STRESS IS INEVITABLE: IT'S WHAT YOU DO WITH IT THAT COUNTS.

In today's fast-paced and highly competitive work environment, stress and burnout are common issues. The Covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated this problem, as employees are dealing with heightened levels of anxiety and uncertainty. The past three years have upended many of our lives, resulting in increased isolation and loneliness, financial insecurity, and health concerns.

It's also led to changes in work arrangements, such as remote work, which can blur the boundaries between work and home life, leading to a sense of always being "on." All of these factors have contributed to higher levels of burnout in the workplace. All the more reason to prepare ourselves for the regular occurrence of stress -- and to reframe what we believe stress is in the first place. Navy SEALs have this as part of their training.

But not all Navy SEALs are the same.

A mindset shift

Stress is inevitable. Being happy and fulfilled in life is not about reducing stress. It's about what you do with the stress when it comes. According to psychologist Richard Lazarus, stress is not a direct response to external events, but rather, it is the result of how we interpret and appraise those events. In other words, our perceptions and beliefs about a situation determine whether we view it as stressful. 

You can think of there being two mindsets: stress-is-enhancing versus stress-is-debilitating. With the former mindset, stress is perceived as something good in order to grow and progress. With the latter, stress is perceived as something bad and to be avoided at all costs.

In one study, researchers wanted to see how the two different mindsets predicted performance in participants undergoing the notoriously challenging Navy SEALs training. The researchers hypothesized that participants with the stress-is-enhancing mindset -- who believe stress enhances their health, performance, and well-being -- would outperform those with the stress-is-debilitating mindset. 

Following 174 Navy SEALs candidates, they found that a stress-is-enhancing mindset predicts greater persistence through training, faster obstacle-course times, and fewer negative evaluations from peers and instructors. 

A word of caution

There is such a thing as too much stress. Psychologists differentiate between "eustress" (the good kind) and distress (the bad kind). It's important to recognize the difference between the two when approaching work and life with a stress-is-enhancing mindset.

Without applying wise judgment, it could lead you to ignore or dismiss the negative impact of chronic stress on your physical and mental health. Second, constantly striving for high levels of stress believing it'll make you better will backfire and lead to more burnout and exhaustion, not less. Finally, this mindset can also create an environment in which stress is normalized and even celebrated, which can lead to a culture of overworking and neglecting self-care.

NO BUSINESS IS WITHOUT RISK: WAYS ENTREPRENEURS CAN PROTECT THEIR BUSINESSES

After almost every major company crisis, business owners say to themselves, "If only I had done X." Sometimes these were things they knew they should be doing but let slide. Other times, there was an unforeseen disaster that could have been mitigated by having certain safeguards in place.

Between my own and those of my peers, I've seen a lot of mistakes with big consequences for a business's well-being. Here are four ways business leaders can protect their companies from life's more unpleasant surprises.

1. Have Adequate Insurance For Risk

Insurance costs a lot, and sometimes you only carry it because your clients need to check a box on vendor coverage. Yet one thing about business insurance is certain: You're very grateful to have it when you need to file a claim.

That doesn't always mean that more coverage is better. The most important thing is to have adequate insurance to cover your vulnerabilities. If your entire business would shut down with a single ransomware cyberattack, for example, you should look into cyber insurance policies. 

Or if your product shipments are delayed months because another barge clogs up the Suez Canal, those losses can be mitigated. An example of this would be SRA 831(b) Admin that does an 831(b) Plan. This is essentially a tax-deferred war chest for a business's risks that fall outside of traditional insurance. Some of these resources used to be more focused on larger businesses, but companies are appearing that can give similar resources to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

2. Get It in Writing

Sealing a deal with a handshake conveys trust and can make a great start to a business relationship. But sometimes a simple miscommunication or difference in memory can cast doubt on the details of that handshake deal. So even if you're worried about insulting the other party, get all agreements down in writing.

This goes double for friends and family. Going into business with someone you know well isn't something to be done lightly. I don't know how many times I've seen colleagues experience damaged relationships because an arrangement wasn't documented and therefore got misinterpreted by one or both parties. A written agreement can save future family dinners if your brother is a vendor for your company.

