as the reality of life under lockdown began to sink in, I asked my family if they had any particular concerns. Without hesitation, my eldest, who is 16, asked: Why arent you normal? This was day one of no school, and she was right. I wasnt normal; nothing about this situation was normal. I really struggled to find any sort of equilibrium for a long time. What helped us was implementing a submarine routine, whereby the day is strictly portioned up, as it is in the locked-down conditions of the submariner, starting with a 7am reveille on weekdays. And in among the fear, panic and worry (most of my family is in Italy, and my mother, like so many elderly parents, thinks the rules dont apply to her) there have come pockets of calm, new normality and even small shards of joy. But still, the questions havent stopped. These are the three that readers have been asking me the most over the last few weeks.

Its a huge task. I think we have to accept it is going to affect them, but we can try to control how much. In these extreme times, were going to get a lot of things wrong as parents. When you are stretched emotionally, its hard to be even good enough at times. This is a huge learning curve in acceptance: of ourselves, others, the situation.

Child and adolescent psychotherapist Rachel Melville-Thomas (childpsychotherapy.org.uk) explained to me that we need to recreate the pegs, the natural markers that children have in their usual life, such as getting to school, having break time, eating lunch, talking to friends. We all need, especially now, a predictable cadence to the day, and by dividing it up into a routine, we also help reduce anxiety. Broken down into chunks of time, life seems less overwhelming. This, in turn, will give you pockets of respite.

Dont dismiss childrens concerns with, Dont be silly or Dont worry. That doesnt work

Routines are formulaic, but bring predictability, and, crucially, you dont have to feel guilty for saying: Ask me that at lunchtime. I know that if I dont hold space, as therapists call it, it can affect the emotional wellbeing of the whole family. No one can be constantly interrupted without going mad.

Melville-Thomas explained that even young children can get into the new pattern of the day and will learn to keep (some) questions to specific times; after all, they do this at school.

As to how not to overwhelm them, Melville-Thomas said, Dont dismiss their concerns with, Dont be silly or Dont worry. That doesnt work. Tell me more is a great question to ask children, as is Tell me what you know. It also buys you thinking time.

Very young children dont need to know more than Theres a very bad flu going round that makes people quite sick, so were doing our bit to stop it spreading by not going out and by washing our hands, she added. Always remember the golden rule with children: listen to the question and answer just the question asked, factually, calmly and age-appropriately. Its OK to say you dont know. You dont have to have the answer to everything: no one does at the moment.

Older children and teenagers will be able to see or hear the news, but they might hide their worries. Melville-Thomas recommended asking them, How are your friends dealing with this at the moment? Coming at it via a third person may open up a bigger conversation.

Whatever restrictions you had on their phones and social media before, keep them, she says. And we all react more badly to news at night so, ideally, no screens in their bedrooms. Everyone needs a news break. But I would also stress that children wont have the usual emotional support of their school friends, so encourage phone/video calls if they want them.

Its never easy to talk about serious illness and death, but we must remember that talking about it doesnt mean it will happen. If it does, knowing what a loved one wanted will bring you focus and peace.

Kathryn Mannix, a palliative care doctor and author of With The End In Mind: How To Live And Die Well, said, Having these conversations is less upsetting than not having them and then finding you needed to. She suggested that one way in may be to talk about it as something that will affect all of you, not just elderly family members. Do this either on the phone or a family Skype session. You can say, We need to talk about this for, say, 20 minutes, then we can talk about something else. But approach it by saying, If any of us were to die, or get seriously ill, what do we want?

Things to think about, Mannix said, include: If I cant have the funeral that I would like, what should my family do as a form of commemoration once such things are allowed?

Make sure family members can use a smartphone/Skype and have a tablet and charger to use if they have to go to hospital

The last conversations that Mannix sees on deathbeds come down to three messages: I love you, Im sorry, or thank you. So if there are people you want to say these things to, do that now. I know this is quite scary, but as Mannix says, When we are dealing with people at the end of their lives, the messages [they give to those left behind] are so important for people to carry into their grief and bereavement.

Another thing to talk about is what to do if any of us become very seriously ill. Mannix explained: To decide whether a ventilator is the right treatment, intensive-care practitioners will look at a persons ability to recover. They may ask loved ones if the patient would agree to be on a ventilator; if they would want to be saved even if the quality of life [afterwards] is not one that they would value. The doctor needs to make a medical decision partly based on whats possible but, because we wont be well enough to discuss it, our families need to know what matters most to us.

On a practical level, make sure family members know how to use a smartphone/Skype and have a tablet, charger and cables (all name-labelled) to use if they have to go to hospital. You may not be able to visit in person, and if you want to stay in touch, there may not be enough tech in wards to go round.

None of this is easy, Mannix admitted, but it may open the door to an important conversation we have all avoided until now.

The bereavement charity Cruse (cruse.org.uk) is a great resource if people are bereaved, and has lots of useful, Covid-19-specific information online.

A routine, as detailed in my first answer, is really important. You may even have to implement a bathroom rota for ablutions. What we have to remember, says family and couples therapist Chris Mills, is that captivity is not natural for us. So if we are reactive or stroppy, its the tensions created by being forced together. Were designed to nest together and come together, but also to have freedom of movement and interaction with others.

