1. Original thinking starts with you—trust your gut

Before FedEx was a global brand, it was a bold idea conceived in a college dorm room. While studying at Yale, Smith wrote a term paper proposing a new system for delivering urgent shipments—a vision that treated shipping as a strategic advantage rather than a logistical strain. Though his paper became known for receiving an unimpressive grade, the idea would go on to revolutionize American commerce.

Smith envisioned a system where shipments from across the country would all be funneled into a single central location each night. There, packages could be sorted quickly and efficiently, then loaded onto planes bound for regional airports for final delivery. This concept evolved into the familiar hub-and-spoke system now widely used in industries like aviation, logistics and telecommunications to provide point-to-point delivery.

This was a radical departure from traditional methods, where goods traveled on numerous direct routes, often inefficient and slow. At that time, most packages were transported alongside passengers on commercial planes or by truck. Smith’s idea promised to dramatically speed up delivery times by cutting out unnecessary stops and making overnight delivery across America possible for the first time. 

Smith’s pioneering approach accelerated the evolution of U.S. logistics and essentially gave birth to the entire express shipping industry. Back in the 1970s, many skeptics questioned whether a centralized overnight air-delivery system could overcome the high expenses of air freight and the complexity of managing nationwide routes efficiently. Today, FedEx and its competitors, giants such as Amazon, UPS and DHL, all rely heavily on this fast-delivery concept, and most online consumers now expect package delivery within 24-48 hours of purchase.

Smith faced significant skepticism early on, but he didn’t let doubts hold him back. Instead, he trusted his instincts and pushed forward, proving that believing in your ideas—even when others don’t—is key to success. It’s fortunate he didn’t let initial criticism derail his vision. 

2. Embracing risk is part of the game

Though FedEx is now a global logistics powerhouse valued at over $50 billion, its early years were fraught with challenges. In 1973, just two years after launching, FedEx was on the brink of bankruptcy due to high operating costs, limited customer adoption and intense competition in the shipping industry. The company was hemorrhaging cash, and investor confidence was waning. In a bold and desperate gamble, Smith risked the company’s last $5,000 in Las Vegas. His daring bet paid off, securing vital capital that enabled FedEx to persevere and learn from earlier mistakes. 

With emergency funding secured, FedEx turned its attention to refining its innovative overnight delivery system and revisiting aspects of its strategy and operations that were eroding value and driving up costs. Smith understood that the revolutionary overnight delivery system he envisioned would only succeed if it was dependable and scalable. 

By 1978, less than 10 years after its founding, FedEx was ready to go public. The initial public offering (IPO) raised much-needed capital, which Smith used to expand the fleet, improve infrastructure and invest in technology. This financial stability allowed FedEx to continue refining its service, grow its customer base and expand its geographical reach.

From that turning point onward, FedEx experienced steady growth as American commerce flourished throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The company expanded its operations, acquired key shipping routes and extended its reach internationally. This strong foundation positioned FedEx perfectly to capitalize on the explosive growth of the dot-com era and the rise of e-commerce. 

3. Build strategies that thrive on change

Though FedEx faced early obstacles, it has consistently demonstrated strength in sticking to its mission and adapting to change. Commerce has shifted enormously since the 1970s, but FedEx’s expansive, adaptable vision has enabled continued success. Smith’s masterful strategy ensured that emerging trends like online shopping and digital trade only enhanced the robust system FedEx had been constructing for decades. 

FedEx’s organizational model, supported by a transport network refined over many years, allowed it to effortlessly adapt to the surge in e-commerce. Delivery services lacking the infrastructure or technology to keep pace couldn’t compete with FedEx’s advantage when the dot-com boom transformed online delivery into the fastest and most efficient way to ship products. This e-commerce explosion also fueled increased demand for international trade, and with its well-established fleet and global network, FedEx became more a resource for the web than the other way around.

From the very beginning, Smith’s vision was to transform an outdated system into one driven by efficiency and innovation. Long before it became standard, he foresaw the tech revolution and positioned FedEx to lead with digital tracking and automation. At the heart of every advancement is taking calculated risks and anticipating what lies ahead—a fundamental principle in any good strategy. 

Smith’s visionary leadership laid the foundation for FedEx, a company that today connects more than 99% of the world’s GDP across 220 countries and territories. His legacy lives on through a global network that continues to transform commerce and bring people and businesses closer together. Good ideas can transform the world.

Photo by Sundry Photography/Shutterstock

The post 3 Lessons We Can Learn From FedEx Founder Fred Smith — Who Transformed Global Commerce appeared first on SUCCESS.

We reached out to other businesspeople to see what products and tools have helped them stay at the top of their work game. Here’s what they shared:

1. Customized learning

You never want to go stagnant on learning new skills, so options like MasterClass at Work are a great way to customize education for your teams or organizations. The online platform offers classes on topics like leadership, personal development, creativity and communication, all taught by industry leaders. Lessons can be customized to meet team goals so you can improve employee engagement and retention. Prices start at $10 per month for one device; contact the company for group rates.

2. Tests with personality

Remember when the Enneagram was all the rage a few years back? It had a way of helping you gain insight into your own personality while helping others understand you at the same time. While personality typing isn’t new, tests from Personality.co can still help teams function better by allowing them to understand their colleagues more fully. The monthly plan is $30 for one person; contact the company for group rates.

3. Embrace your creativity more efficiently

Need a professional-looking graphic but limited on time? Canva Pro can help you create eye-catching designs quickly and provides access to high-quality content, design tools and AI. This resource is a go-to for those hoping to produce outstanding designs without all the complicated software. The platform can be leveraged for social posts, slideshows and more. This premium app costs $120 per year for one person, but also offers a free version with limited features.

“During one campaign, we used Canva to make 30 social media images that looked good together in less than three hours,” says Jake Ward, online marketing professional and founder of Kleo, a free browser extension for consuming and creating content on LinkedIn. “This saved us almost 40% on design costs.”

4. An integrated business platform

HubSpot is an AI-powered platform that helps businesses focus on their customers. It has software, integrations and resources to connect your marketing, sales, customer service and other teams. Each team can see the same unified view of the customer at all stages of their journey, which saves time, thanks to streamlined processes and automation. There’s a free version of the platform, but the paid version(s) range from $15 to $3,600 per month, depending on how many seats you buy and the types of software you choose.

“I can see in real time how campaigns are doing, where leads are in the pipeline and what is truly generating conversions instead of having to manually track every interaction or transfer between platforms,” says Arthur Favier, founder and CEO of Oppizi, a startup that digitizes offline marketing. “Making data-driven decisions has always been more difficult in offline marketing, so that kind of clarity is quite helpful.”

5. Conquer social media posting schedules

Social media might be the necessary evil of the business world, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Products like Buffer can help you create content and schedule it on popular platforms like Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. The platform also helps you respond to comments quickly and understand analytics related to your socials. The free version gives you 10 scheduled posts per channel per month. The paid versions cost $5 (for one person) or $10 (for a team) monthly and give you unlimited posts.

“Using Buffer’s reporting features, we analyzed audience activity patterns and optimized posting times across three different industries,” says Ward. “This data-driven approach resulted in a 35% boost in click-through rates and a 12% increase in conversions over three months.”

6. A better way to collate your reading list

You meant to read that article later. But where did you save it? Matter is a content aggregation app that pulls together multiple articles, podcast episodes and videos into an aesthetically pleasing and accessible format. You can even have your newsletters sent straight to the app. 

There’s a free version, but the paid version ($8 per month or $60 per year) offers extra features, like transcribing podcast episodes.

7. Say thank you with style

In the digital world, a handwritten note from your company can really stand out. Handwrytten can send notes in calligraphic fonts to clients four or more times a year on stationery or on cards bearing your logo. The platform can integrate with productivity tools like Salesforce and Hubspot. Many price points are available, including $3.25 for one card and $373 per month for 100 cards.

