Peruse the headlines, and it seems the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion movement has moved on—at least for now. 

The roster of companies distancing themselves from DEI hiring and practices is a Who’s Who of familiar names—Zoom, Home Depot, DoorDash, Tractor Supply, and Lyft. Social and cultural tastemakers Meta, Tesla, and X join the mix of major corporations that cut DEI teams by 50 percent or more in 2023.

It’s a far cry and a fast fall from the surge of DEI hiring and policies established in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 death. Whether moved by altruism, public pressure, or even economic gains, American companies prioritized racial equality, building teams dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

History, Legislation and DEI

The push for DEI rose to public consciousness in 2020, but its roots are embedded in the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s. Affirmative action and equal employment legislation such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 were the foundation for DEI, setting the stage for future growth.

Fast forward 65 years, and the tide for DEI hiring practices is ebbing, or at least changing shape, in academia and corporations nationwide. 

The Supreme Court’s 2023 decision overturning affirmative action in college admissions fueled the DEI pushback, creating a domino effect throughout academia.

The Chronicle of Higher Education tracks DEI legislation and found state legislators have introduced at least 65 anti-DEI bills since 2023. Florida, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas have passed legislation that, among other things, prohibits colleges from having diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or staff and bans mandatory diversity training.

The decision also prompted executives nationwide to reexamine their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, resulting in the disbanding of programs and internal DEI hires.

Most recently, Tractor Supply Co., the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the U.S., took a public step back from its robust DEI policies, citing customer feedback as the reason for eliminating its carbon emissions goals and DEI programs. 

With its highly respected board and management group and legacy of community engagement, the company made the decision out of respect for its customers, who include recreational farmers, ranchers, homeowners, gardeners, and pet enthusiasts.

In a press release on June 27, 2024, Tractor Supply Co. said, “We work hard to live up to our Mission and Values every day and represent the values of the communities and customers we serve. We have heard from customers that we have disappointed them. We have taken this feedback to heart.”

The company listed five key changes in the release, including “…eliminating DEI roles and retiring our current DEI goals while still ensuring a respectful environment” and “no longer submitting data to the Human Rights Campaign.”

Tractor Supply Co. isn’t alone in its DEI shift. 

Washington Post reporter Taylor Telford disclosed that Zoom’s chief operating officer Aparna Bawa told employees the company would replace its internal DEI team with DEI consultants who would “champion inclusion by embedding our values…directly into our people programs rather than as a separate initiative” according to a Jan. 29 memo.

Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, Tesla, and SpaceX, echoed the sentiments of billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who shared his thoughts about DEI on X, calling it “inherently a racist and illegal movement in its implementation even if it purports to work on behalf of the so-called oppressed.” 

Musk followed Ackman’s post with his own, saying, “DEI is just another word for racism. Shame on anyone who uses it. DEI, because it discriminates on the basis of race, gender and many other factors, is not merely immoral, it is also illegal.”

Data from the job search site Indeed further supports the decline of dedicated DEI policies. It shows a 23 percent decline in job postings with “DEI” in the title or description between November 2022 and November 2023.

The Pew Research Center data shows how the political fault lines reflect the country’s thoughts about DEI. The Pew survey found 78% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning workers say focusing on DEI at work is a good thing, compared with 30% of Republican and Republican-leaning workers.

Quiet DEI Initiatives Gaining Traction

So that’s it, then? Is DEI done? After all, Musk said DEI is immoral, and data shows a reverse in hiring, so it must be true.

Well, not exactly. 

Despite data and the change in hiring, many companies are pursuing Quiet DEI, reframing efforts without using acronyms.

A November 2023 survey conducted by Littler Mendelson P.C., the largest global law practice devoted to representing management in employment, employee benefits, and labor law matters, revealed that despite the gloom and doom of the headlines, the C-suite is still actively pursuing and expanding its diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies.

More than 300 C-suite executives, including Chief Executive Officers, Chief Legal Officers, and Chief Diversity Officers representing a diverse range of industries and company sizes, responded to the survey, which shed light on DEI’s future.

Highlights include the following:

-More than half of U.S. executives say their organizations have expanded their diversity, equity and inclusion strategies over the past year despite an increased backlash against broader diversity initiatives.

-57% of C-suite executives in the U.S. said they had grown their diversity commitments over the past 12 months, even as 59% reported growing opposition to diversity programs in the U.S. following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to roll back affirmative-action college admissions policies in June 2023.

-91% of C-suite leaders say the Supreme Court rulings have not lessened their prioritization of DEI.

“Most of the business leaders with whom I speak across the professional services and nonprofit sectors continue to support a broad definition of diversity, equity, and inclusion that rejects the echo chambers of old and capitalizes on how the differences make them stronger,” said Amanda K. Brady, Managing Director and Chief Client Officer, The Alexander Group. 

There is room for improvement, or rather clarity of program execution. Thirty-five percent of the executives said their organizations need clear plans and goals relating to DEI initiatives. 

The survey revealed the most popular initiatives tend to be straightforward and established. These include providing training and professional development opportunities to diverse employees and providing organization-wide DEI or “implicit bias” training and educational resources, which have already been implemented or are in the planning stages at 77% of organizations. 

About three-quarters of executives (73%) also say their organizations already provide or plan to develop mentorship opportunities for diverse employees.

This data rings true for Jane Howze, Managing Director of The Alexander Group. She has experienced multiple shifts across the executive recruiting landscape throughout her career and says DEI hiring practices may currently look different, but they have taken root.

“Our firm has seen many trends over its 40-year history, and the pendulum always swings back. While there may be a pause in highlighting DEI initiatives, you must think about it in the long term, and we do,” Howze said.

Growing DEI effectively is undoubtedly an evolving process. Caroline Wanga, President and CEO of Essence Ventures, Co-Founder of WangaWoman, and former Chief Culture, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer at Target, thinks it’s time for corporate DEI efforts to take a step back and ask critical questions.

These are Wanga’s five prompts for reframing the corporate DEI discussion:

1. Do your workplace policies give individuals permission to express themselves and ask for what they need?

For the amount of time I invested in being in all the right places for DEI, none of my numbers moved because I was there. My numbers moved when people saw me come to work with dreadlocks and finally started wearing their vacation braids to work.”

2.Do your mentorship programs pair employees based on their appearance or deeper qualities they need to succeed?

Corporate America mentorship should be aligned to the needs of the person and the best person who can give them that. What they happen to look like should not be a factor in whether they’re a good mentor.”

3. Does your workplace offer space for employees to truly listen to each other?

We were teaching everybody how to come out and say stuff that makes people uncomfortable… What we forgot to do is teach people how to listen to it.”

4. Do your DEI programs foster personal accountability and action?

The next time you use the word ‘ ’instead of saying I need DEI to do this, or I’m worried that DEI is doing this, take out the word ‘ ’and put your name and see how you feel. Because if you’re not doing it, I don’t care about DEI.”

5. Are your DEI initiatives primarily for meeting business objectives or creating a more humane workplace?

DEI is not about ‘How many of this do you have? ’DEI is not about meeting goals. DEI is about teaching people how to get in touch with what they are good at.”

