Last night, The New York Times reported that the co-founders of Instagram, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have both resigned, and are planning to leave Instagram’s parent company, Facebook, within a few weeks. Systrom and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the report in separate statements, both calling out “the next chapter” and hinting at future projects on the horizon.
Instagram was created in 2010 with a focus on image composition and photography, which is why filters and lenses have become so popular. The app was acquired by Facebook in 2012 and has since continued to see exponential growth, with the platform now boasting over a billion users.
The expansion of the user base may, however, be a large part of Krieger and Systrom’s decision to depart the platform. There were reports of tension between the founders of Facebook and Instagram over what the outlook and future of the app would be, one of the more in-depth reports came around the launch of “Instagram Stories” from Bloomberg, which you can read here.
Between Stories and other tensions surrounding the vision for Instagram in a Facebook world and the backlash Facebook continues to suffer from after it was found that user information was misused, it will be interesting to see what changes may come to Instagram after the departure of its founding fathers.
eCommerce and advertising may become a bigger focus for the photo-sharing app, as well as a push for live sharing in order to go head-to-head with competitor SnapChat. Regardless, marketers and users will be sure to keep their eyes on Instagram to see changes roll out.
Recently, a video surfaced of Alibaba CEO Jack Ma performing for employees at a conference dressed as Michael Jackson. This is not the first time that he has done something like this either. In 2014 he sang songs from “Lion King” for his employees, and now he’s at it again, less than a month after his Jackson performance, surprising everyone once again with his singing performance at a music festival hosted by Alibaba. Check out his performance here.
Jack Ma isn’t the only business leader with hidden talents though, these big names in the business world have hobbies and talents that may surprise you!
Jack Dorsey: Botanical Illustration
After launching a failed business in the early 2000s, Twitter co-founder Dorsey took a break to study Botanical Illustration (scientific drawings of plant anatomy) In an interview with the New Yorker he said: “I really like any colony-based structure, where you have a strong dependence on a network.”
Warren Buffett: Ukulele
When he isn’t making headlines as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett enjoys spending time with his family and practicing his hidden talent: playing the ukulele. He’s been featured on NPR and has even toured with his son. You can read the story of his journey to ukulele success here.
Sergey Brin: Trapeze
Brin has lived an exciting life as a co-founder of Google, and some of that excitement is found in high adrenaline exercises such as gymnastics, skiing, skydiving, and trapeze. Check out this video to see him skydive to promote Google Glass in 2013.
Mark Zuckerberg: Mandarin, sustainable living and more
The Facebook mogul has taken on a new challenge every year, setting personal goals like running 365 miles in a year, visiting all 50 states, learning Mandarin, and getting into sustainable living by only eating meat that he has killed himself. This yearly goal setting is great for him, and you might want to consider it as well to unlock these benefits.
William Clay Ford Jr.: Taekwondo
The great-grandson of Henry Ford and Executive Chairman at Ford was called the “Buddha of Detroit” by the New York Times in 2000. His zen approach to life and focus on environmentally friendly living makes him a mindful leader. Ford can probably accredit this to his study of Taekwondo, a Korean self-defense practice in which he has received his black belt.
Do you want to improve office morale and employee motivation as well as build teams that function more productively, with active communication and trust? Team building may be the way to go. Gone are the days of goofy games that were designed to foster “natural” strengthening of a team, and in their place are activities that can actively change how your teams work together.
Escape Room
Work together to solve a puzzle, beat a timer and escape a situation, whether it’s a zombie, a nuclear bomb or stealing a priceless painting. These rooms are all the rage right now for families, friends and corporate events.
Ropes Courses
Face your fears and overcome these obstacle courses! From ziplining to climbing, these courses are often physically and mentally challenging.
Battle of the Bands (or Air Bands)
If you have a lot of musical talent in your team host a battle of the bands. Break into small groups and host a performance for the rest of the company or even for family and friends.
If you have a lack of musicians, host a battle of the air bands! Break into groups and lipsync, play air instruments and put on your dream concert. For both options, costumes and props can be encouraged.
Mini Golf
Challenge your team to a game of mini golf and foster some friendly competition. This is something that can be done year-round, at either an indoor and outdoor course, and many courses also feature other activities that can make for a whole day of entertainment.