Photo by Vadym Pastukh/iStock.com

The post 7 Productivity Tools to Help You Work Smarter appeared first on SUCCESS.

That’s where the DISC assessment comes in—it’s a personal development tool that helps individuals determine their communication style and how they interact with others. You take the DISC assessment to determine where your communication style falls into the four categories: Dominance (D), Influence (I), Steadiness (S) and Conscientiousness (C). 

This article will explain the different DISC personalities along with the strengths and weaknesses of DISC communication styles. By tailoring your communication based on your DISC style, you can become a more effective, empathetic and confident team leader. 

Dominant (D) personality: Leadership and Communication Style

If you thrive on challenges and are extremely goal-oriented, it’s likely that your DISC leadership style is Dominant (D). Dominant leaders value efficiency and results. They don’t want to hear the reasons behind something; they just want to know what actions should be taken. 

Communication Challenges

This leadership communication style can be helpful when decisions need to be made quickly. They are natural problem solvers, able to see the big picture and make decisions accordingly. 

However, Dominant leaders may appear abrupt, uncaring or impatient when communicating with their team. Sometimes people need to be heard, and that requires active listening. If people feel like their opinions are being ignored or brushed over, they may not feel appreciated. Work performance can suffer as a result.

Leadership Tips

Here are some ways leaders with a Dominant DISC communication style can improve their interactions: 

• Listen without interrupting – People tend to feel valued when they are able to express their thoughts, and that requires the other person to be an active listener. 
• Pause before responding – Think not only about how you want to respond, but also how that response might be received. Dominant communicators sometimes come off as aggressive, and a softer response could benefit the other party. 
• Acknowledge the person’s feelings – Showing empathy can improve morale. 
• Share decision-making – Involving other team members in the decision-making process instead of making a unilateral decision can increase engagement. 

Influential (I) Personality: Leadership and Communication Style

Leaders with the Influential (I) DISC assessment leadership style tend to be approachable and engaging. People generally enjoy being around them, as they bring a contagious optimism to the table. An Influential leader often praises hard work and good ideas and creates a positive team environment. 

Communication Challenges

Influential leaders are typically big-picture thinkers. This is a positive, but it can also be challenging. For example, it could pose an issue in a meeting if the discussion veers off-topic and the focus is lost. Follow-through can be lacking, leaving the team wondering how to navigate future tasks or what next steps to take. There can also be a lack of decision-making. 

Leadership Tips

Here are some ways leaders with an Influential style can work to improve their communication:

• Stay focused – Establish a goal and focus on conversations that support the goal, tabling side conversations for another time. 
• Manage time wisely – This goes hand-in-hand with focus. Team members may not look forward to lengthy meetings that don’t lead to specific plans or actions. Leaders should show that they value their team members’ time and focus meetings accordingly. 
• Set clear expectations – Influential leaders can be motivating, but also leave others not sure where to go next. Clear expectations need to be set, especially when improvement is needed. 
• Create space for everyone – It’s easy for a charismatic leader to dominate the workspace. This type of leader needs to make sure even the more reserved team members have the opportunity to contribute. 

Steady (S) Personality: Leadership and Communication Style

While Influential leaders can have big, enthusiastic personalities, Steady (S) personality types tend to be calm and dependable. You generally won’t see them making big, boastful statements, but rather, quietly supporting their team with less fanfare. They may have strong opinions, but you won’t often see them making hasty decisions. 

Communication Challenges

The main challenge of the Steady communication style for leaders is that they often have difficulty with conflict and lack the ability to assert themselves. Team members might feel that the Steady leader is supporting their idea, but silence does not always equate with support. 

Leadership Tips

Steady leaders can work on these skills to improve communication: 

• Practice assertiveness – A leader who values harmony over all else may have a difficult time when they need to speak up. Team members often need a leader who can make clear decisions. 
• Speak up with confidence – The feeling of not wanting to rock the boat can be strong in this personality type. Steady leaders should work on voicing their opinions and not backing down to louder personality types. 
• Be direct – Don’t beat around the bush to stay on someone’s good side. Clarity is important. 
• Say no – It’s easy to get burned out when you are always saying “yes.” Practice saying “no” when the stakes are lower to build the skill. 

Conscientious (C) Personality: Leadership and Communication Style

The final DISC personality is Conscientious (C), which refers to a leader who tends to be detail-oriented, thorough and analytical. This type of leader usually holds team members and themself to a high standard. They are strong when it comes to setting up systems and solving complex problems. 

Communication Challenges

Team members may perceive this type of leader to be impersonal and uncaring. They might also feel that the work they do is never good enough, since praise is rarely given. This type of leader can get caught up in the details, making decision-making a challenge. 

Leadership Tips

Conscientious leaders can work on these skills: 

• Be more flexible – Rigidity can be hard to deal with. Leaders can learn to adapt to change even when it might be uncomfortable. 
• Keep perfectionist tendencies in check – It can be hard to accomplish a goal if the only way to get there is through perfect execution. 
• Praise others – Nobody wants to only hear about their faults. It’s important for leaders to acknowledge work well done and praise people for their success. 
• Make quicker decisions – Don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. Make a decision and move forward. 

Leading With Intention

Leadership communication styles can differ. Yet leaders can also adapt to best meet their team’s needs. A leader with a strong vision can be lost if they cannot effectively communicate that vision to their team. 

The DISC personality assessment helps leaders understand their own communication style and how it impacts others. Whether you are a goal-oriented D, an approachable I, a dependable S or a detail-oriented C, learning your strengths and weaknesses can help you become a better leader. Practicing the tips for your personality type is the first step in the right direction.

Photo courtesy of PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

The post Common Communication and Leadership Challenges for Each DISC Personality appeared first on SUCCESS.

The impact of female founders goes beyond statistics. Empowering women in business creates more diverse teams with varied experiences and perspectives, ultimately resulting in better outcomes. Below, we’ll dive into why women entrepreneurs are on the rise, highlight success stories and examine existing barriers. 

Why Women-Led Startups and Female Founders Are on the Rise

As workplace expectations and gender norms progress, more women are successfully stepping into entrepreneurship roles.  This could lead to growth in various industries as female-led startups often outperform their male-led counterparts in terms of ROI, according to Fundera by NerdWallet.  Their teams are also often more diverse, especially relating to gender diversity, which can result in more creativity and innovation. Greater visibility of these successful women founders may then inspire a new generation of women to launch and lead their own businesses.

Increased access to digital tools and global platforms—like social media and e-commerce platforms—also help women launch, scale and lead teams.

Key Industries Are Being Transformed by Female Entrepreneurs

Women worldwide are launching successful businesses and driving change. From tech and health to education and social impact, here are a few industries shaped by female founders.

Tech and Fintech

Although the field is still male-dominated, women are making innovative advances in technology and fintech. For example, in tech, Michelle Zatlyn co-founded Cloudflare, a web performance and cybersecurity company that’s helping build a better internet. Today, roughly 20% of websites are protected by Cloudflare. It blocks 247 billion cyber threats each day in over 330 cities worldwide.  In fintech, Laurel Taylor founded Candidly, a solution to student loan debt. Candidly’s data-driven approach addresses the full lifecycle of education expenses, from college planning to saving for tomorrow. 

Health and Wellness 

Many women entrepreneurs exist in the health and wellness industry, and they’re creating powerful solutions to global issues. For example, Yunha Kim’s former mental wellness platform, Simple Habit, offers over 2,000 meditations to reduce stress. She sold the company to Ingenio in 2023 and rebranded as Sleep Reset, which uses science-based methods to improve sleep quality. Sleep Reset’s members report getting 85 minutes more total sleep and needing 53% less time to fall asleep. 