3. Build and Maintain Helpful Relationships

That's not to say you should shun close relationships in business. Sometimes when unexpected disasters arise in your company, you really have to reach out for help and advice. You may need a mentor to give you some guidance or a peer who can do you a favor. In times of crisis, those can be the lifelines that can boost or even save your business.

Of course, to build these relationships, you need to benefit others as well. Many times I have solidified relationships by agreeing to speak last minute at an event where the originally booked speaker canceled. Being willing to ride to someone else's rescue builds goodwill among your contacts and peers. That can really save your bacon when trouble arises and you're the one who needs help. 

4. Keep Cash Reserves

If business is going well, it's tempting to spend generously on expansion, perks, or exciting new business ventures. Short of potentially earning a little interest in a money market account, keeping large cash balances might seem like a waste. 

Unfortunately, when businesses run lean on cash reserves, the unexpected can really throw them for a loop. The whole world found that out when the pandemic hit in 2020. We had to have enough cash reserves to keep our staff on even if income were to disappear entirely. Thankfully, it didn't come to that, but having those cash reserves would have been vital if sales had tanked. Remember, not every crisis will come with a PPP loan to save you.

As the events of recent years have shown, disaster can strike when business owners least expect it. Some of these disasters may even be self-created. Whether you're bracing for a recession, a severe weather event, or a supply chain snafu -- or simply trying to avoid committing an own goal -- there are ways to cushion the blow. Establishing the right safeguards ahead of time can help your business survive whatever the world dishes out.

A CREDIT CRUNCH COMES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES: CUE THE LATERNATIVE LENDERS

For entrepreneurs looking to secure financing anytime soon, good luck.

Venture capital dried up in the first quarter of this year, and in the past few weeks, obtaining a business loan has become an epic task even Jules Verne might eschew. During the second half of March, the Federal Reserve recorded the largest two-week decrease in overall bank lending in U.S. history. The central bank data also showed the largest ever contraction in business loans over the same time period. 

"The credit crunch has started," wrote Apollo chief economist Torsten Slock in a recent note that highlighted the record pullback. "The behavioral change in the banking sector is beginning to weigh on the economic outlook."

Small businesses have been hit especially hard. Last month, approval rates for small business loans fell to 13.8 percent, the lowest level since July 2021, according to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index. Even at smaller banks, which are historically more likely to back local small borrowers, fewer business owners were able to obtain financing in March; just 19.1 percent of applications were approved.

This shift should not come as too much of a shock. Fears over this exact scenario began swirling after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell echoed concerns during his March 22 press conference, saying, "Events in the banking system over the past two weeks are likely to result in tighter credit conditions for households and businesses." As concerned customers pulled deposits from smaller and regional institutions, the largest lenders capitalized on that anxiety. Bank of America enjoyed record inflows, with $37 billion in deposits from new and existing customers since the the first quarter of 2022, per first quarter earnings released on Tuesday morning. 

Seeing the trend lines, business owners are increasingly looking to alternative lenders to get the money need to grow. Just ask Jamahl Grace, the co-founder of the Grace+Love Candle Company. Despite having what he thinks is bankable business with 95 client boutiques across the country and year-over-year sales growth of 120 percent, Grace recently tapped an unlikely source for a loan: his accounting software provider, QuickBooks.

In about five days, the Sterling, Virginia-based business, which Grace co-founded alongside his wife in 2020, was approved for a $10,000 credit line with an 18.9 percent annual percentage rate. The lender, QuickBooks Capital, offers loans with annual percentage rates that start at 9.99 percent and can go as high as 36 percent. In 2022, the lender originated $1.3 billion in business loans ranging from $5,000 to $150,000.

The cost of these loans tends to be higher than those offered by traditional banks. During the fourth quarter of 2022, banks charged a median interest rate of 6.44 percent for new, fixed-rate small-business loans, and 6.22 percent for fixed-rate lines of credit, according to the most recent data from the Kansas City Federal Reserve. 