Bottom line?

DEI initiatives aren’t going anywhere.

“The firms I have spoken to indicated they are doubling down on their DEI initiatives,” said John Lamar, Managing Director of The Alexander Group. “Prioritizing diversity in their workforce, leadership and client engagements will continue, as will efforts on creating an inclusive workplace culture.”

As one Chief Strategy Officer explained, “I am responsible for nothing and accountable for everything.” Because the CSO is a relatively new role, it has yet to develop a consensus definition. In a recent survey, Deloitte found that 37 percent of the CSOs they surveyed revealed that strategy has existed as a formal function for less than five years at their organization. Deloitte published a white paper describing six distinct roles of a CSO:

The Advisor, who translates the various perspectives of the organization’s senior leadership into a comprehensive corporate strategic plan.
The Sentinel, who monitors the market for changes that could impact their organization’s ability to remain competitive and have medium- and long-term scenario plans in place.
The Banker who addresses lapses in business development opportunities, drives Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A;) deals, licensing deals, and venture capital investments that support the strategic plan.
The Engineer who ensures that the organization’s various business units effectively execute the strategic plan.
The Chief of Staff, who is a liaison between the CEO, outside contractors, and consultants. They drive projects forward and communicate the strategy to internal stakeholders.
The Special Projects Leader, who evaluates adjacent markets and executes strategic objectives such as geographic expansion.

The Characteristics of a Successful CSO

The characteristics of a successful CSO are as varied as the role’s responsibilities. Ernst & Young surveyed numerous executives to understand what it takes to be a successful Chief Strategy Officer. Most importantly, a CSO needs to have a good relationship with their CEO. The two need to be on the same page as the organization’s overall strategy, and a CSO must challenge their CEO when their ideas do not align with the plan.

A CSO also needs to have a sound working knowledge of financial best practices to foster a good working relationship with their organization’s Chief Financial Officer. A well-developed strategy that does not have a financial foundation is ultimately an exercise in futility. A successful CSO must also be up-to-date with the latest advances in technology and collaborate with their Chief Information Officer to develop new ways to leverage technology to achieve their organization’s long-term goals.

In addition to developing and maintaining good working relationships with their fellow senior executives, an effective CSO needs their role clearly defined with a scope appropriate for their company’s size. A CSO needs to know what is and isn’t under their purview, which must also be communicated and agreed upon by the other members of the senior executive team. A consensus among the executive team will prevent any feelings of encroachment on their respective duties.

What is the career trajectory for someone in the chief strategy officer role?

Career Progression for the CSO

For many organizations, the strategy department is used as a way to identify top talent and to prepare young managers for long-term success. Concurrently, many Chief Strategy Officers are moved into Profit & Loss (P&L;) executive positions within the company, based on the knowledge they have gained by working closely with line leadership to develop strategies. According to a survey conducted by Boston Consulting Group, “although only 41 percent of CSOs sit on the executive committee or management board, they do tend to rise in the executive ranks, with 67 percent either becoming the head of a business unit or taking on another role on the executive committee.”

Deloitte’s 2020 survey of Chief Strategy Officers confirmed this natural progression. While 48 percent of CSOs surveyed said they wanted to ascend to the CEO role within five years, it is rare to be promoted directly to that position. The most well-known progression from CSO to CEO was PepsiCo’s former Chairman and CEO, Indra Nooyi, who previously served as the company’s Vice President of Strategy Development. After seven years in the role, she was promoted to Chief Financial Officer then Chief Executive Officer in 2006.

Some roadblocks for a CSO progressing to CEO are practical operational and P&L; management experience. Since the focus of the CSO role is long-term, success or failure in the role cannot be determined for many years. For these reasons, many strategy professionals move on to become line executives.

As the world works to move on from a pandemic that rocked the global economy, organizations must adapt to an ever-changing global marketplace, and the role of chief strategists has become more critical with each new challenge. The Chief Strategy Officer’s job is to predict what other challenges lay just over the horizon and how to best position their organization to remain competitive and achieve long-term success.

Anyone who has ever been involved with a not-for-profit will at some point be asked to serve on a search committee or lead a search committee’s search for a new CEO/President or senior officer. We have written previously about the responsibilities of search committee members and how candidates can prepare for a search committee interview but wanted to take a deeper look at the role of the Search Committee Chair. We turn to Steve Taylor, a leader in the not-for-profit community for nearly 30 years, who is currently serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Mission Officer of the Arthritis Foundation. Steve recently chaired the search committee for the President & CEO of the National Health Council which has been widely viewed as a well-run search with an outstanding result. Below, Steve answers the questions we are frequently asked as not-for-profits recruit using search committees.

How big should a search committee be?

I believe the ideal size is seven, including the Chairman who should also have a vote. You could possibly do nine or five, but frankly, if the Committee becomes too large, it can be hard to coordinate schedules. You have too many opinions in the discussions, and you want every voice to be heard. You’ll also want to make sure it’s an odd number; that way there is no tie.

Who should be on a search committee?

Much of it depends on the position. Ideally, one to three members of the Executive Committee should be on the Search Committee and supplement that with volunteers who represent different parts of the organization. I recommend looking at the various responsibilities of the position you are trying to fill. Which volunteers can best represent and understand these responsibilities? The key to a successful search committee is that you want members with perspective but who are not living in the past. On the other hand, you don’t want search committee members being so free-spirited they are substituting their vision for that of the Board’s.

The ideal Search Committee member understands the history of the organization as well as its future vision.

And that is what is so important when selecting volunteers to serve on a search committee: they need to be familiar [with] and embrace the Board’s vision for the organization and also represent different constituencies of the organization.

Should current employees sit on a search committee?

That is a question that many organizations wrestle with. Sometimes it can make sense, especially when you have long-term employees who understand the organization. But this is not a choice without challenges.

If there are internal candidates for the position, it can be difficult to ask a colleague [to] make an unbiased choice.
Secondly, a staff member on the Committee may not have the strategic view of the organization that a high-ranking volunteer or board member will have.
Thirdly, it can be sensitive for an employee to be involved in salary discussions involving the successful candidate.

What I typically recommend is that one of the Search Committee members serve as a liaison to a group of employees/staff. On the recent search I led for the National Health Council, I personally maintained contact with the senior leadership team. While I did not discuss individual candidates, I asked the search firm to solicit their opinions for the type of leaders we were seeking, and I communicated to them on the progress of the search.

Who selects the search firm, and what should be considered?

I can’t overemphasize the importance of a strong partnership with the search firm. You want it to be a partnership, not just a firm presenting resumes. The Chair should have meaningful input on selecting the search firm because they’ll be the one working [most] closely with them. Of course, the Search Committee reviews proposals and meets with a small number of finalists. But ultimately the Chair of the Search Committee should have a strong voice in selecting a search firm.

For me, it was critical that the search firm had experience in organizing and administratively providing infrastructure to the committee so that I and the Committee could focus on the candidates.