Education and Edtech

Education is another area where women in business are making an impact, though there are still challenges. For instance, Kimberly Bryant is one of many BIPOC women entrepreneurs transforming edtech. Bryant founded Black Girls Code, a nonprofit introducing technology education to Black girls, and the Black Innovation Lab, a startup supporting tech innovators in the U.S. South as they build societal impact companies, leading them to equity and generational wealth.

Sustainable Fashion and Eco-Innovation

Female leaders are seeing the need for sustainability in business. Some studies suggest that women entrepreneurs are more likely to incorporate sustainability into their business models. One example is how Eileen Fisher and Stella McCartney lead the sustainable fashion and eco-innovation space. Fisher’s brand has historically been known for its commitment to ethical production, and they recently launched Horizon 2030, a further plan to make clothes with a positive impact via circular design and regenerative agriculture. McCartney is a trailblazer in eco-friendly and vegan materials. By innovating new, cruelty-free materials, she’s changing the future of luxury fashion. 

Social Impact and Nonprofit Startups

Female founders are also influencing the social impact and nonprofit sectors. A powerful example is the work of Zainab Salbi, an Iraqi-American humanitarian and entrepreneur who established social impact and nonprofit startups. She launched Women for Women International to help women in countries affected by war by providing life, business and vocational skills to create a sustainable difference in their lives. She also co-founded Daughters for Earth to address climate solutions to help protect and restore our Earth. 

Barriers Female Entrepreneurs Still Face

Women entrepreneurs are breaking ground across many industries, but continue to face barriers. Understanding these barriers is key to creating equal entrepreneurial opportunities.

Gender Bias in Venture Capital

Despite progress, women in venture capital are still underrepresented. Women represent only 8.6 % of all venture capitalists, which leads to funding challenges for female startup founders.

Jeep Kline, founder and managing partner at Raisewell Ventures, explains that because male venture capitalists highly dominate the industry, there is a “subconscious bias” when investing in products that women create. Melissa Wallace, co-founder of the capital investment firm Fierce Foundry, agrees with the funding bias, stating that venture capital “tends to invest in people who look like them, pitch like them and build like them.”

Access to Mentorship and Networks

Aspiring entrepreneurs can learn much from successful women founders, including resiliency, strategy and vision for the future. However, the lack of female role models in male-dominated fields can potentially hinder women’s entrepreneurial spirit.

Balancing Entrepreneurship With Caregiving Roles

According to a recent study, “Two out of three family caregivers are female.” This reality might mean that many women entrepreneurs are running a business while taking on the majority of caregiving responsibilities for children or family members. Unfortunately, this mental load can lead to burnout, emotional strain or difficulty in career advancement.

Systemic Underrepresentation in Leadership

“Women remain underrepresented in management roles in the U.S. workforce,” according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Representation matters, and when women don’t see other women in top positions, it can be more difficult to imagine themselves there.

Success Stories: Women Founders Leading the Charge

Women entrepreneurs are reshaping traditional leadership models as we know them. The focus is shifting to collaboration, sustainability and emotional intelligence. These founders and women of influence are trailblazers who will continue to inspire future generations in their fields.

Reshma Saujani (Founder, Girls Who Code)

When Reshma Saujani noticed the gender gap in technology, she founded Girls Who Code to help young women pursue opportunities in computer science. Her company grew from a small program to a national movement, and now, hundreds of thousands of girls have learned to code. As a leader, Saujani encourages bravery, not perfection, emphasizing that if you fail, you’ve learned something, and you can try again.

Jeep Kline (Founder & Managing Partner at Raisewell Ventures)

Jeep Kline is a venture capital and technology executive. As a trailblazer in the industry, she earned a Top 25 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley distinction. Kline was the first Thai woman to launch an impact venture capital fund in Silicon Valley and also the first Thai professional faculty member at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. At Raisewell Ventures, she works to create a lasting, generational impact on societies and economies through venture capital and technology. Kline is a direct communicator who believes in the power of mentors, stating that “mentorship takes a village” and admitting that she’s had over 100 herself. She learns lessons from different people and diverse groups and blends them with her own values to become the leader she is today. 

Payal Kadakia (Founder, ClassPass)

Payal Kadakia sparked a fitness movement. The ClassPass app, which grew from a failed first launch to a billion-dollar company and global brand, lets users find a fitness class that fits their schedule. Under her intuitive leadership, she designed a team with the right people based on three characteristics: positivity, growth and efficiency. Throughout her career, she’s learned that authenticity is the key to success in leadership.

Building a Future of Inclusive Entrepreneurship and Women in Venture Capital

Representation, mentorship and equity are vital for empowering women in business. Women business owners or those interested in entrepreneurship can seek help from governments, accelerators and corporations. Initiatives and organizations supporting the rise of women in business, like Women Entrepreneurship (WE) and the Tory Burch Foundation, are incredibly helpful for continued growth. Women can also search for community resources, like women entrepreneur networking groups on social media and organizations such as the Association of Women’s Business Centers and SCORE. Organizations like this help women entrepreneurs network with peers, find mentors and learn essential skills to start new businesses and tackle challenges. 

The Transformative Impact of Women in Business and Entrepreneurship

Women entrepreneurs are redefining the business world. Unfortunately, access to funding, mentorship and inclusive ecosystems are still a challenge, but new initiatives and support networks are helping to bridge the gap. 

How can you be an ally? Support female-led businesses, or even start your own. Share success stories, continue learning about women’s entrepreneurship and connect with women leaders to shape a more inclusive future.

Photo courtesy of Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock

The post The Rise of Women Entrepreneurs: Growth, Innovation and Challenges appeared first on SUCCESS.

Join us as we dive into what it looks like to have a growth mindset. Discover the differences between a fixed vs. growth mindset, the benefits you can expect and practical tips that will help you tap into the power of your mindset and push towards success. 

What Is a Growth Mindset? 

What does it mean to have a growth mindset? It’s the belief that a person can improve their skills and knowledge through practice and study. It’s an optimistic state of mind that makes a person more resilient and adaptable in the face of challenges and failures. Those with a growth mindset are more willing to take a risk and even fail, sometimes many times, before finding success. Yet, they aren’t trying to fail. Instead, they know that the seeds of success hide in some of the most spectacular failures.

First popularized in the book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol Dweck, Ph.D, the concept of a growth mindset is based on research she and colleagues did over several years. They wanted to know why some students recovered from setbacks and others struggled. Through their research, they discovered that people who possess certain traits like optimism, persistence and resilience were more likely to bounce back from failures and disappointments.

Embodying the ideal of constant improvement, a growth mindset drives you to become a better leader and even improve your moral character. With effort, you can achieve more career and personal success and inspire others to do the same.

However, a growth mindset is not a quick fix to adversity or challenges. Rather, it defines how we perceive and cope with them.

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset: What’s the Difference?

Now that we’ve covered the growth mindset definition, let’s explore how it compares to a static or fixed mindset. The difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset is fairly straightforward—growth mindsets invite change, while fixed mindsets tend to resist it.

The Growth Mindset 

In Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Dweck states that a “growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts.”

A growth mindset encourages developing the flexibility and resilience that enable people to grow through challenges. Someone with a growth mindset seeks personal growth through learning and growing. They are excited by the prospect, even (and sometimes especially) if they make mistakes during the process. In fact, they tend to focus more on the process and view mistakes as information that helps them improve.

Growth-minded people are curious about the world and often set ambitious goals for achieving new professional certifications or learning to DIY home improvement projects—not because they must, but because they want to grow.

The Fixed Mindset 

Those with a fixed mindset may believe they’re not capable of learning things outside of their normal activities. This type of mindset places a higher value on existing skills, intelligence and tendencies—they often see these traits as unchanging and may say, “I am not good at personal branding.” They accept this self-judgment as an unchangeable fact and do not believe they can change.