Even so, the Graces have plenty of company. QuickBooks says 60 percent of its customers would not qualify for a loan elsewhere. Further, the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index found that as bank lending to small businesses declined, sign-offs from non-traditional financers overall increased. Approval rates from alternative lenders rose to 28.4 percent in March, up from 27.9 percent in February. 

For Jamahl Grace, the convenience of getting the money he needed quickly outweighed the higher cost. He says he also appreciated that the terms were calculated based on Grace+Love's own historical data inputted in the software. "They're seeing all of the inflows. They're seeing all of the outflows," Grace adds. "They'll take all of those data inputs, and they'll present you an offer."

His advice for other small-business owners navigating tough credit conditions? Don't get caught up on all the nos from lenders. "It's nothing to take personal, especially given the climate of our economy and everything that's looming," he says. "Let's be honest, home fragrance isn't necessarily a necessity for people. If people were to have to choose between groceries or candles, they're obviously going to choose their groceries."

WHAT IS ........HUMAN AUGMENTATION?

In 1868, luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe presented to its customer Countess Koscowicz of Hungary a technological marvel: a miniaturized timekeeping device small enough to wear on her arm — a piece is now widely considered to be the first true wristwatch. Today a constellation of performance-enhancing devices can be worn in or on your body, whether strapped to a wrist, slipped over a finger, embedded in clothing, or even surgically implanted in the brain, to help you perform at the peak of your potential. With sensors onboard to help people understand, quantify, and optimize their own bodies and habits — a practice broadly known as “human augmentation” — there’s seemingly a bottomless appetite for these devices. Experts expect the market for them to be worth $341 billion by 2026.

How it works 

The sensors and processors of wearable devices complement the sensory organs and cognitive abilities of the user. Familiar examples include smartphones and watches, head-mounted displays, augmented reality glasses, smart rings that track your vital signs, and even implantable medical monitors. And new ideas keep coming. Levi’s, for instance, recently introduced the Commuter x Jacquard by Google Trucker Jacket made with conductive thread woven into the fabric; wearers can swipe the cuff to control their music player, make phone calls or ask for help from an AI assistant.

The a-ha moment

In his 1964 book Understanding Media Marshall McLuhan introduced the idea that technology can serve as an extension of the human body — a telephone connection, for instance, can be thought of as stretching the ear out into the world. Probably no single event went so far towards achieving this vision as the introduction in 2007 of the smartphone, which not only puts a whole suite of sophisticated electronic capabilities in users’ pockets but can serve as a portable hub for smart watches, biometric sensors, and other devices. This new networked ecosystem has fueled yet further innovation. Some new devices can even extend into new realms, for instance, by allowing wearers to sense magnetic fields via their skin.

What it means for everyday life 

As it takes ever smaller and more lightweight form, the power of portability means that human augmentation can blend seamlessly into our lives. Tasks that once required attention and effort, like monitoring chronic health conditions or keeping track of your kids, become automated and effortless. For those who’ve been on the biohacking train, human augmentation promises to circumvent human limitations of attention, athletic ability, and even lifespan.

How it might change the world

Going forward, wearable technology will integrate ever more seamlessly into our lives as chips become smaller, cheaper, and more resilient. Neural implants might allow us to communicate and control devices through the power of thought alone, or power-boosted prostheses will not only replace, but even improve on missing limbs. And so the gap between machine, human, and superhuman will vanish. We will, as McLuhan put it, “extend our central nervous system itself in a global embrace.”

THINGS GREAT LEADERS ALWAYS DO

Conflict happens in the workplace. A lot. We don't see eye-to-eye; we have opposing agendas and often try to get our way at the expense of another person.

But here's the reality: These things don't normally occur in workplace communities of care, where people value relationships. Truth is, human beings are inherently designed to be relational. In the workplace, it's no different. We long for connection with others in the pursuit of purposeful work that produces meaningful results.

That's why it's inconceivable to me that, in the age of inclusion and belonging, toxic work cultures still prevail, severely affecting employee health and well-being, teamwork, productivity, and the bottom line.

Until we abandon systemic managerial thinking anchored in the fossilized ideals of the industrial revolution, where autocrats and bureaucrats hold control, power, authority, rules, and decisions at the top, the employee engagement crisis remains unsolved.