I also believe the Chair shouldn’t rely on the Search Committee or search firm to do all of the coordination. There will be times that it is important for the Chair to jump in to either facilitate meetings or deal with scheduling or personnel challenges. The search firm should be willing to do more than just conduct the search as many members of a search committee have full-time jobs.

I advise my colleagues running search committees to be very specific with what you would like the search firm to do.

Do you want them to:

Attend search committee meetings?
Set the agenda for search committee meetings?
Provide interview questions?

I believe you need a search firm to do anything the Search Committee and its Chairman cannot or do not want to do because of time restraints.

It is a given that a search firm needs to have a robust Rolodex, but I’m still trying to figure out how to evaluate that. [laughing] What you can evaluate is recent searches a search firm has conducted for similar positions. As we evaluated search firms, some listed searches they conducted more than a decade ago! That was a lifetime ago in the not-for-profit world.

And finally, I believe you need to find a search firm that is upfront and honest with you about who the lead staff will be—and that you have the opportunity to meet with that lead staff to ensure compatibility and understanding of the process you envision—before you finalize your selection on a firm.

What allowances did you make during COVID in the most recent search you chaired?

Overall, it worked out well. In certain ways, the process moved more efficiently given the Search Committee met by Zoom and the candidates were interviewed by the search firm and us for first-round interviews by Zoom. One advantage we had as a search committee is that we all knew each other—some better than others—but this familiarity allowed us to work together well virtually.

Once we narrowed the process to our finalists, we asked them to meet face to face, of course, social distancing, wearing masks, etc. with another search committee member and me. Despite adapting to video conferencing, meeting the candidate in person makes a big difference. To have a candidate being willing to invest the time, to travel to a meeting, meet a group of people, some in person, some virtually, was critical to the final steps of our process.

We were able to observe how they handled themselves in the middle of a pandemic, watch how they coordinated their presentation, and even how they arranged the papers on the conference table. In a virtual interview, you have no idea if the candidate has sticky notes all over their computer screen providing possible hints to questions. That was important to us because that’s what the job is going to be (ultimately): face-to-face meetings working with different constituencies and being able to communicate and think on their feet. Interestingly, I believe we would have ended up with the same candidate if we had conducted the search before COVID.

How do you, as a search committee chair, handle candidate withdrawals and surprises?

As a search committee chair or member, you understand that many of the candidates currently are in good positions, and you are hoping to attract them to your organization. You can’t get too nervous about that. It is part of the process. You reach for candidates, and some you attract, and some you lose. And if a candidate pulls out, I believe it’s better that they do it in the search process rather than later.

As for the second part of your question, as Chair, you have to be flexible, responsive, and nimble because issues arise that need to be acted on quickly. Several times, I had to reach out to Committee members individually to keep the process moving either because an issue arose on a Friday night or there was simply not the time to call a full committee meeting. You establish that at the beginning of the search so there is no misunderstanding. In every search, there may be small decisions made either by the chair or by a smaller group on the committee, because trying to get everyone together all the time isn’t possible, but ultimately the big decisions are made as a group.

How much time does it take to do a good job?

The time required ebbs and flows during the search. If you have a good search firm, as we did in using The Alexander Group, there’s less time initially because you allow them to do the search and trust their judgment on the candidates they’re presenting. The search committee chair is then free to focus on the higher-level items most important to finding the right candidate. Once the interview process is underway, you will need to be available for the search committee, search firm, [and] staff as the process unfolds. There is a significant time commitment required for the Chair. The organization needs someone who can make that time commitment because, if it is not a priority, you’ll never finish the search.

Who should be the Chair?

Choosing the right search committee chair is critical to a successful search. It needs to be a leader in the organization who understands its past but also understands the future vision of the organization. It does not have to be the current board chair. It could be a past board chair who might have more time because they’re not the current board chair. It is important that the chair can lead without supervision and is trusted by the board.

Summer travel season has arrived and with it comes opportunities to catch up on New York Times bestsellers, beach reads, and inspiring and informational books written by modern thought leaders. This holiday weekend, Alexander Group team members are sharing the books they are reading for pleasure, personal enrichment and professional development.

John Lamar, Managing Director

From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks

Book Description:
Many of us assume the more successful we are, the less susceptible we become to the sense of professional and social irrelevance that often accompanies aging. But the truth is, the greater our achievements and our attachment to them, the more we notice our decline, and the more painful it is when it occurs.

What can we do, starting now, to make our older years a time of happiness, purpose, and yes, success?

At the height of his career at the age of 50, Arthur Brooks embarked on a seven-year journey to discover how to transform his future from one of disappointment over waning abilities into an opportunity for progress. From Strength to Strength is the result, a practical roadmap for the rest of your life.

Drawing on social science, philosophy, biography, theology, and eastern wisdom, as well as dozens of interviews with everyday men and women, Brooks shows us that true life success is well within our reach. By refocusing on certain priorities and habits that anyone can learn, such as deep wisdom, detachment from empty rewards, connection and service to others, and spiritual progress, we can set ourselves up for increased happiness.

Jean Lenzner, Managing Director

Managing Director Jean Lenzner is a voracious reader and the ultimate TAG source for book recommendations from every literary genre.

Favorite Audiobook:

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett narrated by Meryl Streep

Book Description:

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family’s orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today

“I would gladly listen to anything with Meryl Streep as the narrator. This explores love, family dynamics and the lives people lived before marriage.”

Favorite Fiction:

The Women by Kristen Hannah

Book Description:

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

“A young American woman coming of age novel set against the backdrop of the of the Vietnam War.”

Favorite Non-Fiction:

Crooked by Nathan Masters

Book Description:

Many tales from the Jazz Age reek of crime and corruption. But perhaps the era’s greatest political fiasco—one that resulted in a nationwide scandal, a public reckoning at the Department of Justice, the rise of J. Edgar Hoover, and an Oscar-winning film—has long been lost to the annals of history. In Crooked, Nathan Masters restores this story of murderers, con artists, secret lovers, spies, bootleggers, and corrupt politicians to its full, page-turning glory.

Newly elected to the Senate on a promise to root out corruption, Burton “Boxcar Burt” Wheeler sets his sights on ousting Attorney General Harry Daugherty, puppet-master behind President Harding’s unlikely rise to power. Daugherty is famous for doing whatever it takes to keep his boss in power, and his cozy relations with bootleggers and other scofflaws have long spawned rumors of impropriety. But when his constant companion and trusted fixer, Jess Smith, is found dead of a gunshot wound in the apartment the two men share, Daugherty is suddenly thrust into the spotlight, exposing the rot consuming the Harding administration to a shocked public.

Determined to uncover the truth in the ensuing investigation, Wheeler takes the prosecutorial reins and subpoenas a rogue’s gallery of witnesses—convicted felons, shady detectives, disgraced officials—to expose the attorney general’s treachery and solve the riddle of Jess Smith’s suspicious death. With the muckraking senator hot on his trail, Daugherty turns to his greatest weapon, the nascent Federal Bureau of Investigation, whose eager second-in-command, J. Edgar Hoover, sees opportunity amidst the chaos.