However, having a fixed mindset isn’t always a bad thing. For example, a fixed mindset would tell you that you cannot fly. No matter how many times you dream of jumping off that cliff and flying off into the sunset, your fixed mindset says you will not magically sprout wings on the way down. This type of fixed mindset acknowledges real limitations that can keep you safe.

According to Dweck, most people have a combination of a growth and fixed mindsets, even if some seem to naturally align with growth or fixed aspects.

Characteristics of a Growth Mindset

The aim of a growth mindset is to build greater resilience; those who learn new skills and take risks will inevitably face setbacks along the way. Individuals with a growth mindset have at least some of these traits in common:

• Resilience
• Persistence
• Optimism
• Adaptability
• Curiosity
• Consistently using positive self-talk
• Willingness to embrace feedback and criticism
• Viewing failure is an opportunity
• Ability to embrace change
• Desire to inspire and encourage others to grow

Benefits of Developing a Growth Mindset 

Developing a growth mindset comes with certain benefits, including natural confidence learned through trial and error. The introspection and honest self-evaluation that a growth mindset requires can almost become a superpower because it encourages you to focus on progress and improvement rather than worrying about whether you are “smart enough.” You will begin to see things differently, be able to adapt to challenges and changing circumstances and become more resilient.

Here is how it might look:

You decide to learn a new skill, which naturally leads into the next. Because you are building on the existing foundation of earlier experiences, it becomes easier to learn even more new skills.

By acquiring new skills and knowledge, you will also gain confidence, which can then increase your motivation to learn even more.

Yet, you are doing more than just acquiring new skills and knowledge. You are also increasing your problem-solving capabilities and ability to think creatively, and you are becoming more willing to take a risk on something new.

After a while, you’ll be able to confidently spot problems, opportunities and find creative solutions. All of these lead to greater success in your personal and professional life.

As seen in the above example, the benefits of a growth mindset can be progressive and powerful. 

How to Develop a Growth Mindset 

If you feel that you have a fixed mindset, you’re already on your way toward growth. Discerning where you might have a fixed mindset can be a powerful first step towards changing it. Anyone who accuses you of being fixed, less capable or less astute is themselves operating from a fixed mindset. You already hold the advantage. So let’s get to work.

Best practices for developing a growth mindset are surprisingly simple. In fact, they’re almost the stuff of platitudes. Don’t be dismissive. The truths are real, but they take work, commitment and energy on your part. 

When cultivating a growth mindset, keep work on the following constantly:

• Embrace challenges. Say “yes” to the next difficult task offered to you, even if you’re not confident you are the right person for the job.
• Acknowledge your weaknesses. Know them, but with the commitment to either improve upon them, use them to your advantage or go around them.
• Transform negative self-talk. How we talk to ourselves impacts our self-perception and, ultimately, what we say to others. Start small and grow. “I failed at an important task” becomes “I see where I went wrong and what I can fix next time.”
• Learn from criticism, but don’t take it personally. Analyze criticism as objectively as possible. Learn from what is useful and dismiss the rest. Don’t spend days dwelling on things that your critics forgot within minutes.

Examples of a Growth Mentality 

As shown above, there are many benefits to developing this type of mindset, and it can be developed with some practice and effort. To look at the big picture, let’s consider some examples of a growth mindset. These perspectives and actions can help in your career, relationships and well-being: 

• Taking on challenges as opportunities to grow and learn 
• Accepting and using feedback as a way to improve
• Pushing yourself to learn and master new skills 
• Continuing to persevere in the face of obstacles
• Taking initiative in the workplace and seeking new ways to contribute 
• Having a perspective of lifelong learning and seeking out new learning opportunities
• Being flexible and adapting to change when necessary 
• Rather than shying away from competition, use it as a helpful motivator

Change Your Mindset and Change Your Life 

Those with a growth mindset do more than accept criticism with grace—they encourage it. No matter where you are in your personal growth journey, cultivating a growth mindset is possible, even if you tend toward a fixed mindset.

By adopting positive self-talk and starting small, you can develop a mindset that helps you thrive and leads you to more success in life. So ditch the self-limiting talk, and get started today.

Photo by Jacob Lund/Shutterstock

The post What Is a Growth Mindset and How Does It Foster Success? appeared first on SUCCESS.

Physician, podcaster, public speaker and social media influencer Dr. Gabrielle Lyon contends that Americans and health experts have been getting it wrong for decades. Now, she’s on a mission to change the thinking around what keeps us healthy and living longer. Lyon is convinced that building muscle mass is more important than losing fat and that strength offers protective benefits for a lengthened lifespan—so much so that she calls muscle the “organ of longevity.”

Strong for life

Lyon, who authored the New York Times bestseller Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well and hosts the Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show podcast, makes the case that skeletal muscle is a vastly underrated organ. In addition to physical strength, she says, an increase in muscle is shown to be associated with better blood sugar regulation, metabolic health, stronger bones and increased survivability against nearly every disease.

She began to see evidence of this firsthand while working in geriatric care and nutritional science during her clinical fellowships at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, which revealed a link between poor nutrition, fitness and overall wellness, including cognitive decline and dementia. More than that, she noticed the common denominator among patients was low muscle mass.

Seeing people of all ages suffer the devastating effects of preventable health conditions crushed her, and she vowed to do something about it. She ultimately created Muscle-Centric Medicine, a health care approach that, in her own words, “shifts the focus away from reactively quantifying and treating disease to proactively quantifying and optimizing your health by focusing on the biggest organ in your body: skeletal muscle.” She also developed the Lyon Protocol, a protein-focused diet and muscle-building exercise plan designed to improve overall health.

This is the culmination of her work as a physician for nearly two decades, a career path that came sharply into focus during a single moment of crisis when she was an undergraduate nutrition student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. One fateful day, a tornado warning on campus drove students and faculty to a basement shelter for safety.

“We were sitting there in the basement for two hours, and I just had this moment where I [thought], ‘I am totally useless. It’s great to be able to know what to do and how to help people eat, but in the case of a real emergency, I have no skill,’” she recalls. She remembers thinking in that instant, “Well, medicine it is.” She subsequently earned her doctorate in osteopathic medicine from the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine and became board-certified in family medicine.

Walking the talk

If excellent muscle health is, as Lyon posits, the key to well-being, then Lyon herself is the very picture of health. Her Instagram and TikTok platforms showcase beautifully edited videos of her personal workouts, where her sculpted, tattooed muscles take center stage as she powers through massive kettlebell swings and heavy barbell lifts—often with her 3- and 5-year-old kids partaking in playful exercises nearby. That’s by design, Lyon says. “I understand that if I can set them up physically now, they’ll be physically stronger and mentally tougher,” she says.

Her own upbringing in Chicago, Illinois, included plenty of exercise, thanks to a highly athletic dad who would encourage her to get out and get moving. “By the time I was 5, I was biking 10 miles with him, and it was our way of life to be very physical,” she says. ”I grew up camping and hiking and mountaineering… boarding a canoe and figuring out on a map where we’re going to go.”

In college, she discovered Fitness America, a nationally televised bodybuilding competition she entered as a contestant. She wound up placing in the top 15 among competitors from around the world. It was an experience that hooked her on fitness for good and a reflection of her lifelong love of discipline and dedication. Today, in her day-to-day life, though, she aims for consistent, everyday habits over lofty goals.

“There are standards for myself that I set…. I’m not chasing goals,” she says. “I train four days a week. That is a standard. I will get that in. I eat a certain way.… I prioritize protein. I move during the day. And any chance I get, you will find me doing pushups.”

Lyon observes this same philosophy of steadiness among her most high-achieving patients, many of whom are executives, entrepreneurs, Navy SEALs and, in her words, “mavericks and innovators.”