Mills recommends looking for ways of keeping a distance, of having headspace from other members of the family (I cant stress enough how important boundaries are in these enforced conditions). Consider either taking your state-approved daily exercise separately if you can, or having time apart in different areas. Under strain, we can become highly volatile, and may explode over things we would previously have laughed at or brushed aside. Even talking about this, and acknowledging it, can help (saying sorry also really matters).

Another useful thing to try, advised Mills, is, if possible, to ask what each family member wants to achieve that day. This allows some flexibility within a routine, and takes into account daily moods and rhythms. Some days, for example, your partner may feel more able to take on responsibilities than you; on those days, maybe you can negotiate more you time.

As for differing parenting styles, Mills advises, In this situation, nobodys good or bad. Its not about one person winning or losing, but you do have to find a way at least while on lockdown of provisionally agreeing so that theres a system in place to get through this. Its about being pragmatic, not philosophical.

You both have to recognise that, really, you just have to get the job done, whatever that job is: the children learning, or eating. We dont have the luxury of pontificating over parenting styles at the moment.

Original post:

Climbing the walls? How to cope as a family when you can't escape each other - The Guardian

The world has changed in the last ten weeks. The rapidly spreading Coronavirus has gone from the first American case noted on January 19 to more than 336,000 diagnosed cases--and at least 9,000 dead.

In an attempt to ward off the virus, Americans have emptied stores of critical supplies such as hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes -- and theyre hoarding things such as toilet paper in case of quarantine. N95 masks are disappearing, despite the Surgeon General noting that they should be saved for health professionals who need them.

A recent analysis by PennPIRG Education Fund found prices for many hand sanitizers and surgical masks on Amazon spiked at least 50 percent at some point since the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency. A four-pack of Purell hand sanitizer was selling for $159. Two containers of Lysol wipes cost $70.

Businesses will tell you that the market is responding to increased demand. Costs increase to ramp up manufacturing and expedite delivery. But when prices for these products climb 220 percent above their 90 day average, those explanations look as ridiculous as a $459 small bottle of hand sanitizer. Exorbitant prices have also been seen on eBay, Walmart, and Craigslist.

When people need something to protect their health and prevent the spread of a potentially-deadly virus, merchants should follow the Golden Rule, not the money.

Sadly, this rampant price gouging isnt a surprise. Its happened in recent years during other emergencies such as hurricanes. In a crisis, the urgent need for essential supplies -- whether its water, gasoline or sanitizer -- overrides any logic. That is why many states outlaw selling critical products at exorbitant prices during these times.

Amazons Fair Pricing Policy prohibits setting a price on a product or service that is significantly higher than recent prices offered on or off Amazon. And yet, PennPIRG Education Fund found significant price spikes for 1 in 6 products sold directly by Amazon to customers.

While Amazon says it monitors sellers and there is no place for price gouging on its online marketplace, its policing efforts are like a game of whack-a-mole. A shopper reports exorbitant prices or Bloomberg writes about them or a computer algorithm flags an overpriced product. The company, then, in its words, may remove the Buy Box, remove the offer, suspend the ship option, or, in serious or repeated cases, suspending or terminating selling privileges.

But because monitoring so many listings is so difficult, when Amazon removes one product, sellers mark up prices on other products or create new listings. The net result is that many consumers desperate to find cleaning supplies to help prevent Coronavirus infection pay way more than they should have to.

All businesses -- online and offline -- have both moral and legal obligations to our broader society during a time of crisis. And we expect a trillion-dollar company such as Amazon to set a high standard for others to emulate. It could set price ranges during emergencies for certain supplies, limit increases to a certain percentage over a 90-day average, or use their technological prowess to develop a different solution.

Thats exactly why more than 300 state legislators from across the country, including 20 from Pennsylvania, signed a letter to the top five online retailers encouraging them to make three significant changes to curb price gouging:

First, they should create strong policies that prevent sellers from increasing their prices in a significant way from what it was prior to the emergency. This would involve looking at historical prices for a particular product or other similar products. Any proposed price outside that framework could only be approved after a careful review by an employee of the online platform.

Second, given the hyperspeed at which modern shopping operates, companies should trigger price gouging protections prior to official emergency declarations. Price spikes for COVID-19 began back in February, which was before any state had declared a disaster.

Lastly, consumers should be able to report price gouging directly Fair Pricing Portal on each marketplace. Given the technological prowess of these companies, creating a simple mechanism on their websites shouldnt be a big lift. Additionally, that data should be shared with attorneys general to enforce price gouging statutes.

These are only a few options to prevent price gouging. Engineers at these companies have designed massive platforms to enable people to shop all around the world. That same ingenuity can be put to use to protect everyone.

If we dont quickly fix this problem, its going to happen again. During each crisis, whether an outbreak or natural disaster, Americans have enough safety issues to worry about. They shouldnt have to also worry about getting bilked by opportunists who dont do unto others what they would have done to them.

State Rep.Tim Brigg (D) represents-District 149, and Emma Horst-Martz, is an associate with PennPIRG, a consumer advocacy organization.