“Jazz Age story of corruption and scandal perpetrated by our most corrupt US Attorney General and a US senator who goes against all odds in his fight to bring him down, while also documenting the rise of J. Edgar Hoover. Hard to believe this book is non-fiction.”

Sarah Mitchell, Director

Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee

Book Description:

Meet Casey Han: a strong-willed, Queens-bred daughter of Korean immigrants immersed in a glamorous Manhattan lifestyle she can’t afford. Casey is eager to make it on her own, away from the judgements of her parents’ tight-knit community, but she soon finds that her Princeton economics degree isn’t enough to rid her of ever-growing credit card debt and a toxic boyfriend. When a chance encounter with an old friend lands her a new opportunity, she’s determined to carve a space for herself in a glittering world of privilege, power, and wealth—but at what cost?

Set in a city where millionaires scramble for the free lunches the poor are too proud to accept, this sharp-eyed epic of love, greed, and ambition is a compelling portrait of intergenerational strife, immigrant struggle, and social and economic mobility. Addictively enjoyable, Min Jin Lee’s bestselling debut Free Food for Millionaires exposes the intricate layers of a community clinging to its old ways in a city packed with haves and have-nots

“I’m always reading fiction! I try to read for an hour every night before bedtime – my brain appreciates going somewhere a little less real at the end of the day before sleep. Up next in my queue is Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee. She wrote Pachinko – I read that book last year and never got it out of my mind. Right behind it is South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami, one of my top five novelists of all time.”

Abby Buchold, Senior Research Associate

Never Lie by Freida McFadden

Book Description:

Two newlyweds are searching for their dream house visit the remote home of a renowned psychiatrist who disappeared four years prior. They wind up stuck there overnight due to a bad snowstorm. While looking for something to read to pass the time, Tricia finds a secret room containing audio transcripts for all of the doctor’s patients. Tricia listens to the tapes and discovers the horrific events leading up to Dr. Hale’s disappearance. All will be revealed when she listens to the final tape.

“I have not gotten very far into the book yet, but I’m thinking it will be a good mystery for summer with plenty of twists and turns.”

Jodi Smith, Manager of Administration Support

The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman and Paul White

Book Description:

Dramatically improve workplace relationships simply by learning your coworkers’ language of appreciation.

This audiobook will give you the tools to improve staff morale, create a more positive workplace, and increase employee engagement. How? By teaching you to effectively communicate authentic appreciation and encouragement to employees, co-workers, and leaders. Most relational problems in organizations flow from this question: do people feel appreciated? This audiobook will help you answer “Yes!”

A bestseller—having sold over 300,000 copies and translated into 16 languages—this audiobook has proven to be effective and valuable in diverse settings. Its principles about human behavior have helped businesses, non-profits, hospitals, schools, government agencies, and organizations with remote workers.

When supervisors and colleagues understand their coworkers’ primary and secondary languages, as well as the specific actions they desire, they can effectively communicate authentic appreciation, thus creating healthy work relationships and raising the level of performance across an entire team or organization.

As graduates across the country turn their tassels and embark on life’s next chapter, The Alexander Group team is applauding their efforts with collective words of wisdom.

Our thoughts for 2024 graduates veer more toward the practical, but we also value resilience, a trait needed no matter where you are in life.

Golden glitter number 2024 with graduated cap. Class of 2024 concept

John Lamar, Managing Director

Q: What are two to three practical tips you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Try to exercise every day. It’s a great reliever of stress.

Communicate with clients every day. Past, present and future clients. It is what I do, and it is how I try to set an example. Jane does it, Johnny does it and Amanda does it. It’s so important for any person in business.

We all make mistakes. Admit it. Apologize for it and move on.

Jane Howze, Managing Director

Q: What’s a practical tip you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Over communicate. No one complains about over communication.

John Mann, Managing Director

Q: What are two to three practical tips you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Maintain a sense of urgency and anticipate and exceed your client’s expectations; take leadership, ownership and responsibility in your career and work; find a career that you enjoy (I know it’s cliché, but true).

Kyle Robinson, Director of Research

Q: What’s a practical tip you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Best tip I could give: utilize a second brain.

Don’t try and remember all the tasks and deadlines you have, both professionally and personally.

As soon as a thought pops into your mind, write it down in your second brain (a notebook, the notes app on your phone, your calendar) and reference it later when either finishing your day or planning the next.

De-clutter your mind so that you can be more intentional with your daily projects.

Jacqueline Griffin, Director of Accounting and Administration

-How have you fostered resilience throughout your career? Why is resilience important?

By adapting to change and developing a growth mindset by believing in my ability to learn and grow from experiences. View change and challenges as opportunities to develop rather than obstacles.

Resilience is important because it enables one to overcome obstacles and pursue goals with confidence and determination.

William Lepiesza, Director

Q: What are two to three practical tips you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Put in the time upfront to ensure success at the end: conduct thorough due diligence, know your client as well or better than they know themselves, and do your best to anticipate where problems or issues might occur

When issues or obstacles do arise, don’t simply communicate problems, communicate solutions: don’t leave it up to the client to figure out the answer, provide alternative paths, and recommendations to overcome hurdles.

There are many external factors and things we can’t control, so do your absolute best to control the things that you can.

Sarah Mitchell, Director

Q: What’s a practical tip you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Don’t forget to find inspiration and fulfillment outside of your job.

It can be from family, a rich social life, making art, a physical practice (yoga, running, team sports, weightlifting, whatever), adventure travel, and so on. Finding a sense of self-value outside of your job will help you weather the inevitable ups and downs in your career. And beyond that, it will lead you being a more authentic, inspired, and interesting person–that’s the kind of person others want to work with.

Beth Ehrgott, Managing Director

Q: How have you fostered resilience throughout your career? Why is resilience important?

A: A few thoughts:

Aristotle quote:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

And these are my own thoughts:

You will have to fight to have a seat at the table…and then keep it. Be resilient and relentless.

You will be pushed to your limits and resilience and being relentless will empower you with the mindset to embrace setbacks as opportunities.

Show up everyday and there will always be adversity and more to learn and conquer.

Commit to lifelong learning.

Always act with integrity and compassion and they must never be compromised.

Anthony Ott, Senior Associate

Q: What’s a practical tip you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Find the right balance between pushing boundaries and drawing from life’s lessons. You must do both.

The only way to create life lessons is by pushing the boundaries. It will always be a consistent pendulum swing. Life lessons learned can shape how you should push the boundaries. Pushing those boundaries will shape new life lessons.

You will never know if you don’t try. Always be willing to set your pride aside, make necessary adjustments, then push the boundaries again.

Jonathan Daniels, Associate

Q: What are two to three practical tips you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Use a calendar for everything in your life, and proactively plan your days. I have missed lots of events and deadlines because I was not organized. Today, my calendar helps keep me on track for everything I need to accomplish, a good record for follow-up with clients, and plan trips with friends.

