It's nice to be important...

but it's important to be nice.

View in your browser The latest trends & the oldest principles.   Welcome to Timeless & Timely, where I share some commentary and a few links to help broaden your perspective. If someone forwarded this to you, please subscribe. If you'd like to get in touch about this newsletter or my speaking or advising services, just reply to this newsletter or email me at scott@scottmonty.com. Hey there Potty —   Seneca wrote "Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness."  I hope wherever you go this week, you extend kindness to everyone. Thanks, and I'll see you on the Internet.   If Timeless & Timely inspires you, please share it with others.  Share Tweet Share Forward The Good Samaritan by Luigi Sciallero, 1854 (Wikimedia Commons - public domain)   The Superpower in Every Leader "Three things are important in human life. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind." – Henry James  When you interact with someone, what makes them memorable to you? I mean truly memorable. Maybe you they made you laugh, or called you by your first name, or remembered something about your background or hobbies that had nothing to do with the interaction. Maybe that someone said something hurtful or didn't even take the time to acknowledge you were there. Or maybe they were kind to you. Kindness is an amazing superpower. When I was a child, my heroes wore capes. They flew through the air, or had superhuman strength, or the ability to move faster than anyone else. As an adult, I've realized that there are powers that we each have inside of us that can help other people, without having to resort to feats of strength or fictional abilities.   "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest." – Mark Twain   The thing with kindness (and decency) is that it seems to be in such short supply these days. So the act of being kind and decent is amazing to people. And yet it's so easy to be nice to others. Consider two industries for a moment: healthcare and hospitality. In each labor costs are a large part of the budget. What makes a difference to patients and guests? The interactions they have with the staff. Those interactions are free. Kindness is Free You've likely seen the bumper sticker or billboard: Kindness is free. Indeed it is. But applying it is the part that takes effort. Whether it's in an interaction with an employee, a customer, or a supplier, we all have the ability to offer decency: Sympathy when you can see an employee is having a bad day. Understanding when a customer is upset about a problem with one of your products. Generosity and mercy when they a vendor needs to be paid more quickly than your Net 120 policy.     "The real issue in life is not how many blessings we have, but what we do with our blessings. Some people have many blessings and hoard them. Some have few and give everything away." – Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers   Real real toughness comes not from how much we pummel a competitor; it comes from how kind we are even when we aren't required to be. People will always remember someone who was kind to them, even when that someone didn't have to be. As a leader and as a human being, how would you like to be remembered?   In the latest #FitToBeTied, a call to resist the outrage machine and commit to decency. Future Tense "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it." – Ferris Bueller Highlights from the recent 2019 CMO Summit, where global marketing leaders discussed how to maximize team performance. (Spencer Stuart) CMOs could be doing a better job in the C-suite. According to a study from Deloitte, only 17% of others in the C-suite say they have collaborated with CMOs in the last year. (Marketing Charts) My take: CMOs have much to offer and should have a more strategic, rather than tactical seat, around the executive suite. Marketing budgets have expanded to include more influencer marketing. But with all of the glitz and glamour, some advertisers are wondering what the return is. (WSJ)  My take: Advertisers are beginning to figure out that vanity metrics don't define influence. Results do. Be careful where you're spending your budget and what kind of results you're tracking.   For the Curious Mind "I have gathered a posy of other men's flowers, and only the thread that binds them is mine own." – Michel de Montaigne Curiosity is a curious thing. We're curious about specific things, and different people are interested in different specific things. It's a function of motivation plus direction. For you see, curiosity depends on what you already know, not on what you don't know. (Nautilus) Curiosity can seem random at times. But if you understand that we feel most curious when exploration will yield the most learning, it can help you understand patterns of advertising, packaging, offers and more. (The New York Times) Our age reveres the specialist but humans are natural polymaths, at our best when we turn our minds to many things. (Aeon)   A Heart Replete with Thankfulness "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." – Epictetus This week, I'm grateful for two individuals I've been fortunate to be associated with for the last decade. Each has a project that they need help with and they reached out to me to see if it's something that I might do. It comes at a time when I needed a boost. And for that, I'm grateful.   Recommended Reading/Listening "Let me recommend this book." – Arthur Conan Doyle   Philosophize This! is great podcast for anyone interested in philosophy, where you don't need to be a graduate-level philospher to understand it. In chronological order, the thinkers and ideas that forged the world we live in are broken down and explained. Michael Brenner's Mean People Suck uses real-life experience and proven research to show why instead of blaming others, we can look inside ourselves, and learn how to use empathy to defeat "mean" in every situation. This insightful guide shows leaders and employees how more emotional communication increases profits and enhances lives. Bonus: it's by one of the nicest guys I know. What else is influencing me? You can check out my sources of inspiration on my site or in the Timeless and Timely Flipboard magazine I curate. The above may contain Amazon Affiliate links. Subscribe |  Sponsor this Newsletter   I'm an executive advisor and coach. A C-suite whisperer. Executives are in constant demand, have relentless deliverables, and try to set a long-term strategic course. All while trying to keep up with trends and deliver short-term value. You'll get a seasoned outside perspective grounded in the Classics, Fortune 10 executive experience, and the uncanny ability to creatively connect humanity and technology.  The results?  You'll avoid shiny object syndrome and focus on what matters to customers and grows your business. Bring me in to assess your team, review your operations, provide strategic advice, or speak at an event. Contact information Copyright © 2019 Scott Monty Strategies, All rights reserved. You're receiving email from me because you signed up for Scott's updates. Our mailing address is: Scott Monty Strategies 789 Buchanan St Canton, MI 48188-3427 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.