“The young entrepreneur has an experience of crash and burn… go high and go low. That’s a rookie,” she says. ”The best of the best in their fields.… They’re neutral. They understand that they cannot outperform their health, and the common denominator for how high that they will go—in their business, in their relationships—is fully dependent on how solid their physical health is.”

Leading with focus

To facilitate that daily focus on health, Lyon plans to launch her own supplement soon, with a portion of the revenue going to women’s health research. She is also focused on growing her public speaking business (her TEDx Talk on “The Midlife Muscle Crisis” has over 1.8 million views), as well as the audience for her podcast, which offers a wealth of health care information shared by experts in nutrition, movement, science data and more. She relishes the opportunity to “interview world-class experts who are the best of the best at what they do, whether it is medicine or mindset,” she says.

But in all of her endeavors, and on topics from working out to nutrition to healthy habits, Lyon says her primary focus is on the durability of both the mind and body. “When we think about building functional capacity and resilience,” she says, “it’s about not only being able to withstand pressure but expecting it and using it as a nonnegotiable tool for the necessary growth. It’s not about weathering the storm—it’s about becoming the storm.” 

This article originally appeared in the July/August 2025 issue of SUCCESS® magazine.

Photo by ©Peter Hurley

The post Flex Appeal: Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Believes Building Muscle Will Help You Live Longer appeared first on SUCCESS.

In a memo to employees, he thanked them for pointing out how he skipped or rushed over topics he felt weren’t worth the time. He recognized these observations were, “So true, so sad, so frustrating that I still do this. I will keep working on it.” 

Leaders such as Hastings asking for feedback—and even further taking it to heart to implement change—requires vulnerability. Bob Weinhold, a Velocity partner who leads the firm’s executive coaching services and focuses on multigenerational family enterprises and corporate environments, has seen this firsthand. When we spoke, he was traveling to start an executive coaching engagement with someone who had not received feedback well. He had also just completed a call with another executive who was pushing back against feedback from her team.

“I think feedback can be incredibly valuable, and I’ve watched it be incredibly damning. When it’s done the wrong way, people feel threatened. They become very defensive, and it becomes a reason to exit a situation or a business or a relationship prior to making any changes,” he says. “When [feedback is] done right, people get to the very highest levels. When done poorly, it results in very negative consequences, and sometimes terminal consequences.”

In their study “Feedback: the Powerful Paradox,” Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman describe feedback as “any conversation designed to convey a message that one person believes to be important for another person to hear.” They acknowledge that “giving and receiving feedback in organizations is a complex and unpredictable process.”

To navigate this unpredictable environment, Weinhold prescribes a specific process to create a receptive environment, ask for feedback and implement the advice.

Establishing the environment for feedback

Executive coaches and consultancies can facilitate the feedback process. “When I was a CEO, I could go ask everyone in the organization, ‘What do you think of me?’ Would they tell me I’m a jerk? No, because they’re afraid they’re gonna get fired,” Weinhold says. Bringing in an external firm adds a layer of confidentiality to offset this power differential.

If leaders are operating without an intermediary, Weinhold recommends establishing context. It’s important to say that “you’re on a growth process. It’s going to be hard for them to give you direct feedback, but you will do everything in your power not to hold that against them.”

Asking for feedback

To solicit opinions, Weinhold recommends using both an informal and formal 360-degree review process. The traditional process involves inviting people to complete an anonymous online questionnaire. It’s valuable to request comments from people below, lateral to and above the leader on the organizational chart.

There are three vital questions to ask:

1. Where do I add value?

2. If you were to pick two or three areas that you think I should focus on that would allow me to deliver better value or performance, what would those areas be?

3. Is there anything else I should know when I’m considering my own performance?

Following this, informal, one-on-one conversations can expand upon the information offered in the formal review. “I encourage people to … a) ask for [conversations with] people that you agree with, b) ask for [conversations with] people that absolutely don’t agree with you, and then [c)] find the right mix in the middle,” Weinhold says. “Your job is to extrapolate from the absolute value of that data.”

Assessing the feedback

Before considering the feedback, it’s valuable to undergo a self-assessment and identify growth areas. Then, with feedback in hand, leaders can assess whether that information is congruent or incongruent with their self-identified growth paths. Next, the leader should consider whether the feedback is going to help their job or role, the company at large and the other people involved to prioritize what they will implement.

Finally, they should set tangible goals. For example, if someone receives feedback that they need to be more “likeable,” that’s vague. So, they could consider setting office hours, engaging in more social time with colleagues and/or attending more work functions to respond to this feedback. It’s important to vocally identify these goals to colleagues and employees. In this example, that could mean saying, “I’m working on my relationships with other people, so you’re going to see me being involved in a different way. Let me know if that feels good or if it feels intrusive or fake.”

Weinhold says that, if you implement feedback the right way, you can leverage relationships, business, performance, practice and growth faster than you ever could without it.

If the feedback is wholly negative, then the questions get tougher. Weinhold invites the leader to consider whether they can implement the requested changes or if the problem is an issue of fit with the company or the role.

Following up

Once a leader commits to accepting and implementing feedback, Weinhold recommends following up—much more frequently than an annual 360-review. Instead, he suggests touching base quarterly with a handful of people who gave the initial feedback. If the leader isn’t going through a coach, he suggests they approach selected individuals and share what they are working on before requesting a follow-up conversation to discuss results. Because this presents an additional encumbrance for the person providing feedback, it may help to sweeten the deal by offering to buy coffee or lunch.

Weinhold recognizes that most reviews don’t produce results because people stop at the anger and the frustration and the judgment. “I would say feedback is incredibly valuable, but it can be weaponized. Or it can be utilized as a vehicle for growth, and that’s the piece that most people miss,” he says.

After all, as Hastings writes in his book, “It’s when employees begin providing truthful feedback to their leaders that the big benefits of candor really take off.”

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of SUCCESS+ Magazine. Photo courtesy of PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock.

The post Feedback Loop: How (And Why) Leaders Should Utilize Critique appeared first on SUCCESS.

Those three words sound simple enough, but when I look at the six Lego pieces in front of me—two square, one with an eye, another rectangular and two flat red pieces—I pause. How could I make a duck out of these seemingly irrelevant shapes? And then, I think to myself, “What would Salvador Dalí do?”

The question wasn’t completely out of left field. I was, after all, sitting in The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, joining about a dozen other professionals in “Introduction to Creative Thinking,” one of the courses hosted by Innovation Labs at The Dalí Museum. Led by Kimberly Macuare, director of education and co-director of Innovation Labs, we were on a mutual quest, seeking inspiration from the surrealist that we could take back to our places of work.

Dalí in the business world

Unsurprisingly, the idea of the Innovation Labs came from Dalí himself.

“Hank Hine, the executive director of The Dalí Museum and the founder and co-director of the Innovation Labs at The Dalí, very early on saw the potential in the way that Dalí approached problem-solving, how he approached looking at the world, both in terms of understanding things that other people didn’t seem to understand because he was looking at it through different eyes, and then his ability to just take off the brakes in terms of what might be possible solutions for anything that he was thinking about,” Macuare says. “And that could have been from creating another masterpiece to he once sat down and spent an hour thinking about what were all the ways that he could use a gift that he had been given of a whale vertebra.

“As soon as Hank was thinking in this vein, it was really clear to him right away how this might have applications in a business context,” she adds.

And it’s not only Hine who believes creative thinking can benefit the business world. In its 2023 Future of Jobs Report, the World Economic Forum cited creative thinking as one of the top 10 skills on the rise, increasing in importance between 2023 and 2027.

Inspired by Salvador Dalí’s wild imagination, mastery of illusion and perception, the Innovation Labs are designed to open participants’ eyes and imaginations, pushing the limits of their creativity. During the sessions, the program’s expert facilitators lead attendees through unexpected training exercises that both expand their minds and develop talent in new and exciting directions. 