Trivia Night
Trivia is a great way to learn about different non work related knowledge your co-workers have. Many restaurants are now offering weekly trivia nights, so if your team is up for evening activities this is a great option, but if this isn’t a possibility, set-up office trivia in a way that works for your team. Whether it’s one weekly question that gets posted on a whiteboard, or lunchtime trivial pursuit games, this is a great break and lets everyone’s talents shine.
Community Service
Do some good in the neighborhood and get involved with volunteering. From working with organizations like Feed My Starving Children, or Habitat for Humanity to adopting a roadway and doing a monthly garbage pickup, volunteering makes you feel good and brings your team together.
Canoeing or Kayaking
Physical activity and working towards a mutual goal are all ways that you can build a functional team. Try placing some competition in with a race and see how well team members function together.
One Night a Werewolf
This strategy based card game is app moderated, so everyone can participate. For groups of 3 to 10 people, you must work together in your secretly given roles to discover who the werewolf terrorizing your fictional village is. No game is ever the same, so each round makes everyone work to be heard, and even more importantly: believed innocent.
Mealtime
Perhaps the easiest way to foster positive team relationships is simply to host a lunch, dinner or happy hour event. Food and drinks are a natural way to encourage conversation, bonding and learning about the people you work with.
Public speaking becomes part of daily life when you run a successful business. Whether you are addressing employees, pitching a new product, being paid to speak at an event, or even recording a video of yourself; speaking to a crowd can be daunting, no matter how much experience you have. There are ways to improve your public speaking skills, and practice is important, but there’s more to public speaking than just rehearsing and memorizing. Want to get better at public speaking? Use these tips and see how your speeches improve.
Movement and Posture
Body language often says more than speech can. Used correctly, body language can punctuate your speech and portray expertise. If you are speaking at a podium, some of the rules will be different than they would be for a speaker without, but the most important guidelines are the same.
Stand up straight (this will not only how improve you look, but how you speak as well).
Avoid making any wild gestures; but don’t be afraid to use your hands to emphasize where it feels natural.
If you are using a podium don’t lean on it, and if you aren’t, don’t just stand still. Shift your weight, walk around (sparingly), and use the space you have. Be mindful and keep your movements natural and deliberate.
Avoid Technical Jargon (Keep It Simple)
You are the expert on your topic, and though your audience may be familiar, they are here to listen to you and glean your knowledge. Avoid terms that are too technical, but don’t speak down to your audience. The key to a successful speech is taking information that is high level, and sharing it in a way that can reach the general public’s understanding.
Embrace Stress
It’s perfectly fine to be nervous. Public speaking isn’t something that comes naturally to many. In fact, it’s cited as one of the top fears for Americans. Stress and anxiety can be difficult to overcome, but the extra energy you have coming from a place of panic can easily be used to get excited and bring energy to your presentation. You have the power to reinterpret the signs of nervousness and change them into excitement.
Be Thoughtful With Facts
Even if you are an expert on what you will be speaking about, when planning to do an extended presentation you will have done some research into your topic. Make sure the facts you are saying are truthful, stated in a way that is clear and easy to understand, and remember to cite your sources. Giving credit where credit is due will not only keep you from plagiarism, but expand your personal credibility as well.
Avoid Upspeak
Generally a trend associated with female speakers, all speakers should try to avoid upspeak, or the tendency of vocally ending a sentence or word on a higher pitch than the rest of the sentence. This can make your statements come across as questions, which can break down your credibility. This video shows an example of upspeak (in this example it is called uptalk), versus speaking without it.
Reiterate Your Main Point
Your speech is about a certain topic, so the obvious first step is to state your main point. What may not be so obvious is the idea of revisiting that main point and restating it at the end of your speech. And if there are questions afterwards, come back to that main point again before completely wrapping up. This leaves your audience with a clear understanding of what you are trying to say to them, and allows them to recall each point you brought up within the right context.
Slow Down
Don’t rush. Speak at an easy conversational level that gets your information across without speeding through and confusing your audience. It is easy to get wrapped up in excitement, but take a deep breath and make sure your words are clear, deliberate, and spoken at a level (of both speed and volume) that isn’t overwhelming for your listeners.