See the original post:

Beware the price gougers | Opinion - pennlive.com

FridayApr10,2020at4:28PM

EDITOR: After finally getting permission from his taskmaster, Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis abandoned piecemeal legislation and issued state mandates to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Conveniently, in terms of economic impact, he waited until after spring break and Bike Week contributed considerably to state coffers, and the prime tourist season is drawing to a close. Im sure all the states to which the partiers returned to infect their friends and neighbors are grateful.

But if this werent bad enough, DeSantis has waved his magic wand and waived any directives for social distancing as regards religious services in the Sunshine State. Floridians should be outraged! If those worshippers are in a hurry to meet their Maker, this is the perfect way to expedite the journey. I would readily accept this misguided decision if it werent for the fact that those of us who do practice social distancing, do stay at home except for essential trips to procure groceries, medical supplies, etc., will come into contact with them and bear the consequences.

The governor has cravenly caved to religious conservatives who are not obeying the golden rule, which demands loving their neighbors as themselves. I urge all of you to call the Governors office and voice your concerns.

Meg Massaro, St. Augustine

Read more:

LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Religiously foolish - Opinion - St. Augustine Record

Over the course of what feels like months but, in reality, has been just a few weeks, our lives have been rearranged in a way that previously seemed unimaginable. As we adapt to our new normal, well all be pondering how best to handle things. With that in mind, Ive spent some time this week thinking about the dos and donts of life in the evolving coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis era.

DO find good information sources and read them carefully. Two of the best Ive found over the last few weeks are San Mateo Countys coronavirus webpage and the San Mateo County Economic Development Associations Business/Worker Resource webpage. The countys 2-1-1 telephone line is another excellent resource.

DONT blindly follow/post/retweet/share information unless youve carefully confirmed that its accurate. Expertise and qualifications matter. Following advice from those unqualified to give it can be deadly right now.

DO wash your hands, often and thoroughly for at least 30 seconds. Dont know what 30 seconds feels like? Say, At this point in my life, I should probably be able to figure out when 30 seconds has elapsed six times.

DONT touch your face. As weve all recently realized, apparently we touch our faces around 16 times an hour. Its hard, but try to avoid it as much as humanly possible.

DO stay home. Seriously. No joke. We know the kids/teens will be getting on your last nerve (and vice-versa.) As I read recently, Your grandparents were called to serve in war. Youre being asked to sit on your couch. You can do this.

DONT leave home unless you need to for an essential purpose like grocery shopping, picking up medication, or for medical reasons. A reminder that essential means, absolutely necessary or extremely important. Yes, you can still go for a walk or jog.

DO shop as you normally would (remember the six-feet rule.) The virus has not affected the supply chain. Toilet paper aisles are barren simply because folks overreacted initially and hoarded.

DONT overbuy and hoard. Kudos to local stores like Costco, Safeway, and many others who have implemented rules to ensure a steady supply of basic items of necessity.

DO support businesses still open in your community as much as you can. Order delivery/take-out from local restaurants. Need some tools/supplies for all those to-do list items you never seem to get to but now, all of a sudden, have plenty of time for? Its a great time to patronize your local hardware store.

DONT eat inside a restaurant and if you see one offering dine-in, call your local police departments non-emergency line and let them know. If youre picking up food, dont forget the six-feet rule.

DO get some exercise. Go for walks in areas of your neighborhood you can access without driving. Go for a run, jog, walk or a bike ride. Just make absolutely sure you maintain six feet of distance between you and others when you do.

DONT leave your neighborhood to get exercise. Dont drive to the beach, your favorite trail, or your favorite park. The idea here is to keep people from aggregating together at attractions like this.

DO be aware that due to some appallingly bad decisions by high-ranking federal officials about how to refer to coronavirus, our friends and neighbors of Asian ancestry are vulnerable to some truly awful behavior. If you see someone being harassed or assaulted, call the police immediately and try to help if you can safely do so. This is San Mateo County; we do not and we will not tolerate racially or ethnically motivated crimes of hate.

DONT let fear or appallingly bad decisions by high ranking federal officials about how to refer to coronavirus confuse you. This virus and the COVID-19 disease it causes knows no borders and doesnt care what your ethnicity or race is.

DO follow the Golden Rule. If you find yourself wondering how you should handle a situation, just remember to treat everyone as you would like to be treated. Its really that simple. Speaking of which, Ive fielded a ton of calls and emails over the last two weeks from people wondering how they can help. I recommend two things: 1) sign up to be a volunteer through the county at surveymonkey.com/r/WSXH6PZ and 2) donate as much as you can to the SMCStrong Fund at smcstrong.org/. Every dollar raised will stay in the county to help individuals/families, small businesses, and nonprofits suffering from the negative impacts of the crisis.

Charles Stone is the Vice-Mayor of the City of Belmont, the Chair of the San Mateo County Library Joint Powers Agency, and serves on the Caltrain and SamTrans Board of Directors. The thoughts and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions of any organization he is affiliated with.

This story was originally published in the April edition of Climate Magazine. To view the magazine online, click here.

