How to Perfect the 1:1 Meeting

For the next few weeks, we’re going to dig into remote work.

We’ve been an entirely digital team since before COVID. We didn’t really call it “work from home” or “remote work.” Those are terms that came when the coronavirus pandemic hit and now we’ve come to embrace as part of the New World of Work.

In the past six years, we’ve learned a lot about how to keep a virtual workplace thriving. It can be harder to build rapport if you haven’t “met” your co-workers in real life, but we’ve found several strategies that have worked for our team.

I rely on some key elements: the 1:1 meeting, a weekly watercooler, and mentoring, and we’ll go into each of them in coming weeks.

First up, the 1:1 meeting.

A weekly 1:1 meeting is a must to keep employees engaged and performing their best. These sessions build trust, ensure alignment, and keep the business — and their careers — moving at a fast pace, benefiting both the company and the employee.

I’ve found that a week is exactly the right amount of time between meetings. That’s generally enough time to try out a new strategy, send that email you’ve been avoiding, catch up on that one project that’s been lingering.

Although I have a couple of other managers I trust, these aren’t meetings that I can delegate to other people. Our shop is intentionally small enough so that I can keep enough time in my schedule for these one-on-one relationships.

Here’s how we structure ours:

  1. I use the first few minutes to check in on the person, not the things they’re working on. The life stuff. We talk about what’s going on in their lives and how they are generally feeling. This is a great point to do a little mental health check-in and to identify if burnout or disinterest is setting in. There are some weeks where this part is half of the call, and that’s totally okay by me.
  2. Next, we discuss work. I ask about what’s progressing and what’s stuck. I want to hear their questions and thoughts about tasks, clients, teammates, etc.
  3. I always make sure to leave a little time for talking about growth and real-time feedback. This is the mentoring stage that I’ll talk about more in a couple of weeks. I’ve found that there’s nothing worse than waiting a full year for an annual review; I’d rather handle issues as they come up, and the same goes for praise!
  4. We end the call with alignment. Sometimes, it’s just a quick, “Here’s what I’m taking away from today…” and other times, we are scheduling a follow-up or firming up tasks in our project management software.

One of the best things about these meetings is that they are predictable and reliable. I don’t skip 1:1 meetings, and we don’t move them to accommodate other meetings. I want my employees to know that I fiercely protect this time with them because I want them to feel the same kind of fierce protection of me and my time.

I cherish the 1:1s with my people. They take up a huge amount of time each week, but I never look at it as time wasted; instead, it’s time gained. It’s a chance to connect on many levels and enjoy the process together.

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The Power of What If

What if?

It’s a powerful question that kids ask frequently. What if I drop this glass? What if I mix red, purple and green? What if humans and dinosaurs roamed the Earth at the same time?

What if?

What if we kept asking that question into adulthood? What if we never outgrow that kernel of curiosity? Imagination and possibility are essential components of a healthy ecosystem, both personally and professionally. We need people who aren’t afraid to ask “What if?”

During my call with my dad today we were talking about an honorary uncle, Bill. When I was a pre-teen, Dad and Bill took me to my first concert: Alice Cooper. The show was incredible, culminating in Alice’s head being placed in a guillotine. Bill is a lifelong Alice fan and, as dad and I were talking about Bill’s upcoming birthday and his love of music, I said: What if we invite Alice Cooper?

Most people would stop there. A silly idea, it could never happen.

But I went a step further and found Alice’s agent. I knew it would be pricy for him to perform at a private event, but what if we had the extra cash lying around? What if a friend of a friend was connected to Alice’s manager? What if it was for a fundraiser event?

I kept brainstorming off and on through the evening, poking at “what if” and even though I ultimately didn’t end up hiring Alice Cooper to play at the birthday party, but, hey, it’s not entirely out of the question. Part of the fun of the exercise was practicing bringing ideas to life, which I’ve done again and again through my career. We manifested an agency that could support our work-life balance. We hire people we enjoy working with. We place a high value on asking “what if?”