Proactively Communicate. Despite Elon Musk’s best efforts, we cannot read minds yet. Always share updates with your supervisor, clients, and other stakeholders so they are aware of your work and can better partner with you.

Assume Positive Intent. Life is too short to worry about other people. Be kind, do your best, and always assume others are doing the same.

Document everything. You will forget your notes and you will need to show proof to others. Clients and Courts alike need paper trails.

The 27^th annual Milken Institute Global Conference is underway in Los Angeles, drawing the some of the world’s most ardent thought leaders, visionaries and problem solvers. It’s no surprise then, that forever student and The Alexander Group’s Managing Director Jane Howze, is in the mix observing and absorbing the information gleaned from the three-day event.

“This is my eighth year attending and I am honored to have them as a client,” Jane said.

The 2024 theme is “Shaping a Shared Future,” and Milken organizers have gathered more than 4,000 attendees, including 1,000 speakers made up of C-suite executives from Fortune 500 companies, global leaders, experts, and innovators who are rethinking health, finance, technology, philanthropy, sports and media to discuss and explore the topic.

Day one of the annual Milken Institute Global Conference focused on the critical issues of geopolitical hotspots and the ongoing climate crisis to the complexities of artificial intelligence, examining both its potential and impact on global workers, firms, and markets.

With so many sessions and not enough time, Jane focused her energies on specific speakers and topics. Below are their thoughts, her thoughts and up-close pictures only Jane could provide from prime seating at the panel discussions.

Degree or Not Degree: The Higher Education Dilemma

Experts in a vast field of opinions explored the complex interplay between higher education, skills-based hiring, and the sometimes-elusive value of a college degree in today’s workforce. The discussion touched on the relevance of traditional degrees in a job market that increasingly emphasizes practical skills and competencies, the emerging trend toward alternative skill-building pathways and how individuals can navigate the range of choices to align their educational experiences with their career goals, plus the all-encompassing How are US college students and alumni tackling student debt?

Session Highlights:

-The average tenure in a job 25 years ago was 27 years. Today it is four years.

-54% of college students take at least one online course.

– University of Florida President and former Nebraska senator Ben Sasse on college’s biggest cost.

“The biggest cost of college is the opportunity cost.”

Jane’s Takeaways:

“I was particularly impressed with Ben Sasse. He was asked if tenure was important for faculty. He said yes, but being a faculty member today is more than teaching. It is coaching, grading, writing, presenting, etc. and we should specify what we are giving tenure to. All the panelists agreed that for a college education to be worth the cost— both time and money —it must offer skills that would help the graduate be a viable member of the working (profit or nonprofit) community.”

From Pitch to Profit: How Authentic Harnesses the Power of David Beckham’s Global Brand

A decade after retiring from professional football, David Beckham has remained a household name through a variety of high-profile endorsement deals and transformative partnership with Authentic Brands Group. He discussed his brand through strategic endorsements, innovative business models, compelling digital and media partnerships and more.

Session Highlights:

-Beckham talked about starting his business career 10 years before he retired. He will be introducing a clothing line next year. It was a fascinating discussion on branding and his recent documentary on Netflix is part of that branding since his production company made it.

Jane’s Takeaways:

David Beckham was charming and interesting. Goes back to why my business is so important. It is all about the people you choose to work with, and he felt comfortable with and trusting of the CEO of Authentic Brands

Leadership and the State of American Politics

Disagreement and conflict resolution are foundational elements of the United States’ system of governance; divergent views on federalism, checks and balances, the separation of powers, and other such norms have been present since the founding of the country. While there is partisan division on many critical issues facing the US, broad consensus in some areas continues to lead to the enactment of bipartisan policies.

Bill Cassidy, US Senator, Louisiana, James Lankford, US Senator, Oklahoma, Joe Manchin, US Senator, West Virginia and Krysten Sinema, US Senator, Arizona examined how political leadership plays a role in breaking through the divisive noise and what can be accomplished as we lead up to 2025 and beyond.

Session Highlights:

-Two Democrats and two Republicans

-The group discussed how they have worked together to create bipartisan legislation. They agreed their biggest failure was not pushing immigration through earlier, where it would have had a better chance. There has not been immigration legislation since President Ronald Reagan.

2024 US Election Insights

The 2024 US elections are shaping up to be a rematch between President Biden and President Trump; however, the front-and-center issues today are distinct from the pandemic-dominated 2020 elections. From border security and immigration to the defense of democracy and US policy choices for navigating geo-political turbulence, the issues driving the 2024 elections are causing significant shifts in partisan allegiances and driving political fragmentation in new ways.

Kellyanne Conway, #1 NYT Best Selling Author; President of KAConsulting LLC; Former Senior Counselor to the President, Van Jones, Social Entrepreneur; Bestselling Author; CNN Host; and Founder, Dream Machine Innovation Lab, Chris Liddell, Author, “Year Zero: The Five-Year Presidency”; Former White House Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff, Jim Messina, CEO, The Messina Group; former Obama 2012 Campaign Manager, White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Paul Ryan, 54th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; Vice Chairman, Teneo; Partner, Solamere Capital discussed the critical issues that will reverberate across the partisan divide, impacting voters in battleground states crucial to determining the Senate and House majorities—and delivering the electoral votes for the presidency.

Session Highlights:

-Kellyanne Conway said the election is about people’s relation with their government and border security is much more important now. It’s the number one or two issue in all six swing states that will determine the election.

According to her polling, Republicans are more focused on crime, securing borders and making a better living, where Democrats are focused on abortion.

Conway also said the Democrats made a big mistake by not letting Robert F. Kennedy stay in the race as a Democrat and if she were running the Democrats, she would have removed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris off the ticket 18 months ago.

-Jones likened the election to 1968.

Jane’s Takeaways:

Paul Ryan commented he didn’t like Joe Biden’s policies, but he didn’t like Trump’s ethics —-quite a big change from his appearance at the Milken conference years ago when he was running for president and was much more positive about President Trump.

A Conversation with Elon Musk

It was what the title described. Read on for Musk’s thoughts and Jane’s musings.

Session Highlights:

-You want to believe the future will be better than the past.

-First Amendment Discussion:

“You can’t have democratic elections without people being informed.”

-Socialism Discussion

“The government is the DMV at scale. Would you want that?”

(Jane reports this take received a lot of laughter)

-Regulation Discussion

“If there are more regulations passed, eventually everything will be illegal. Tell kids why it is important. Engage kids.”

-Immigration Discussion
“Immigrants are talented, hard working and honest. Legal immigration is a bizarre process. It’s insane. You can pop across the border easily. What’s going on? Need to expedite legal immigration. Need to tighten who gets in.”

-AI Discussion

“How will AI affect our daily lives? Eventually all intelligence will be digital. We need to develop AI that will be beneficial to humanity. Ms. Truth Seeking AI. Truth telling AI. We need to maximize curious AI. AI has not been helpful in space exploration.”