Read more from the original source:

A Guest Perspective on Adapting to a Changed World - Climate Online

Competing in the explosive nutritional supplement category is difficult enough. Without a compelling brand strategy, one that woos customers via your packaging, youre fighting with both hands tied behind your back.

Powders, tablets, gummies: any product you can make can be made and sold for less by a competing brand or private label. Search protein powder on Amazon, and youll find 5,000+ results. Theres so much swirl in this space that its hard for any individual brand to gain notice.

A Capital-B brand can help you compete online and on shelf in the red-hot world of dietary supplements and natural products. And the way you tell your story, within the confines and rules that govern packaging in this category, can elevate you above commodity to beloved and dominant status.

Brand Is More than Ingredient or Form

Many marketers in this space conflate product and brand. But a brand is so much more than the productingredients or health benefits or diet trends. Your brand isnt a powder or a pill. Rather, your brand is this: your promise and the way that you keep it.

So many brands in this category lean on flavors (tastes like a milkshake!), attributes (grass-fed collagen!), and ingredients (live probiotics!). But its easy for leaner, hungrier companies to introduce those same kinds of products. Soon, everyone starts competing on price, retailers drop the poor performers, and consumers arent loyal to any particular brand.

When your brand stands for somethingit empowers the consumer or changes the world or rights a wrongit becomes competitor- and future-proof. It can withstand changing consumer whims or dietary trends, because people who buy the brand love it and stay loyal no matter what. A strategic foundation enables the brand to innovate without risk, gain the upper hand in retail relationships, and attract an audience who feels the brand belongs to them (and vice versa).

When your brand story is your key competitive advantage, its essential to leverage that story where your customers are most likely to see it: on your packaging.

Telling Your Story on Packaging

The retail shelfboth digital and physicalis likely the first (maybe only) place a shopper will meet your brand. In a crowded environment where your labels have to work extra hard to communicate a litany of information, knowing whats important to consumersand what can be subordinated to the back panelcan give you an advantage that creates white space in your brand block.

Brand blocking is essential in a category populated by packages (bottles or boxes) that are uniformly shaped and sized. When your product lives on a shelf you dont control in an environment you dont control, a unified collection of products grouped together on the shelf creates a billboard for the brand that allows people to navigate the product offering easily.

Brand blocking happens at the outer level of the 30-10-3 Rule of packaging design, which holds that a consumer product package has three key moments at which to engage a consumer, whether in store or online. At 30 feet, it needs to define the category; at 10 feet, it needs to make the brand name and story known; and at 3 feet, it has the opportunity to whisper in the consumers ear.

In the naturals and nutritional supplements category, theres a ton of information required on packagingso the 30-10-3 Rule establishes an accessible hierarchy. Remember, brand blockings role is to capture the shoppers attention within the context of the category, not to identify her specific need/want/flavor/ingredient.

Living Intentions is an example of a natural product line that uses the 30-10-3 Rule very effectively to help consumers understand that activated foods (made from sprouted and raw ingredients) and superfoods help people live more vibrant, healthier lives. The brands packaging balances the most compelling points on the primary display panel and relegates everything that requires an explanation to the back of pack. The design uses simple icons to communicate complex concepts like bioavailability, live enzymes, minimal processing.

Photo provided by Retail Voodoo

Design for Online

For online brands like You Are The Anser!, packaging has to look great in the digital realmon the plain white background of an Amazon search page, on the brands own website, and on Instagram. While You Are The Anser! has its own direct-to-consumer platform where storytelling wins the day, the brand effectively disrupts the Amazon shelf with design cues that might feel more at home in a salon. This does two things quickly: It invites inspection and demystifies the features and benefits by making them simple, uniform, and iconic.

Wedderspoon is another wellness brand that plays perfectly online. The authentic raw Manuka honey products look like gourmet food items, while many of the brands competitors more closely resemble vitamin supplement products. The brand created a proprietary KFactor label that specifies the products sourcing, a label that goes beyond industry standards for origin and purity. That marker stands out in a sea of competing products in an online search for Manuka honey. Finer details shift from the primary display panel to other areas (lid, back, and sides) so as to not break a golden rule in CPG: Design informs price.

Photo provided by Retail Voodoo

In e-commerce, design language is more important than size of your logo, because people search by category (e.g., collagen peptide, ashwagandha, or protein bar) and filter by brand. And unless your brand has already made a compelling promise to them, they will likely shop on price and or user review.

Be Just Enough Different

As marketers, weve done a great job of educating customers about what a product category should look like. Womens nutritional supplements feature pink or purple graphics, maybe a flower, or a white background to signal purity. Protein powders aimed at men come in black or dark-gray tubs with gym-style lettering. Kids gummy vitamins are packaged in whimsical and bright colors.

Category norms like these help shoppers narrow down their choicesbut also create a sea of sameness on shelf and online. So, theres a balancing act here, between similar and standout. Its important to match the contemporary visual lexicon of the nutritional products categorythat 30-foot leveland at the same time to step to the forefront. That's how brands become disruptive at retail.

A comprehensive category audit can provide stark evidence of where your brand lives in the space. As youre searching for this balance, envision a grid with axes labeled Good and Different. Look for that sweet spot where youre just enough different from every other brand.