Everyone on our team knows that “what if” is how we “try on” an idea, test a theory, say something out loud to see how it sounds. They know that this is the backbone to productive brainstorming, where we open doors to possibilities. We use the trust we’ve built to decide where the group — in this case, the customer or client — ultimately wants to spend their time, energy, and resources. And it all starts with someone paying attention to that spark of childlike imagination.

But now we are adults, and we know that “what if” leads to “what is.”

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Early Bird Gets the Worm (and so much more)

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We were joking in a meeting the other day about being alone in a Zoom room. You know, when you’re a few minutes early, there’s a quiet peace—a few moments to think.

Yes, there’s a little tension when you know other people are about to join you in this virtual space. Typically, one or two people join, you exchange pleasantries, and then the meeting starts.

But the old saying “the early bird gets the worm” is true, even in the post-COVID era of remote work.

In this particular meeting, I was getting ready to meet with the broader team on a project we were working on, and I joined a few minutes early. So, I’ve had a longtime collaborator I’ve known since long before the pandemic. We’ve been through all kinds of ups and downs and all arounds, including many moments of genuine connection. The spontaneous chatter about our day held within it the answer to our issue.

We’re all juggling a lot. Our schedules are packed most days with client and internal meetings, so it takes a conscious effort not to rush. But by building an “early bird gets the worm” culture, we leave room for that magic that happens in the quiet before the chaos.

Why is this truism so true? When I was younger, I wasn’t very punctual, but that changed quickly once I got to college and entered the business world. At some point, I became a person who is early to in-person meetings, movies, and date night reservations. I love hitting a deadline early and moving the task to the clients faster than expected. I cherish those Zoom room moments with my fellow early birds, who relish the worms we find together.

Interested in following me on Substack? Subscribe here: https://substack.com/@jennagruhalaoltersdorf

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How-To: Evaluating your PR Firm

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Companies have many choices when it comes to promoting their businesses, from social media outreach to paid advertising. But if a business wants to grow their brand and reputation, third-party endorsements are the best way to accomplish it. When the media landscape is changing so quickly, and things are, shall we say, uncertain, sometimes it helps to think outside the conventional marketing box.

A good PR firm takes the guesswork out of this equation, but how do you know if your public relations work is paying off? How has that changed in the new media landscape? Over more than two decades of managing clients’ relationships with media, we’ve learned that the most important unit of measurement is quality of quantity, creative over tried-and-true.

We have been awarded many peer-reviewed awards for our creativity and results, but those don’t matter as much as our clients’ results. And you don’t get these kinds of results using press releases alone.

Of course, that’s just one tool in the marketing toolbox, but our PR philosophy helps clients thrive with organic reach and thoughtful media relationship development.

Here are six things to look for in a good PR team:

Chemistry. Life is too short to work with people you don’t enjoy spending time with, and chemistry is what makes creativity possible. That’s why your team is successful. That’s why our team is successful. The best PR firms are excellent collaborators, so find a team that knows the value of brainstorming. We’ve always emphasized having a workplace culture built on our team members being humans first and employees second. That means, in meetings with us, you’re getting a group of people who want to be there and enjoy doing what they do.

Proficiency in taking a story angle and working it from different perspectives to get more “juice from the squeeze.” Every client has many stories to tell, and each can be reported from different angles. A good pair of outside eyes can help you find those angles. A good PR firm wants to capitalize on trends and current events by pitching you — the business owner — as an expert in your field. It’s a dance, and everyone has a part.

Creative and contextual story ideas. It’s not enough to develop a wild idea to attract attention. Companies need to position themselves within their respective industries in a way that acknowledges what is going on around them. News moves faster than ever, and our pitches and conversations with journalists must consider the current news cycle and media “mood.” Your PR firm should be actively working alongside your team to develop angles through experience in your category, watching for industry news stories relevant to your business goals and offering creative ways to get your story out there.