This one-of-a-kind program carefully combines more than 60 years of research on creativity and creative problem-solving with a generous dash of Dalí’s philosophy and methods to help businesses see the world in new ways.

Throughout the five-hour course, Macuare led our group through conversations and activities that challenged our ways of thinking, encouraging us to get as far out of the box as Dalí. She walked us through one way to rethink, well, the way we think—her five secrets of the creative process, which she gleaned from Dalí’s 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship:

1. Setting the scene: You must prepare the ground for creativity
2. On the Cloud game: Recognize that seeing is a generative act
3. Multiple perspectives: Value of connecting the dots
4. Cultivate curiosity: Ask questions; look longer and pay more attention
5. Be yourself: What’s your mustache?

In essence, think like Dalí when he said, “Everything alters me, but nothing changes me.”

Going on a flânerie

After speaking at length about the artist’s Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea Which at Twenty Meters Becomes the Portrait of Abraham Lincoln (Homage to Rothko) and how viewers’ perceptions of the masterpiece change depending on their physical perspectives, Macuare broke us into small groups and asked us to go on a flânerie (a walk or wander guided by a random principle) through the galleries, just as Dalí and his contemporaries did during their time in Paris.

For our flânerie, we chose to focus on a color to find throughout the art, but found ourselves evolving our sightlines to find sets of three, which we realized were prevalent in Dalí’s works. That realization is one we may not have noticed if we hadn’t taken the time to really look.

“Kim is an expert at weaving personal and professional development skills with art history and art,” says Beth Miller, Ph.D., executive director at the Creative Education Foundation. Miller brought Macuare in to kick off the Florida Creativity Conference. “Innovation Labs present a lively and interactive way to experience The Dalí that provides meaningful self-reflection while cultivating interpersonal skills and development. Forging meaningful connections between the arts and skills development illustrates how art can both inspire and activate understanding and implementation of new skills.”

Gathered back together, and thinking with a Dalí mindset, Macuare walked us through FourSight, a problem-solving system that encourages teams to think creatively and work collaboratively to find innovative solutions to complex challenges. According to research shared by FourSight, solving a complex problem requires four types of thinking: clarifying, ideating, developing and implementing. Essentially, everyone is capable of all four types, we just have preferences as to the type of thinking we enjoy.

About a week before our session, we were asked to complete some homework, a questionnaire about how we work best. Looking at my FourSight results, I wasn’t surprised to learn that I’m an implementer—I’m all about getting things done—with a fairly neutral reading across the other three types. Learning about the other ways of thinking, and the way we can all collaborate, was informative and beneficial, and gave me better insights on how to be a stronger team player, in both my work and personal lives.

Like Miller says, “The Innovation Lab inspires and activates personal and professional development.”

In addition to “Introduction to Creative Thinking,” the Innovation Labs also offers courses like, “Introduction to Creative Problem-Solving,” “Saving the World From Chaos: Advanced Strategies for Creative Thinking & Problem-Solving” and “The Secret Life of Your Organization,” which are customized to meet businesses’ specific needs.

Back to my duck. After a moment’s pause, I shifted into a Dalí state of mind and started to build.

I think I would have made the surrealist proud.

Photo courtesy of The Dalí Museum

The post Getting Creative at Work With Salvador Dalí appeared first on SUCCESS.

As consumers become more educated about the environmental and social impact of their purchases, they’re often moving toward more sustainable options. Ethical consumption demands more from consumers and businesses, with long-term effects that include increased supply chain transparency and sustainable practices. Let’s dive deeper into the concept and how it’s shaping business trends. 

What Is Ethical Consumerism?

Ethical consumerism—also known by terms such as conscious consumerism,and values-based purchasing—recognizes that where consumers spend money matters. By choosing products from companies that align with their values, consumers are creating a shift toward sustainable, cruelty-free products and fair-trade practices.

Ethical consumerism’s core principles include:

• Reducing waste and supporting ecological balance by choosing sustainably produced goods.
• Supporting goods crafted using fair trade principles in safe working environments with fair wages and no exploitation.
• Expecting transparent, honest communication from companies regarding sourcing, production and labor practices.
• Supporting local and small businesses to strengthen communities and reduce ecological impact.
• Making conscious consumption choices by buying less, choosing quality over quantity and avoiding unnecessary purchases.
• Supporting social justice principles through brands that align with human rights and community empowerment.
• Avoiding products tested on animals and favoring cruelty-free options.

These examples of ethical consumerism illustrate how people can use their purchasing power to make a difference. The ideas behind conscious consumerism have existed for generations, taking form in political movements like the free produce movement in the early 1800s and the fair-trade movement that began after World War II. These movements encouraged people to buy products made without causing harm to workers and paid fair wages for their work—and have gathered steam over the years.

Although the ethical consumerism movement has gained steadily, the COVID-19 pandemic forced many people to reexamine their priorities and gave it a boost. According to research published in the Journal of Business Ethics, “perceived pandemic severity increases consumers’ intention to consume ethically.” Suddenly faced with more time at home than ever before, many used the time to research the companies they support—shifting away from businesses with less-than-stellar ethics. Instead, consumers began looking for more socially and environmentally friendly companies that freely shared information about how they do business.

How Ethical Consumerism Is Shaping Business Trends

As values-based consumerism changes how people shop, it also shapes business trends. Consumers can access more information than ever, making it relatively easy for shoppers to learn about companies and their business practices.

For example, some consumers choose not to buy beauty products from companies that test on animals. Instead, they may seek local sources for handmade products like soaps and lotions. Ethical consumerism statistics support this, as roughly 55% of people are willing to pay more for eco-friendly brands.

It adds up to consumers holding corporations responsible for the environmental and social impact of their business practices.

Transparency and Corporate Responsibility

At the heart of conscious consumerism are transparency and corporate responsibility. Conscious consumers want brands to be open about how their products are created and the impact they have on the people and the environment. 

In 2024, about 64% of people spent money with socially responsible businesses, and 32% planned to spend more in the future, according to a report by Good.Must.Grow.. While the annual statistics fluctuate, there is a general trend toward sustainability and eco-friendly goods—even if it costs more. Because of this, companies are choosing to share their sourcing, labor practices and environmental policies. 

Some, like the shoe company TOMS, take extra steps to receive a B Corp Certification. This special certification is awarded to companies that meet high standards of performance, accountability and transparency. These standards are in areas such as supply chain practices, charitable giving and employee benefits. Companies must be recertified every three years and commit to continuous improvement of their processes.

Rise of Fair Trade and Ethical Labor

Fair trade and ethical labor practices are critical to ethical consumerism. While the ideas are older, Fair Trade Certification began appearing on coffee, tea and cocoa labels in the late 1980s, then expanded to more products. Products certified as Fair Trade promise that their employees are treated ethically and paid fairly. 

Support for fair trade and ethical labor practices has grown tremendously, and the concepts have become mainstream. Consumers want to know that the people behind their favorite products are treated well and paid fairly. For many shoppers, buying ethically is a statement of values.

Impact on Reputation and Brand Loyalty

A company’s success often rides on its reputation and the loyalty of its customers, which begins with trust. When people trust a brand, especially one that shares their values, they’re doing more than supporting a company they like: they’re buying into the brand’s identity and becoming advocates in the process.

Consumers are more educated and value-driven than ever. Many are willing to pay a little more for better products that leave a smaller environmental footprint and improve local communities. In fact, roughly 82% of consumers prefer supporting brands that align with their values. That type of alignment turns customers into long-term supporters. 

How Businesses Can Adapt to Ethical Consumerism

Implementing sustainable, eco-friendly and fair trade practices is an investment that can be significant. However, the long-term benefits of adapting to the demands of values-based purchasing by forging sustainable partnerships with ethical suppliers are powerful. Businesses that engage with ethical consumer movements and align with social causes can create lasting positive change for the people and ecosystems in their supply chain. They can accomplish this while still earning a profit with loyal, values-driven customers. 