Reversing the problem of toxic work cultures starts with one foundational premise: Building up servant leaders who help create an environment where human beings thrive. 

Servant leadership at its best 

My partners and I have extensively researched servant leadership's impact on human performance. We've conducted surveys and spoken with leading scholars and experts to identify the characteristics of the servant leader. Based upon a review of the literature, we determined that servant leadership promotes the valuing and developing of people, the building of community, the practice of authenticity, the providing of leadership for the good of those being led, and the sharing of power and status for the common good of each individual within the organization, for the organization itself, and for those served by it.

When management structures and company cultures fail, it most likely points to an absence of the defining traits that lead to great organizational health. For example:

1. Servant leaders practice authenticity

Servant leaders are real, transparent, and humble. They practice a bold style of authenticity that allows others to follow and lead. They are willing to learn from anyone and everyone who has something to contribute. This spirit of learning means that the leader doesn't hide mistakes but rather learns from them.

2. Servant leaders keep their promises

Servant leaders know that honesty, openness, and transparency are what build trust in an organization. People want their leaders to be straight with them. This is not always an easy path, but it is the best path to gain the loyalty of your workers, and build in them a commitment to the organization and its mission.

3. Servant leaders are accountable to others

A successsful servant leader is willing to admit mistakes and open to seeking insight from those above them and below them in the organization. This depth of character allows them to lead without always being right and having all the answers. They can be truly themselves, with all their strengths and weaknesses, without the need to pretend they know everything.

4. Servant leaders share their leadership

Leadership is not about position, status, or prestige. Leadership is about leading from the front--and from the trenches--and working closely with others to make the world a better place. When leaders claim special privileges or impose their rank and positional authority on others, they distance themselves from those they lead and work against building a sense of community and shared ownership throughout the organization. 

This is only a snapshot of the leadership skills that can transform a workplace culture. When fast-growing companies commit to selecting the right leaders and continuously developing them, where behaviors like these become permanently ingrained and practiced, we have repeatedly seen organizations gain a clear, competitive advantage.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: 5 WORD CHOICES THAT GET RESULTS

Business leaders need other people to achieve their goals. To engage others, I have long believed that leaders should choose a mission for their company that gives deep meaning to employees' work lives. Couple that with a culture that encourages people to act in ways that further that mission and people will do the right thing.

Today I was surprised to learn a less grandiose way that leaders can get results: they can pick the right words. That was my biggest takeaway from a Wall Street Journal article by Jonah Berger, a Wharton professor, based on his new book Magic Words: What to Say to Get Your Way.

Here are five such word choices that stuck out for me

1. Don't like, recommend.

Choosing forceful words boosts the chances that listeners will take action.

For example, Berger wrote that recommending, rather than liking something, increased by 32 percent the chances that the listener would take action. Making a request by using the word because "followed by the reason for it, increased compliance by 50 percent," he wrote. 

2. Assign roles.

Leaders should help their people see themselves as making the world a better place.

To that end, leaders should assign roles. For example, rather than ask someone to help, ask them to be a helper; do not ask them to vote, urge them to be a voter -- the latter boosts turnout by 15 percent. 

What's more, Berger writes, by asking yourself what could you do, instead of what should you do, you open yourself up to think of new and creative ways to solve a problem rather than following someone else's prescription.

3. Speak without fear of failure.

People often see leaders as charismatic. It turns out that charisma comes not so much from how people appear but from their high level of confidence. A study found that people prefer financial advisors who express greater certainty. Sadly, "that confidence outstripped advisers' actual results," wrote Berger.

I find this troubling because extreme confidence can overstep the bounds of honesty. Berger wrote that if you want to hedge your statements, use a first-person pronoun -- e.g., "I am concerned that higher interest rates could be a risk to this forecast."

4. Avoid canned responses, be specific. 

People do not like leaders to give them canned responses. 

For example, a business leader learned that his company was paying so little money to some staff people that they had to live 90 minutes away from the company headquarters to afford the rent. Due to the high cost of commuting, these employees could not afford three meals a day for their families.

The leader's response to this news -- "I will take it under advisement and get back to you" -- was not ideal. Instead, the leader should have used concrete language such as "I will meet this week with the employee and solve his problem right away." 