Jane’s Takeaways:

I know a lot of people don’t like Elon Musk for political reasons, but I found him to be incredibly smart, funny, charming and a basic libertarian. The session consisted of Mike Milken, reading back quotes he had made in the past. With every quote, even those 10 years old, he would say “yeah I agree with that” and everyone would laugh, and Mike Milken would laughingly say “Well, it’s good that you agree with yourself. “

He spoke about how important the First Amendment is, and says you can’t have democratic elections without being informed.

Musk shared historically, prosperity and lack of war reduces the birth rate. The richer a civilization, the lower the birth rate. At that point in his talk a woman posed a question (we are all given QR codes to post questions during talks) that said, “Come pick me up on the way to Mars and I’ll give you a baby”.

What keeps him up at night? Musk worries about the fall of civilizations and listens to podcasts mostly at night about this subject. He ended his session by saying “Maybe I need to stop listening to podcasts on dying civilizations at night.”

One of the most frequently asked questions we get is “How do I get on a corporate board if I’m not already on a board?” The hardest board will be your first board.

Here is what you need to know.

1) The Process Is Different than Applying for a Full Time Position

A board seat is usually not a position for which you apply. It is much more like a sorority, fraternity, or even a posh club: Candidacy is by invitation only. While it is helpful to visit and make contacts with search firms, it should not be your only strategy. Search firms fill only a relatively small percentage of board seats though this number is increasing due to the need for highly specialized talents and an commitment to greater diversity.

Because someone can work and still serve on a board, it’s relatively easy for board members to recruit friends, former colleagues or executives with whom they’ve done business. A search firm may not be as helpful to you in seeking a board position as it would if you were looking for a C-suite role, simply because board searches are not put out to search nearly as often as executive positions are.

Secondly, Board positions do not turn over as frequently as C-Suite roles. Average tenure for directors in the larger companies of the S&P 500 Index and the broader Russell 3000 index is nearly ten years.

Lastly, it is expensive. Search firms charge anywhere from $70,000 to $200,000 to complete board searches. Many Boards inquire among their network before retaining a search firm.

2) Know Thy Strengths

What value could you bring to a board? Determine the industry and type of company where your background would be an asset. Would you meet the requirements to serve on a company’s Audit Committee? Do you have a background in a sought-after functional area, such as compliance, data security or executive compensation? Are you a diversity candidate? There are many functional areas or qualifications that boards are seeking to ensure that they have a well-rounded board.

Prepare an “elevator” speech that you will use to introduce your candidacy to search consultants and sources of referrals for board positions that articulates what you have to offer. You will also need a different type of resume that highlights your value to a board, ability to represent shareholders and includes interactions with your own or other boards.

3) Define Your Brand

What would someone learn about you if they Googled your name? Does your resume reinforce the assets you would bring to a board? (Define your strengths; see number 2 above). Who are you and how have you established yourself? What is your reputation? What enterprise challenges have you faced and successfully navigated?

4) Be Visible

It is not enough that you are good at what you do. Being selected for a board requires both an internal and external effort. This requirement is especially important if you are not currently working. One of the fastest ways to disqualify yourself from a board is not to be “current.” Board members today must be up to date with changes in business and technology. To this end, it is critical to becoming versed in social media. Have a LinkedIn profile complete with picture. Have an account with—and understand how to use—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok (even if you don’t actually use it). Submit articles, blogs or comments to industry association websites and publications. Engage in online dialog with your peers on social media. Publish an article on LinkedIn that delves into your area of expertise.

5) It’s All About Contacts and Networking

Landing a board seat is both a numbers game and a contacts game. Let your investment banking, law, bank, public accounting, and consulting firm contacts know of your interest in being on a board and the value you would bring. Use LinkedIn to identify board members of companies whom you can contact. Note if any of the directors are close to retirement. Many individuals have found board positions by contacting venture capital firms. In addition to search firms, check out top registries such as the National Association of Corporate Directors, Catalyst (for women), and various universities that have board training programs. Stanford, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and Dartmouth offer corporate governance programs.

6) Start Small and Leverage Those Successes

Be willing to start small. Are there any not-for-profits for which you have a passion? If so, volunteer to be on their board, even at the local level. Are there small companies that are looking for a volunteer board? What about your church, child’s school, or trade association? Once you’re on an organization’s board, fellow board members are often senior executives from public companies with whom you can network. It may take two or three not-for-profit boards before you get the opportunity to join a for-profit board. We know several executives who got their start on public boards by working with emerging growth companies and rode with those companies as they went from a garage operation to a Fortune 1000 company.

Most executives agree that it is harder to land their first board position than it is actually to serve on a board. Look at your contacts and networking as investing for not only one board but future Board positions. Not surprisingly, most search firms who conduct board searches look first to those already serving on public boards.

Additional resources:

The Executive Leadership Council: Helps provide opportunities for African American executives.

The Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility: Serves as a resource for Hispanic executives vying for board service.

“We want someone who can think outside the box.”

As a well-worn business cliché, this phrase elicits groans from hiring executives and recruiters alike. But considering the competitiveness of the executive talent market, driven by the lowest unemployment rate since 1969—along with increasing awareness of the need for diverse perspectives in the workplace—looking outside the industry for leading candidates is on the rise. A non-traditional hire with different perspectives can inject sorely needed energy and creativity into the mix, and prevent “group think”—one of the root causes of the 2008 financial crisis, according to the International Monetary Fund.

“The upside for an organization can be huge,” says Margaret Neale, a professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business who has studied the effect of diversity on companies. “When you increase the diversity of a group, you increase the probability that the group can have the necessary perspective to create the next big thing. People with different backgrounds ask different sets of questions. You ultimately get more information.”

A non-traditional hire with different perspectives can inject sorely needed energy and creativity into the mix, and prevent ‘group think’

Hiring an executive from outside your industry, at least at the highest levels, has been a popular way to accomplish thought diversity for a while. In 1983, John Sculley left Pepsi for Apple. As PepsiCo’s youngest-ever President, he’d had considerable success and Apple had faith that his marketing prowess was just what they needed to sell personal computers.

In 1993, IBM brought in former Nabisco CEO Louis V. Gerstner Jr. as their new CEO. He knew nothing about technology, and though shares in IBM dropped considerably when his appointment was announced, he was a seasoned executive with a strong history of organizational leadership, and he was thus able to successfully deal with the internal problems affecting a company with a solid product.

In 2002, United Airlines recruited a ChevronTexaco and Dynegy executive to be their Chairman, CEO and President. Though he had little experience outside oil and gas, they believed that someone from outside the industry could revitalize the struggling airline.

Beyond the CEO role

What’s changing about this long-established hiring strategy? It’s moving beyond the chief executive role.

As consultants, we’re starting to see clients open up to the idea that the best person for a number of C-suite positions, as well as VPs and regional level positions, may not be waiting in the most obvious places. Boards and hiring executives are finding that the most important skills for someone on the front lines of management aren’t necessarily tied to knowledge of the company’s product or sector.

Depending on what the new individual is being brought on board to do, cultural leadership and functional skills may be more important than direct industry experience. And, “an external hire, with experience in different competitive landscapes and unburdened by a long history and tangled relationships within the company, can have an easier time driving major changes,” writes the Harvard Business Review.