Improving Labor and Environmental Conditions

Ethical consumerism supports Fair Trade, which can help drive improvements in labor and environmental practices in industries such as coffee and palm oil. For example, palm oil is present in many products used daily in the U.S., like baby food, drinks and snacks. It extends shelf life and generally improves flavor. 

While extremely useful, growing and harvesting it historically included massive deforestation of Southeast Asian rainforests. Deforestation has eliminated the habitat for many species, such as the orangutan, and harmed local communities through low pay and unfair labor practices.

However, because of pressure from consumers and conservation groups, some palm oil producers found ways to reduce the environmental impact. The movement has spurred the creation of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an organization that certifies palm oil producers that follow guidelines that help ensure the future of the environment and palm oil. It still requires a lot of space and labor to produce, but palm oil produces more per acre than many other oil-producing crops.

Agriculture isn’t the only place where sustainable consumerism is creating change. Here are a few companies that support ethical consumption:

• Violin string manufacturer Warchal accepts used strings of their brand in exchange for credit in their online store. Far from being simple pieces of metal gut, violin strings are complex. They are usually comprised of varying materials with fine wire made from metals such as tungsten, pure silver, brass or stainless steel wound around the core. The company takes those strings and recycles the materials into new strings. Although the company no longer accepts strings from outside the European Union due to cost, they were the first string manufacturer with a string recycling program.
• Kent is a U.S.-based brand that produces organic underwear that is fully compostable. Made from organic cotton, the products decompose within 90 days after hitting the compost pile. 
• Also U.S.-based, Triarchy makes sustainable denim clothing by reusing the “thick indigo laden sludge” left over from other denim makers. The company works with its suppliers to provide complete transparency in its supply chain using blockchain-verified tracing and embedded QR codes.

The Role of Certifications and Reporting

Certifications like Fair Trade, USDA Organic and Bird-Friendly—and using ESG reporting practices—can improve transparency through open disclosures of social and environmental impact. They are helping move businesses toward more socially and environmentally responsible practices. However, they aren’t the only way for companies to show that they conduct business ethically.

Plus, smaller producers in developing countries may hesitate to apply for certification or invest in the documentation required for ESG reporting without knowing how it will impact their businesses. Consumers can help by engaging with local organizations and expressing their interest and support.

As more companies embrace sustainable business practices and see the benefits of ethical consumerism, hesitant businesses may begin the process as well. However, just because a company doesn’t have a certification doesn’t mean you have to count them out. 

Small businesses like home crafters, local coffee shops or clothing stores can still embrace ethical business practices. The key is transparency and openly sharing information about their practices, supply chain and labor treatment. 

Consumers and Businesses Are Shifting for the Greater Good 

Ethical consumerism is rising as consumers become more aware of how their buying habits affect others. Shoppers are demanding more transparency and responsibility from companies.

To truly make a difference, businesses must embrace ethical consumerism by integrating sustainable and fair trade practices into their operations. In addition to improving transparency through certifications and reporting, businesses need to actively engage with ethical consumer movements and align with social causes. By doing so, companies can build a loyal customer base that values integrity and sustainability. This can ultimately help drive long-term success.

On the other hand, consumers have the power to influence the future of business by supporting companies that prioritize high ethical standards. Making informed buying decisions and actively advocating for more transparency enables consumers to contribute to a more sustainable world.

By working together, businesses and consumers can leave a positive impact on the environment and society, helping create a future where ethical practices are the norm.

Photo by Iryna Inshyna/Shutterstock

The post Ethical Consumerism: How Mindful Purchases Shape Business Trends appeared first on SUCCESS.

Furthermore, social media platforms are essential because they offer tools like hashtags, stories and live videos that grab attention instantly. A single post can transform attendees into advocates, increasing an event’s reach organically. This guide explores the role of social media in event promotion, offering beginner-friendly strategies to promote events before, during and after they happen.

It also dives into how to leverage social media for charity events and tailor content for different platforms. With these practical tips, organizers can maximize ROI, build lasting connections and create events that leave a lasting impression.

How to Use Social Media to Promote an Event Before It Happens

Having effective event planning tips helps make the event happen, but social media can help bring interest and engagement. Building excitement for an event begins weeks in advance, and social media is an ideal tool to make it happen. If you’re wondering how to promote an event on social media, here are some content ideas to fuel excitement:

• Post Teaser Videos: Post a 10-second clip of the location or a speaker’s highlight reel.

• Utilize Polls and Quizzes: Create a TikTok poll asking, “Which session are you looking forward to the most?”

• Incorporate Countdown Graphics: Update weekly posts that show the number of days left till the event.

• Share Behind-the-Scenes Moments: Show the setup process to create excitement.

• Post Guest Highlights: Share quick facts about speakers, singers or special guests.

• Add Fun Facts: Post what makes the event unique, like a cool prize or activity.

See the additional tips below to leverage the power of social media before the event.

Follow a Strong Posting Schedule

Organizers should start promoting an event on social media six to eight weeks prior, creating a steady stream of content that attracts people. They should aim to post two to three times a week, keeping their audience engaged by creating educational and interactive posts. Staying consistent matters, but it’s also crucial to avoid posting too frequently and overwhelming followers.

Leverage Early Data

Organizers can also use early sign-up data to improve their approach. This can help in experimenting with different post types or times to see what works best. As an example, a local art fair might discover that vibrant Instagram reels highlighting artists at work attract more attention than still images. 

Use Striking Hashtags and Images

A unique hashtag, like #FitnessChallenge2025, ties posts together and makes it easy to track engagement. You can consider sharing teasers that arouse interest, like a striking image outlining the event’s schedule or a short video introducing a guest speaker. For example, a wellness retreat could share an Instagram post captioned, “Ready to recharge your mind and body? Join us at #WellnessFest2025!” Such posts can help you get people talking and build anticipation.

To stand out on social media, it’s also important to post images people want to share. Tools like Canva make it simple to design eye-catching graphics, such as countdown posts that say, “Just 15 days until #CommunityFair2025.” 

Consider Partnering With Influencers or Speakers 

Partnering with influencers or speakers can take social media event promotion to the next level. A case in point could be a LinkedIn post on a conference by a known industry expert that can help increase registrations. According to Hootsuite Social Media Trends research, there has been a 21% year-over-year rise in organizations teaming up with influencers, helping events to reach more people.

Try different event promotion strategies to ensure that social media for event marketing delivers powerful results, setting the stage for a successful event.

Related: Making Social Good a Habit: 3 Tips from a Professional Humanitarian

Marketing an Event on Social Media in Real Time

When the event day arrives, social media becomes a live platform for engagement, connecting on-site attendees and online followers in real-time. Wondering how to advertise an event on social media and boost participation during the event? Try these ideas:

• Leverage Photo Ops: Set up a creative backdrop with the event hashtag and logo.

• Host Live Q&A Sessions: Go on a quick Instagram Live to respond to queries from viewers.

• Give Attendee Shoutouts: Share posts by attendees to highlight their experiences.

• Try Interactive Challenges: Start a TikTok challenge, such as a game or dance related to the event’s theme.

• Include Live Updates: Post quick updates about what’s happening, like a new speaker starting.

Make the most of your event with the following tips and ideas.

Keep Excitement High With Live Posting 

Live posting is essential for social media event promotion since it keeps the excitement high and the conversation going. Consider how your posts can resonate with the events and your audience. For example, Instagram Stories or TikTok Live can broadcast the best moments, like a panel discussion at a tech summit or a live performance at a music festival. Consider a short video with a caption like “Game-changing ideas at #TechFest2025!” to inspire more shares and comments that pull people into the experience. 