Berger cited a survey of thousands of customer service reps who boosted customer satisfaction and repeat purchasing by citing specifics, such as "I'll make sure the shoes you ordered are at your house tomorrow" instead of "we care about your satisfaction."

5. Ask for help and more information.

Finally, leaders can make their people feel important by asking the right questions.

For example, leaders who ask for advice make others feel more important. Berger wrote that asking for advice makes the advice giver feel "of course my opinions are valuable, so this person is smart for asking for them."

Leaders can also show they care by asking a follow-up question. He cited a 2017 Harvard study "that follow-up questions carry extra impact." For example, if a co-worker tells you they liked a presentation, ask them which part was most interesting.

Make these five word choices and you can lead people to higher ground.

MIDCAREER EMPLOYEES INCREASINGLY SEEK MORE WORK WITH GREATER MEANING

Nearly every entrepreneur I know says they work longer hours as a small-business owner than they did when they worked for someone else, since the average startup founder's mantra is, "If it is to be, it's up to me."

Nearly every one also admits they worry more about their income than they did when they were employees. After all, have a bad week at your job and you still get paid.

Long days, long nights, long weekends, with potentially little financial reward to show for all that effort, especially early on?

Sounds like the perfect recipe for burnout.

Yet a new study just published by payroll, benefits, and human resources software firm Gusto shows burnout is actually one of the main reasons why mid-career workers (ages 35 to 54) start their own businesses. While nearly half of younger workers (ages 25 to 34) said they were quitting their jobs in hopes of making more money as business owners, 46 percent of mid-career workers said they started their own businesses because they felt burned out by their jobs.

While trading long hours for even longer hours sounds counterintuitive, the difference lies not just in the potential reward but in the sense of purpose and meaning. I averaged 60-plus hour weeks in my last years at a Fortune 500 company and the few years after when I ran a manufacturing plant. I averaged 70- to 80-hour weeks the first five years or so after I started my own business.

The difference? Ultimately, the nature of employment is a transaction: I do this, you give me that.

Working for someone else, while financially rewarding, still meant I was largely working for someone else's success. Working for myself means working for my own success, in whatever way I choose -- because it is a choice -- to define success, not in the way someone else defines success.

Because when you work for someone else, they get to decide what you do -- and, in large part, aside from the transactional nature of employment, why you do it.

And as for all the hours involved in starting and running your own business? A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that while experiencing a lack of discretionary time every day leads to feeling more stressed and less happy (no surprise there), the researchers found and "internally [replicated] a negative quadratic relationship between discretionary time and subjective well-being," a fancy way of saying that too little free time makes you unhappy, but so can having too much free time.

And so can feeling less purposeful about your free time. Come home from work and the last thing you probably want to think about is work. The researchers found that people feeling happier when they spend a portion of their free time on productive activities, like building and maintaining relationships. Working on a project. Reading. Exercising. Doing things you feel have a purpose, and that over the long term will make your life better.

When you love what you do -- when you feel your work has purpose -- you're much less likely to mind working a few extra hours a week, because those hours feel less like an obligation than a choice. You'll want to send one more email, make one more call, follow up with one more customer... because doing so benefits you by bringing you that much closer to achieving your goals.

Not someone else's.

And you have a lot more control over your financial future. Work for someone else and at any moment you could lose it all, often for reasons outside your control. (Ask the hundreds of thousands of people recently laid off by tech companies.)

The Gusto survey found that 41 percent started a business because they were concerned about their financial stability or wanted to supplement their household income, up from 24 percent the previous year.

Even if you don't lose your job, working for someone else means your upside is always capped. That's why so many younger workers have decided to become entrepreneurs: own your own business and your upside is, while certainly not guaranteed, unlimited.

Why do people start their own business? To chart their own course. To make their own decisions. To learn from their own mistakes and benefit from their own successes. To do work with greater meaning and purpose and reap the potentially greater financial rewards from their time, effort, and dedication.

And to escape the feeling of burnout that often results from giving their all to a transaction instead of a calling.

Which may be the best reason of all to start your own business.