It’s as much about chemistry as credentials.

Recently, The Alexander Group conducted a CFO search for a law firm where the successful candidate came not from another law firm, but from Playboy. Similarly, we identified and recruited the CTO for an Am Law 100 firm from a global marketing communications company. In both cases, the successful candidate came from a different industry but with a similarly sophisticated and complex operations environment.

“It’s as much about chemistry as credentials,” says Managing Director John Lamar. “There are times that an outside-the-box, outside-the-industry thinker may better serve the role.”

For example, a manufacturing client looking for a Regional Vice President of Human Resources isn’t nearly as concerned with the candidate’s experience in heavy industry as they are with his or her previous work history with companies known for their outstanding human resources practices. And a law firm looking for a Global Operations Director would rather see candidates with strong experience managing multiple global offices in a corporate environment versus those with a direct competitor who may not have the international leadership background.

Skills that span industries

We recently looked at the background and careers of Fortune 500 CEOs. We found that, while there is no cookie-cutter pedigree, there are some commonalities in career paths: The typical chief executive holds a general management position that allows her or him to demonstrate measurable success in directly driving top line and/or bottom-line revenue or profits. Financial experience is important, but the largest share of Fortune 500 CEOs is selected from the positions of COO or President. These positions give executives a platform to prove their ability to set strategic vision, be an effective leader of people and interact with the board and key stakeholders. And these positions also typically weed out those who are unable to handle the pressure of managing a large organization.

Top- and bottom-line results, strategic vision, leader of people, ability to withstand pressure—none of these skills are industry-specific, but rather span industries. Successful leaders know how to transfer and apply these core strengths to any new role, organization or industry.

Turn outsiders into insiders

Experienced and savvy leaders also know how to get up to speed quickly and approach a new role with an open mind. We recently interviewed executives who had been in their roles less than a year for their approach to on-boarding. “I spent my first few weeks meeting all of the leaders from the business, asking questions to understand the culture and the history, developing my opinions and testing my thinking,” said the strategy officer for an Am Law 100 firm. “Because of this, I built credibility as someone who was looking to come in, understand and ‘get it’—not someone looking to shake things up unnecessarily.”

The Chief Technology Officer for another law firm agrees: “There’s no shortcut for learning and adjusting to a new culture. I spent my first month getting to know people.”

Wharton Management Professor Matthew Bidwell found that external hires who get beyond the two-year milestone often get promoted more quickly (a positive indication). “So hire outsiders as successors in waiting,” recommends Ben Fanning, consultant and bestselling author of “The Quit Alternative“. “Give them time to learn the ropes before they are needed to step up.”

A deeper candidate pool

Obviously, hiring outsiders won’t work for all functions, and some companies or sectors haven’t been able to jump on this trend. In particular, positions in life sciences, energy and engineering require specific technical knowledge and skills, and the company could actually be hindered by someone without contextual knowledge and an understanding of the industry.

Coming from outside our industry, he looks at what we do with a different set of eyes.

Moreover, you have to be comfortable with a certain level of risk. It can feel chancy to hire someone who isn’t from a similar environment and you have to know if your company can afford to take that chance. Ultimately, the hiring manager has to make the time commitment to help fill in the gaps for the outsider coming on board.

However, if you’re willing to have a little faith, this strategy can breathe fresh air into a team at every level of management and allow for the best possible candidates to be found by broadening the candidate pool.

As one of our clients said, “Our new VP of HR brought many best practices to us that our industry has not yet embraced. Coming from outside our industry, he looks at what we do with a different set of eyes. We realized it would be a risky move for both him and us but we have been richly rewarded with a visionary executive who has had significant impact.”

9 Nightly Habits of Highly Successful People

Several years ago, we wrote about the importance of morning routines and how successful leaders-both today and from the past-start their day. Now let’s look at the other end of the spectrum: nighttime routines.

Why is it important? Generally speaking, success starts and ends with mental and physical health which is highly dependent upon getting enough sleep. It can be tempting to pour a glass of wine, turn on the TV, and pore over social media or clear your in-box right before bed, but the most successful people recognize that those final hours can be just as crucial as any other.

While everyone is different and has different routines, we find the following practices are common among successful leaders.

Make a to-do list

Clearing the mind for a good night sleep is critical for a lot of successful people,” Michael Kerr says. “Often they will take this time to write down a list of any unattended items to address the following day, so these thoughts don’t end up invading their head space during the night.”

For example, Kenneth Chenault, CEO of American Express, writes down three things he wants to accomplish the next day.

On Sundays, The Alexander Group’s Managing Director Jeff Early looks at his calendar and prepares for the upcoming week. “If any prep can be done Sunday evening, I try to get it done prior to Monday morning so I can hit the ground running.”

Disconnect from work

Studies have found that if you associate your bed with work, it’ll be harder to relax there, so it’s essential you reserve your bed for sleep and, er, other extracurricular activities only. Michael Kerr, an international business speaker and author, says that “truly successful people do anything but work right before bed. They don’t obsessively check their email and they try not to dwell on work-related issues.”

Give yourself a buffer period of at least a half hour between the time you read your last email and the time you go to bed.

In fact, unplug completely

You shouldn’t just disconnect from work. You should unplug completely-including social media and games on your phone. Researchers agree that any kind of screen time before bed does you more harm than good.

The blue light from your phone mimics the brightness of the sun, which tells your brain to stop producing melatonin, an essential hormone that regulates your circadian rhythm and tells your body when it’s time to wake and when it’s time to sleep. This could lead not only to poor sleep, but also to vision problems, cancer and depression.

If the research isn’t convincing enough, take it from Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post’s Cofounder, President, and Editor-in-chief. After collapsing from exhaustion, Huffington revamped her approach to sleep. As she details in her book, “Thrive,” she has banned iPads, Kindles, laptops, and any other electronics from the bedroom.

Exercise

While it’s a popular belief that exercise before bed can prevent sleep, the National Sleep Foundation actually found in a 2013 study that exercising at any time of the day, even at night, leads to better sleep. Numerous studies have also found that walking reduces stress and anxiety.

Joel Gascoigne, Cofounder and CEO of Buffer, takes a 20-minute walk every evening before bed. “This is a wind-down period, and allows me to evaluate the day’s work, think about the greater challenges, gradually stop thinking about work, and reach a state of tiredness.”

John Lamar, Managing Director, The Alexander Group, says that he usually “hits the elliptical for 30 minutes-a great way to de-stress and wind down.”

Decompress

If exercise doesn’t sound appealing, then find another way to unwind and decompress before bed, such as taking a warm bath, listening to calming music or meditation. Dale Kurow, a New York-based executive coach, says meditation is a great way to relax your body and quiet your mind. Apps like Headspace, Calm and The Mindfullness App offer guided meditations and reminders to incorporate meditation into your daily routine.