As more and more consumers seek products that can help them live healthy lives, nutrition and wellness brands will inevitably keep flooding the market. Most of those wont really be brands at alljust products with features and benefits. A compelling brand story, told strategically on packaging that plays in digital and real-world spaces, will separate the winners from the commodities.

David Lemley, author of the new book, Beloved & Dominant Brands, has had a creative and strategic hand in shaping some of the worlds most iconic brands including Starbucks, REI, Pampers, Sahale Snacks, Kars, and Nintendo. As the founder and chief strategist of Seattle-based Retail Voodoo, David is on a mission to help better-for-you brands win customers hearts, minds, and souls. He partners with marketers, investors, and founder-owners to unlock the power of their brands promise to engage consumers, spark innovation, identify opportunity, and drive exponential growth. David has spoken and written for: National Retail Federation, BevNet, BrandPackaging, Adweek, and Nutritional Outlook, to name a few. Contact him: [emailprotected]

Read more from the original source:

Is your nutrition brand a commodity, or is it a category winner? Packaging makes all the difference, an expert says. - Nutritional Outlook

A graveside service of simplicity and beauty not far from the cedar tree, and just as Joe Thompson would have wanted it to be.

These 50-some mourners who gathered apart underneath the shade of the cedar tree had taken their leave. Alone, a red rose in his grasp, a son would take this solemn moment with his father for a last farewell.

Alex Thompson placed a hand on the mahogany coffin, and the moment was long and and poignant on this sunny Wednesday morning when a wife, a daughter, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and those friends beneath the cedar tree would come to remember and celebrate the life of Joe Thompson at Lafayette Memorial Park.

Hes home, Alex Thompson would say.

Joe Thompson was born Nov. 10, 1933, in Charlotte to the late Joe Leighton Thompson and Mary Burleson Thompson, the second-born of their five children.

Soon, the couple would call Fayetteville home, raising their family along Brookside Avenue in Haymount before Joe L. Thompson would build what would become the home place in the cul-de-sac of Club Circle along Raeford Road.

Joe Thompsons daddy was a savvy businessman, with an eye for developing the land, particularly along Raeford Road in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when there were just two lanes of U.S. 401 and long before development of his Highland Centre and the retail stores and fast-food restaurants of today that came along.

Everything is for sale, except for my wife and family, the family patriarch liked to muse, but Ill consider any offer.

Joe and Mary Thompson reared their children to believe in self-integrity, and there could be no breach. They taught three sons and two daughters to live by the Golden Rule, and there could be no compromise. Be people of honesty and virtue and character throughout your lives, they were taught, and accept nothing less in yourselves than your best, and share what you become with others in your community.

They were Thompsons, and they left their fingerprints and footprints throughout a community from business ventures to the courtrooms to Highland Presbyterian Church, where their faith measured their steps along lifes way.

When you think about Joe and the life that he lived, celebration is the appropriate response, the Rev. Chip Stapleton, senior pastor at Highland Presbyterian Church, would tell those surrounded under the cedar tree.

But no lengthy eulogy, Joe Thompson instructed, for this day.

Because he just wasnt that kind of guy to want to have the focus on him, the preacher would say. Instead, he always made others the focus. Whether it was his family, his friends or one of the many people that sought him out for business or personal advice, he always put others first. Its just who Joe was.

And, the preacher would say, Joe Thompson wanted something else.

The second thing that would have been important to him about this service was that everyone coming had a chance to hear the Gospel, Stapleton would say. This was important to him, because faith in Jesus was central to everything about Joe.

His faith was the foundation of who he was.

His dedication to others and his faith in God converged at Highland Presbyterian Church, Stapleton would say. His church that he loved dearly and faithfully served. Wherever he was with friends and family, at church, in the business world, he put others before himself.

Joe Gerald Thompson died April 5.

He was 86.

Ive never been to a funeral when no one shook hands, hugged or stood that far apart, Paul Paschal would say. But it had its own simplicity and beauty. He was a true Southern gentleman, and if Mr. Thompson had died before this pandemic, Highland Presbyterian Church would have been packed full with the Thompson clan and all those who know and love them. Their reputation for honesty and fair play is rare in this world, and they dont make them like him very often.

He was soft-spoken.

He was reflective.

He counted his blessings.

Kind and gentle, yet strong and faithful, the preacher would say, Shrewd and astute in business, but to always have time for children and not just his own, but all of the children of the neighborhood and any children.

And no more so than those Thanksgivings at his Merry Bee farm in Hoke County, where Thompsons by generations gathered on the rolling landscape with the pond and the cows and calves in the field that was close to Joe Thompsons heart.

A son would pause for a last farewell before gently placing the red rose on the mahogany coffin.

He is home, Alex Thompson would say of this father so admired, respected and loved dearly by him and a sister and a wife of such caring ways. He is home.

Columnist Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at bkirby@fayobserver.com or 910-624-1961

See the original post here:

Sunday Salute: A Southern gentleman, who put others first all the days of his life - The Fayetteville Observer

How you treat others says far more about you than how you are treated by them. Ive been in situations where men were completely disrespectful because I was a woman in a leadership role. One older gentleman even went so far as to tell my successor he was relieved that a man was running the department again. I could have gotten upset, and would have been absolutely justified in doing so, but what would I have gained in doing that?