Invite Attendees to Share Content 

Organizers can also create opportunities for attendees to share their content, spreading organic promotion. For instance, they can place a branded photo booth with the event hashtag, which might encourage people to take selfies for their social media posts. Organizers can also urge participants to include the event hashtag in their posts, which might increase reach. Let’s say a food festival witnesses many attendees sharing photos of food with the hashtag #FoodieFest2025, creating a virtual image of the event. Reposting attendee content not only builds community but is an effective networking strategy to connect with people.

Keep Interacting With Your Audience

Engagement doesn’t stop at posting—it’s about interaction. Providing real-time answers to queries or comments improves your relationship with your audience. For example, if one attendee tweets, “Great vibe at #CharityRun2025,” a response like, “So thrilled you’re here! What’s your favorite moment?” adds a personal touch.

Consider Tools to Streamline Your Reach 

Social media management tools like Sprout Social or Sendible can assist organizers in monitoring mentions and tracking interactions, ensuring that no opportunities are lost. Marketing an event on social media during the event makes every minute exciting, but tools can help organizers manage different tasks and stay at the top of their game.

Leveraging Social Media Marketing for an Event After It Ends

Social media helps keep the momentum alive. There are multiple ways to take advantage of social media to connect with your audience, continue engagement and market for future events.

Here are some suggestions for post-event content:

• Highlight Reels: Compile a short video of the event’s best moments.

• Testimonial Posts: Share attendee quotes to build credibility.

• Thank-You Posts: Say thanks to guests and share a fun memory.

• Recap Articles: Create a blog or LinkedIn article that summarizes important insights.

• Photo Galleries: Post event photos on Instagram.

Give Your Audience Value on Social Media After the Event 

The completion of an event doesn’t necessarily signal the end of its influence or impact. Organizers can continue sharing the event’s highlights, such as a reel displaying a community fair’s best moments or a LinkedIn post summarizing conference takeaways.

Enhance Authenticity

Try sharing user-generated content, like an attendee’s Instagram post, to add authenticity. Another idea is something along the lines of Coca-Cola’s #ShareACoke campaign, which reused fan posts to sustain buzz. This is a strategy every organizer can adopt.

Build Anticipation and Trust for Future Events

Reusing information is a clever strategy that can extend the reach of an event and market for future events. Testimonials from guests like, “This summit reshaped my career!” can help you build trust and credibility. Use a 30-second video of a product launch’s best moments as both a recap and to promote next year’s event, keeping the audience engaged. With the help of repurposed content and smart social media tactics, you can maintain a strong connection with your audience.

Community-building initiatives can also be used to maintain engagement long after the event. Organizers can create a LinkedIn group for conference attendees or send a thank-you email with a survey to foster long-term relationships. Sharing survey results on social media will also keep your audience invested. As an illustration, if you conducted a fitness expo, you could share survey insights like, “80% of attendees loved the yoga sessions,” that could encourage sign-ups for next year.

Trends suggest that 77% of event teams focus on year-round engagement to bring attendees back for future events. Done right, social media marketing for events can forge lasting relationships. The takeaway? The role of social media in event management can be a powerful one that increases engagement and increases future attendance.

How to Promote a Charity Event on Social Media

Social media isn’t just for marketing events for business. Nonprofits can also benefit from smart strategies.

Here are simple ideas to promote a charity event on social media:

• Story-Driven Videos:  Create emotional connection by showing stories of those who were helped by the cause.

• Urgency Posts: Use countdowns to drive registrations or donations.

• Supporter Spotlights: Repost attendee posts to build community.

• Live Updates: Post during the event to show how gifts are helping.

Let’s dive into more detail on how these strategies can be beneficial for marketing charity events. 

Social Media Share Stories & Spread Messages

Charity events thrive on emotional storytelling, and social media is an ideal platform for spreading their message. As an organizer, you can share compelling stories that connect with audiences, like a short video of a beneficiary saying, “Your support gave my family hope.” In addition, reels and TikTok videos under 30 seconds are ideal for capturing attention and creating impact. For instance, a fundraiser for clean water could post a TikTok showing a community celebrating a new well, along with a heartfelt caption.

Countdown Posts Motivate People to Action 

Creating a sense of urgency inspires people to take action. Hence, posts with a countdown, such as “Only 3 days to join #HopeRun2025!” might encourage followers to sign up or donate. Organizers can also ask supporters to tag friends who care about the cause, which boosts visibility. If you look at Nike’s charity campaigns, for example, they use Instagram polls to increase engagement. This is a strategy that’s easy to use. In addition, posts from supporters who share why they’re joining, using charitable storytelling, might start a big wave.

Community-Driven Content Can Inspire More Support 

Community-driven content is always powerful, inviting supporters to share their reasons for joining the event—and inspiring others to do the same. For example, a tweet that reads, “I am running for education at #GiveBack2025” can inspire others to sign up. If these stories get reposted several times, it could build momentum and show that the cause matters.

Include a Clear Call to Action for Your Cause 

Both small and large charities have seen success using strong social media calls to action. Consider a  donation link with a clear call to action, like, “Donate now to change lives.”Strong charity campaigns can make a huge impact. So, if you want to promote a successful charity event on social media, try to tell heartfelt stories, create urgency and make giving simple.

Event Promotion Strategies That Work Across Platforms

As well as the different strategies, it’s important to consider the platforms themselves.

Consider Different Platforms 

Since every platform targets a different demographic, it’s important to choose the right ones for your audience. LinkedIn is ideal for professional events like conferences, where organizers can share detailed agendas or speaker bios. TikTok caters to younger crowds, making it the best platform for pop-up events and music festivals. Instagram’s vibrant visuals work wonders for product launches, while Facebook’s groups bring local communities together for events like charity walks.

Customize Content for the Platform 

Remember that content must also be customized to match the style of each platform. A LinkedIn post might highlight a summit’s key sessions, while a TikTok video shows the fun of setting up the stage. Your goal as an organizer is to educate, entertain, inspire, promote and collectively create a well-rounded strategy. Here are ideas to put these four components to use:

• Educate: Post a Twitter thread highlighting the advantages of the event.

• Entertain: Share an event-related TikTok game challenge, such as a dance.

• Inspire: Highlight an attendee’s story on LinkedIn or Facebook to show the event’s impact.

• Promote: To increase registrations, run a targeted Facebook ad.

Plan Posts in Advance, but Be Ready to Adjust as Needed 

Planning posts ahead of time makes using social media for event marketing much easier, especially if you are planning to promote across multiple platforms. Apps like Buffer let organizers set up posts weeks ahead and track performance. Consider the best posting times for different platforms and experiment with different times to find the best one. 

Be ready to adjust content as needed, too. If your videos receive more views than images, it could be a sign to make more videos. Models walking in a fashion show, for instance,  might get more views through an Instagram video than still images. Another example is with a virtual summit, which could use LinkedIn polls to determine what subjects people wish to discuss.

These event promotion strategies make the role of social media in event management more effective, helping organizers reach the right people with attractive posts.

Promoting Events With Social Media Is Essential

The role of social media in event management is something that’s critical in today’s world. It’s a powerful tool that helps build anticipation before an event, engage the audience during the event and keep the buzz alive long after. From hashtags that create excitement to recaps that build loyalty, social media marketing for events can transform how organizers connect with attendees. Whether it’s a conference, a product launch or a charity fundraiser, social media strategies for an event deliver results that are hard to beat.

Even the numbers prove that having social media makes an event more successful. As per statistics, 75% of event marketers actively use social media for event promotion. Therefore, organizers who use social media to promote events create better experiences and maximize ROI.

So, now is the right time to start! Use simple tools like Canva or Sprout Social to enhance your event posts for social media. Make your event a big success by building a strategy, sharing compelling stories on social media and engaging every step of the way.

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