Plan out sleep

Much has been written around the dangers busy people face running chronic sleep deficits. Plan ahead for a good night’s sleep just as you would any other priority. Decide when you want to wake up, count back by the number of hours you need to sleep, and then plan to be in bed, ready to sleep, by that time. iPhone users: Take advantage of the “Bedtime” feature of your Clock app. It allows you to set a bedtime, wake up at the same time and stay consistent with your routine. There’s even an option to set a bedtime reminder.

Skip the wine

When researching her sleep manifesto, “Thrive,” Arianna Huffington consulted a number of sleep specialists for tips. One of her favorites is avoiding alcohol right before bedtime.

While alcohol can certainly help you fall asleep, the National Institute of Health finds that it robs you of quality sleep. Alcohol keeps people in the lighter stages of sleep from which they can be awakened easily and prevents them from falling into deeper, more restorative stages of sleep, the institute finds.

Read

One study by the University of Sussex found that just six minutes of reading a day is enough to reduce stress by 68 percent-“an excellent excuse to start curling up with a good book before you turn in for the evening,” points out Fast Company magazine. And you’d be in good company: Former US President Barack Obama and Microsoft founder Bill Gates are known to read for at least a half hour before bed.

This isn’t reserved just for business reading or inspirational reading. Many successful people find value in information from a variety of sources, believing it helps fuel greater creativity and passion in their lives.

Sarah Mitchell, a Director in our San Francisco office, agrees: “I almost always read for 30 minutes before bed-typically fiction or, if it’s nonfiction, something not related to business. If I’ve got a big day or I’m feeling the stress, I will spend part of my evening preparing for the next day and then, 30 minutes before lights out, I put down my phone, shut down the laptop, and relax my brain with a book. This helps me sleep better and gives my brain a needed timeout so I can wake up fresh in the morning.”

Reflect on the good things from the day

It’s easy to fall into the trap of replaying negative situations that you wish you had handled differently. Instead, take time just before bed to reflect on or write down three good things that happened during the day. Focus on the positive moments and celebrate the successes, even if they were few and far between.

Jennifer Hill, Startup Advisory and Venture Lawyer at Gunderson Dettmer LLP, says she takes “two minutes to stretch, align my posture and think of the three things that I am grateful for and proud of today. (Yes, I really do this.) It sends me off to sleep peacefully and with positive thoughts.”

Benjamin Franklin famously asked himself the same self-improvement question every night: “What good have I done today?”

Regardless of how the day went, successful people avoid that pessimistic spiral of negative self-talk, knowing that it will only create more stress. Taking a few moments to think about what went right over the course of the day can put you in a positive, grateful mood-which leads to better sleep, giving you the energy and clarity to face whatever the next day holds.

What are your nighttime success secrets? Share them on LinkedIn or Facebook.

In 2019, I wrote about changes in the workplace during the past 20 years. Little did any of us know two years ago of the dramatic changes ahead of us in 2020. I wrote last November of our new normal of no business travel, remote work policies, and how the pandemic widened the gender inequality gap. Now that we are vaccinated (hopefully), my road warrior colleagues and I are gradually traveling and returning to in-person meetings with our clients. We are heeding the awkward cues of individual preferences for shaking hands, waving, fist bumps, masks, or no masks. Thankfully, the humor in the awkwardness is a nice ice breaker.

As John F. Kennedy said, “There is nothing more uncertain and changing than uncertainty and change.” The permanence of the following pandemic-related workplace changes remains uncertain.

Working remotely

As companies continue to bring employees back to the office, permanent workforce policies are taking shape in various formats: employees who will continue to work full-time from home, hybrid in-office and remote work arrangements, and back to the office full-time. Companies continue to grapple with policies that best support their business, culture, and employees.

A 2021 list of remote working statistic reports:

4.3 million people in the U.S. currently work remotely
16% of the world’s companies are 100% remote
44% of companies do not permit remote work
74% of workers say that having the option to work remotely would make them less likely to leave a company

TAG colleague Jean Lenzner recently wrote that many employees working remotely do not want to return to the office, and one-third would look for a new job if they were required to return to the office full-time. While employees will undoubtedly dig in their heels (er slippers) to continue to work from home, many executives are bringing employees back into the office. The Managing Partner of a large Midwest law firm required all of the firm’s attorneys and staff to return to the firm’s offices. He said that his firm’s collaborative, team-oriented culture was bruised by the pandemic and that he considered in-person interaction invaluable to the success and growth of the firm: “we walk the halls, pop in offices when we have thoughts and ideas; the spontaneity and collaboration are not the same when you have to send someone a calendar invite with a Zoom link to talk to them.”

Working nine to five is no longer the way to make a living

Standard office hours may become a thing of the past and, as a recent Robert Half survey reported, nearly 70 percent of professionals who transitioned to remote work because of the pandemic say they now work on the weekends, and 45 percent say they regularly work more hours during the week than they did before. I frequently receive emails from clients and colleagues at all hours who have changed their sleeping and waking hours – some hoot with the owls, and others are soaring with the eagles. I regularly find several emails in my inbox when I get up in the middle of the night and first thing in the morning. The convenience of working from home also makes working convenient at any time. Perhaps it’s a blurring of home and office time, and although I find it essential to be responsive, I try not to respond with an incoherent message while half asleep at three in the morning.

The death of the suit and birth of ‘workleisure.’

When I packed for my first business trip earlier this year, I had to dust off and shine a pair of dress shoes and make sure that my suits still fit – they did, albeit they were snug. At the client’s office, I was overdressed and noted that many in the office were in comfortable casual attire. I would have been better served to take note that popular ‘workleisure’ dress for Zoom meetings is also acceptable in-office attire for many companies. A recent Wall Street Journal article noted that more than two-thirds of American consumers plan to change their wardrobe from pre-pandemic styles as they return to the office to wear more comfortable clothes.

Video killed the radio star and is coming after business travel

As companies adapted to remote working, so did they to virtual meetings and conferences. A Deloitte survey reports that corporate travel is expected to reach 25 to 35 percent of 2019 levels this year but may increase to 65 to 80 percent next year. Although some believe that nothing beats in-person meetings, many companies are eager to reduce their travel expenses, and executives who previously traveled 80 to 100 percent of the time have adjusted to being home more than on the road. My partner John Lamar, who regularly traveled 300,000 miles a year pre-pandemic, is one of those people. He states, “One silver lining of the pandemic is that I realize I can maintain my client relationships by not being on the road four days a week plus I like being at home and the sense of normalcy it offers.”

Those of us in the executive search industry have mostly been strong advocates of in-person client meetings and candidate interviews. With more than a year of quarantine, we too have had to adapt and determine the best way to conduct virtual interviews while achieving the same results our clients expect.

Quite honestly, video meetings are not as effective as in-person meetings, and it is not as easy to form a long-term client relationship by video, but now that our industry has proven it can be done and our clients have a choice—and that is a good thing for everyone. Alex & Red and The Alexander Group will officially return to the office at the first of the year, though some of us are starting to work in the office on a part-time basis. Like many, I have missed seeing my colleagues, many of whom I have worked with for two decades, on a regular basis. I appreciate the routine, comradery, and sense of normalcy our offices offer.