As a part of my series about Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cynthia DelAria. Cynthia is the co-founder and CEO of Denver-based technology incubatorRaika Technologies. A serial entrepreneur and self-confessed startup addict, her background began primarily in UI development and transitioned throughout her career through the entire web development stack. Cynthia discovered early on that she possessed a natural ability to find new business opportunities, build profitable revenue models, discover emerging target markets, and create efficient teams. She has built, run and sold several companies in her career and consults for businesses to help them take underperforming software teams and products and turn them into cash cows.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Mywhole life I have loved to read, I absolutely cant get enough of books. When I was 8, my mom was taking a couple of intro to programming courses at the local community college, and she left her Visual Basic book just sitting there on her desk, looking all enticing, so I picked it up and started reading. Two days later I had 3D graphics flying around the screen of our home computer, and I was hooked. The satisfaction of building something and seeing it work put me over the moon, so I dug into everything I could possibly get my hands on about programming. At 15, I started my first company doing software and web consulting.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?

Running an incubator means I hear a LOT of pitches. On a slow week I get pitched a minimum of 2030 times, and I hear all kinds of ideas, a lot of them in the wild and wacky category. Probably the most ridiculous pitch I ever heard was from a businessman who met me for lunch wearing a very expensive suit and tie. He spent about 10 minutes building up the hype by telling me that he was going to completely disrupt the dating paradigm. Im naturally skeptical, but I actually agree that the online dating world is ripe for disruption, so I was intrigued.

In a near-whisper, he leaned over to me and said, Its a dating app, but only for Green Bay Packers fans. I started laughing, and he looked very confused about what I thought was so funny. I spent the rest of lunch trying to explain what disruptive means, but he was still convinced his idea was the next big thing that would replace Match.com and Tinder. I love that story.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I started my first business I had limited programming experience. The web was just getting to a point where companies were seeing the value of having an online presence, and I created a little niche company, building websites for business owners at my church.

My first project was building an online catalog for audiobooks, but I had never used a database before. So, I built over 350 audiobook product pages by hand. It took me almost 6 weeks to finish the project, but I was pretty proud of what Id created.

About two weeks later, I was in a meeting with a large development shop that was sub-contracting with me for some basic HTML work. One of the guys said in an off-hand way, you know, a small database would have made that project take less than half the time. I nodded along, then went home and did a bunch of searching on the web to find out what he meant. I was completely embarrassed and felt silly that I didnt think of it on my own.

I went back to the company to ask if I could redo the catalog right way and they were happy to have me put things right. When all was said and done, they were impressed by my commitment and they ended up using me for several more years.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

The concept of incubators and accelerators is by no means new, I think its our mission that distinguishes Raika from the rest of the pack. Over the years Ive heard so many people tell different versions of the same story: I spent $200,000 and 5 years of my life working on my idea, and nobodys using my product.

There are a ton of companies that will take anyones money and build whatever they ask for, but veryfew who are interested in whether that money should be spent in the first place. Our company was built for the purpose of eliminating that narrative altogether.

We start by determining whether there is viable product-market fit for what each of our clients wants to build. I dont want people who come to me for help just to spend time and money on ideas that will never become successful companies.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Wehave some really cool projects in the works, one of which is designed specifically for entrepreneurs.

The startup journey can be a grueling slog, and the most frequently asked question we get is, Now what do I do?

Our new service will help people answer that question quickly and inexpensively, no matter what stage of the startup journey theyre in. It allows us to do our incubator and Startup Program work for thousands of people in a way that isnt possible without technology and the web. We cant wait to present this one to the world!

Ok super. Thank you for all that. Lets now shift to the main focus of our interview. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?

Ifwe are going to change the status quo regarding women in the STEM fields, we have to start with young girls. Girls are just as naturally inclined towards the STEM disciplines as boys, and we have to find creative ways to give young girls early exposure. The more we design toys and experiences aimed at fostering these innate skills, the more girls will grow into women in the STEM industry.

As a woman, my biggest frustration is feeling that being in tech means Im no longer seen as feminine, or that I have to embody the male geek stereotype to be successful. Women and young girls should understand that they can embrace everything about being feminine and not hide their intelligence.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM or Tech that arent typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?

Perception is the biggest challenge women face, both culturally and stereotypically. I recently read a piece by an accomplished woman who studied funding of male- and female-led companies over a 10-year period, and she found mens startup ideas got funded 14 times more than womens. When she dug into the data, she uncovered an unconscious bias that most investors, male and female alike, view men as more capable of handling risk.

So, in interviews, men were asked growth-oriented questions, whereas women were asked protection-based questions. Where a man would be asked about customer acquisition- a growth mindset, a woman would be asked about customer retention- a protection mindset. If we are going to shift these biases, we have to start bringing them to the surface and retraining ourselves to view all people and ideas solely on merit.

What are the myths that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM or Tech. Can you explain what you mean?

Idont have children of my own, although I do have two wonderful step kids. One of the most incredible things I see is that people treat women as if the ability, desire or choice to bear children means that somehow they cant be as effective in their job as someone else.