Build Drama
Pauses build anticipation and tension. Building drama and suspense keeps your listeners engaged in what you are saying. Pausing where it feels natural also allows you to catch your breath, figure out what to say next and get organized. It‘s unnatural to talk without any breaks, so to calm yourself down and also to make your speech seem effortless; as well as interesting and well thought out; a correctly timed pause is an excellent tool.
The best way to learn is to do, so go out and speak. Try out these tips and see how your audience responds to what you are saying. Who knows? You may even start to enjoy your presentations now!
Entrepreneurs are business owners that are not tied to their service or product, but rather, innovation in and of itself. If you are a business owner that is looking for a breakthrough in your business here are some entrepreneurial traits to add to your roster.
Experiment Arguably the most important characteristic for an entrepreneur is innovation. Being able to take calculated risks, and being willing to work through the consequences with positive outcomes as well as setbacks is a cornerstone for progress.
Equal Footing One of the best ways to foster inclusion and a positive company culture is through a simple and easy to maneuver company structure. A looser organization style encourages independence and builds clout between seniority levels. Forgo the rigid company hierarchy for a system that allows employees to feel important, valued and well supported.
Subtle Selling Everyone is a salesperson. All employees from top to bottom should be so deeply committed to the business’ products or services and be singing its praises if and when given the opportunity. It’s essentially free commercials and endorsements.
Give Equity Ownership adds a new layer of participation for employees that is often overlooked by many business owners. Giving equity incentives is an amazing way to create clout and trust, adding a deeper sense of responsibility and investment.
Trust Properly trained employees by virtue should have the ability to make decisions regarding their work. Micromanagement and lack of trust can very quickly deteriorate relationships in the workplace. Set your employees for success and then give them the opportunities to grow and learn at their own pace.
Communication Open door policies are one of the pillars of successful entrepreneurial endeavors. Set an example for giving and receiving feedback with positive communication styles.
Popular culture has really taken a liking to business and entrepreneurship lately and it’s shining a light on the diverse career options. Along the lines of my blog “Small Business vs. Startup” the next logical step would be to look into the two types of leaders in each type of business venture.
Entrepreneur
Definition: A person who brings his unique idea to run a startup company, a market leader the first to start such a kind of enterprise.
Key Characteristics:
Rapid Growth
Passion
Innovation
Market disruption
Business Owner
Definition: A person who starts a business on an old concept or idea, a market player.
Key Characteristics:
Profit
Existing
Longevity
Market share
Entrepreneur vs Business Owner
In layman’s terms, an entrepreneur is an evolved form of a business owner. Generally, entrepreneurs are much more interested in the actual business side and market disruption as they are looking at the big picture, whereas a business owner tends to have more of an emotional attachment to not only the business but what the business provides to them (work/life balance, freedom to choose the work they find important). The ideas coming from business owners tend to be specialized, very to the point and highly specific.
When starting a new venture or running an existing business, with the immense amount of financial and personal investment that requires, semantics is the last thing one thinks about. Words like entrepreneur, business owner and CEO get thrown around pretty often, and with the rockstar allure that shows like Shark Tank have brought, their definitions are now practically common knowledge. The new buzzword, floating around the business world is startup, not to be confused with a small business … And so you don’t make that mistake, here is a breakdown!
Startup
Definition: A startup is an entrepreneurial venture which is typically a newly emerged, fast-growing business that aims to meet a marketplace need by developing or offering an innovative product, process or service.
Major Keys:
Rapid Growth
Passion
Innovation
Market disruption
Small business
Definition: The definition of a small business is an independently owned and operated company that is limited in size and in revenue depending on the industry.
Major Keys:
Profit
Existing
Longevity
Market share
Startup vs Small business
A small business can have products or services that have been around for millennia, creating for itself a space in the current market. Small business’ hope to grow quickly, but more important than growth is first revenue and then profit, versus a startup’s main priority being explosive and exponential growth. A startup would put a new spin on an old product or service, or better yet, create something brand new. Startups aren’t concerned with gaining market share, they are here to to turn the existing market on its head. As you can see, although startups and small business’ have similarities, there are some fundamental differences in structure and purpose.