I have seen phenomenal women have babies and continue to absolutely rock their companies, and yet theyre looked at differently. Ive heard investors ask women pitching their startups whether they intend to have children and how they will manage that. Its as if everyone thinks women are the only ones who have to sacrifice and manage their time when they raise a family.

What are your 5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in STEM or Tech and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

Bewilling to say you were wrong.

I was running a software team for a SaaS product company in Denver, and it was a rather stressful time leading up to a big launch. Everyone was on edge, working long hours. Usually I am a great resource for people to ask for what they to keep going forward. But one particular evening, I took out my own frustration with a client mix-up on the entire team, then stormed out. The next day I came into the office and called a meeting so I could apologize and tell everyone that I was clear about the role I played in creating the problem, and that how I handled it was wrong. Before I knew it, everyone on the team was cleaning up their unresolved issues with each other, and there was comradery and support for each other again. The project ended up launching beautifully because of the renewed spirit of compassion and community.

Listen more than you talk.

This one works in just about any situation: leadership and management, parenting, sales, teaching, and on and on. Its so easy to jump right to a lecture or imparting all of the wisdom that we know to try to solve other peoples problems. But its much more important to close your mouth, open your ears and really hear what the person in front of you is trying to say. When you do that, you give that person the space they need to think through what they are trying to do, and more often than not theyll solve it for themselves. Thats teaching someone to fish, which is actual wisdom.

Treat others as you want to be treated even if they dont deserve it.

How you treat others says far more about you than how you are treated by them. Ive been in situations where men were completely disrespectful because I was a woman in a leadership role. One older gentleman even went so far as to tell my successor he was relieved that a man was running the department again. I could have gotten upset, and would have been absolutely justified in doing so, but what would I have gained in doing that?

Understand that harassment or potentially dangerous situations are different, and you absolutely should protect yourself if necessary. Im more talking about stupid, insensitive things that people of all genders, shapes and sizes say to each other every day that can get your hackles up. Just remember: Hackles Down.

Dont try to be the smartest person in the room.

So many leaders and managers think its their job to understand everything better than everyone else and to constantly be the one making all the decisions. This is backwards.

You should be surrounding yourself with people who are amazing at what they do, your job should be to ensure that they are empowered to do it. You should know enough about all of the moving parts to be able to keep your eye on the 30,000-foot view effectively, but you cant and shouldnt try to cover everyones bases and make all the plays. Ive seen managers attempt this and all they end up with are failed projects and unhappy teams.

Trust, hone and use your intuition.

Listening to yourself, that inner voice of reason, that hunch in your gut, is a critical skill to any kind of leadership. Your logical brain will try to reason things out, and thats good, to a point. But understand that your logical brain will also try to resolve issues based solely on reason. Its scientific fact that everything in the world is energy, from cells and atoms to the air around us. Everything vibrates at frequencies our logical brains cant pick up on, but our bodies can. Learn to listen to the part of your body that reads and interprets the energy around you, and trust that.

My company worked with an entrepreneur a while back who seemed really great on paper. He said all the right things and seemed to have his ducks in a row, but every time we were in the room with him, I got this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I even made a joke once comparing his idea to the Fyre Festival disaster. Turns out, my intuition was 100% spot on, and because I didnt ignore it, we avoided a huge debacle.

Intuition is a gift youre born with, so learn to hone it and use it to help you make the right decisions, even when your logical brain gives you reasons not to.

What advice would you give to other female leaders to help their team to thrive?

Women have a great advantage in leadership because were naturally empathetic. Empathy is a huge component of building a successful, thriving team. It requires listening first, acting slowly and letting your staff know they have your trust and confidence. Then, you just need to make sure youre taking care of the things that could get in their way.

What advice would you give to other female leaders about the best way to manage a large team?

The hardest aspect of large teams is keeping communication flowing across various segments. Big teams have to be pieced out to get tasks and work accomplished effectively, that means that your job is to always make sure every segment knows what the other ones are doing and that everyone can communicate changes or impacts to everyone else.

This starts with you. If you dont communicate well, up and down the chain, others wont have an example and standard to compare themselves to. You should always lead by example and start with how, when, why and what you communicate.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Myfiance is one of the most amazing, loving, caring and loyal people Ive ever met. Although Ive had wonderful success in the past, its always a huge risk taking on a new venture. Over the past 6 years, he has not only supported my choice to go out and try something new, hes been unwavering in his confidence that I will be successful. There have been times Ive come home at the end of the day and asked, out loud, Am I crazy? and he just hugs me and tells me that if anyone can get it done, its me. Hes never questioned whether I would be successful. Hes a huge comfort and the steady rock I need, and it gives me the freedom to take risks. He makes me feel like a superhero and I love him to the ends of the earth for it.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Ibelieve that successful people, whether entrepreneurs or happy employees, contribute more to the world around them. My role in helping entrepreneurs build ideas into viable businesses also helps them achieve their goals. Whether they build their businesses as legacies for their families, or whether they intend to build something, exit, and go on to do other wonderful things, the one thing they all have in common is that they want to succeed so they can help others.

Sometimes thats giving back through charitable works, other times its leaving a legacy for the next generation to build upon. Everyones purpose is different, but by helping entrepreneurs find success, I hope Im enabling many people to fulfill their purposes, which is exactly how the world becomes a place we all want to live in.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

The political climate today in America is heartbreaking. There is so much righteousness on both sides of the aisle that weve stopped listening to each other and respecting each others views. We allow politicians and the media to divide us on the small differences rather than unite us in the majority of ways we agree, to their benefit and our detriment.

If I could start a movement, Id call it Listen and Respect. The purpose would be to bring truth to the surface and encourage honest conversations with people holding different beliefs. It would be about respecting one anothers viewpoints, finding common ground and working together to safeguard the freedoms we all should be able to enjoy in this great, unique country. Ideally, it would promote learning from the past while looking toward the future.

Can you please give us your favorite Life Lesson Quote? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Do unto others as youd have them do unto you. I know its common, maybe even clich, but the Golden Rule is one that will never set you wrong.

Ive been in situations where people have acted stupidly or said mean, rude or cruel things and, when I was younger, I was quick to anger and would sometimes give it right back. As Ive gotten older and learned how important relationships are, Ive learned that the Golden Rule encourages patience, compassion and tolerance for others. Thats helped me build some incredible relationships, even if they didnt start out very well.

We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them

Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!, is someone I would love the chance to sit down with one-on-one. Going from search giant Google to take the reins at Yahoo! had to have been fraught with expectation. She has taken that opportunity and run with it beautifully, just having the chance to hear her story would be fascinating.

Read this article:

How you treat others says far more about you than how you are treated by them with Penny Bauder & Cynthia Del'Aria - Thrive Global

The centerpiece of the Commonwealth governments COVID-19 economic stimulus program is JobKeeper. Priced at A$130 billion, it will pay eligible employers $1,500 per fortnight for each eligible employee for up to six months.

The aim, according to the government fact sheet, is to

support employers to maintain their connection to their employees (as) these connections will enable business to reactivate their operations quickly without having to rehire staff when the crisis is over

But excluded from the scheme are workers on temporary visas (except for New Zealand citizens on Special Category Subclass 444 visas - theyre included).

This exclusion is wrong for four reasons.

The exclusion of temporary visa holders discriminates against the businesses that employ them.

Given there are close to 900,000 temporary visa holders with work rights (excluding New Zealand citizens) the discrimination will have a serious impact.

It will be particularly severe in industries that significantly rely on temporary migrants: among them hospitality (international students), agriculture (working holiday makers), health and aged care (workers on Temporary Skill Shortage visas).

The exclusion of temporary visa holders from JobKeeper will bring about distortions within and between industries. It will likely result in the closure of businesses that rely upon temporary migrants.

Equal rights at work - regardless of migrant status - is a key principle of

This principle underpins Australias Fair Work Act which treats migrant workers as within its scope.

JobKeeper, which provides a workplace benefit through wage subsidies, departs from this principle.

Not only does it set a dangerous precedent, it is a particularly egregious breach.

Denial of the JobKeeper payment will mean the loss of jobs and livelihoods for many or most temporary visa holders.

Some will be forced to attempt to return to their countries of origin, which in some cases are less safe than Australia.

Among them are Italian working holiday visa holders.

Temporary visa holders are only temporary in the sense that they have a limited right to stay.

Swinburne Universitys Peter Mares has characterised Australias shift to temporary migration as permanent in two senses: it is an enduring change, and it has resulted in temporary visa holders residing in Australia for extended periods of time.

Philosopher Joseph Carens has rightly argued that such extended periods of residence provide a basis for community membership, given the contributions given and connections made, regardless of migration status.

Asking temporary visa holders to go home not only fails to recognise membership of the Australian community but also misses the fundamental point that Australia is home to many of these temporary visa holders.

Read more: Open letter to the prime minister: extend coronavirus support to temporary workers

This ought not be hard to understand: most overseas Australians would consider their country of residence to be their home.

The position of overseas Australians (of which there are hundreds of thousands) suggests another important perspective: the Golden Rule.

How would we view the actions of foreign governments that insisted that overseas Australians go home if they had insufficient funds due to COVID-19 restrictions imposed by these very governments?

The hardship resulting from the temporary visa holder exclusion will undermine public health measures.

Temporary visa holders will increasingly swell the number of homelessness.

It is hard to stay at home if you dont have one. Financial desperation will drive some to continue working even if unwell.

Other adverse consequences are likely. Desperate temporary visa holders will become exposed wage theft of the kind exposed by the 7-Eleven scandal, slowing Australias labour market recovery.

Read more: Australia's $130 billion JobKeeper payment: what the experts think

The recovery of higher education will be slowed down if international students are impoverished and unable to pay the fees necessary to continue their studies.

Temporary migrant workers ought to be part of JobKeeper, just as are other Australian residents and New Zealanders on temporary visas.

Excluding them breaches their fundamental rights, fails to recognise the community membership of many of them, and it will undermine Australias efforts to fight COVID-19.

Read more from the original source:

Why temporary migrants need JobKeeper - The Conversation US