Regular updates on placements and reach. Reporting is a key component of a PR agency’s work. PR work is very different from other tactics within the marketing mix and must be evaluated and analyzed regularly. We look at placements secured per campaign, quality of placements, audience numbers, and more to self-evaluate and report back to our clients on our performance. Reporting should be more sophisticated than a few bullets in an email; you’re certainly paying for more than that!

Regular contact with your team. We recommend at least monthly syncs with our clients, but sometimes, we meet as often as once a week with them to ensure we have what we need and that they have what they need regarding media assets, interview training, journalist outreach, and pitch development.

Clean copy, written by humans. While this shouldn’t have to be said about an industry of professional writers, it’s also important that your PR team doesn’t overly rely on AI to create the content that goes out into the world under your name. Using technology in smart, innovative ways is important, but the human touch is what gives this work value. We are not robots. Neither are you.

Uncertain times call for a certain kind of courage, and we see that again and again with our clients today, who stay focused on their work and are willing to get creative and innovative with us amid changing markets and what can feel like cultural chaos. That’s how we build something that we can all rely on, no matter the storm.

 

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The New and Improved Nutrition Facts Label

By: Jamie Hooker

 

We’ve all been there, standing in the middle of the aisle at the grocery store trying to decipher the Nutrition Facts label on each thing we pull from the shelf.  How many calories are in one serving? How many calories are in an actual normal person serving? I don’t know about you, but I feel like Nutrition Facts labels are a bit tricky and questionable.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated the Nutrition Facts label requirements for most packaged foods sold in the U.S. These new labels will work to make consumer’s lives easier and give a more realistic perspective on how much sugar is being added to their products. These are a few things the new labels will include:

  • An updated design to highlight “calories” and “servings”
  • Requirements for serving sizes that more closely reflect the amounts of food that people currently eat (normal person serving sizes, like I mentioned before)
  • Declaration of grams and a percent daily value (%DV) for “added sugars” to help consumers know how much sugar has been added
  • “Dual column” labels to indicate both “per serving” and “per package” calorie and nutrition information for multi-serving food products that could be consumed in one sitting (like an entire box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese…)
  • For packages that are between one and two servings, such as a 20 ounce soda, the calories and other nutrients will be required to be labeled as one serving because people typically consume it in one sitting (you’re lying if you say you save the rest for later)
  • ·      “Calories from Fat” will be removed because research shows the type of fat is more important than the amount. “Total Fat”, “Saturated Fat,” and “Trans Fat” will still be required.

 

The new labels will be required for most food manufacturers by July 26, 2018, but manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales will have an additional year to comply.  For more information about the new fo

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Cold Brew Trends

By: Jamie Hooker

Coffee is a staple in most people’s lives, and coffee-giant, Starbucks, serves about four million of those cups of coffee every day. A trend that has emerged in the coffee world in the last couple of years is cold brew coffee.  Cold brew is different from regular coffee because the coffee grounds are steeped in room temperature or cold water for a long period of time, about 15 hours.  This process makes the beans have a sweeter flavor, rather than a bitter flavor, since they wont come into contact with any hot water.

Starbucks has entered the cold brew game and is already expanding its iced coffee options. In select stores, they offer a nitro cold brew, which is made by infusing nitrogen into a small keg of Starbucks Cold Brew coffee. The nitrogen gives the coffee a smooth, natural sweetness with a velvety texture.

With Starbucks dominating the coffee market already, local coffee shops that serve cold brew (some of which served it before Starbucks started to) and companies who specialize in cold brew coffee (like Austin, Texas-based High Brew Coffee) are challenged to keep up.  Starbucks is famous for crafting specialty coffee drinks, and people have no problem paying the extra $1.50 for the brand’s coffee over a local coffee shop’s.

The cold brew category is about to be more competitive and popular, which might be good for die-hard coffee drinkers who want something new. If you want to know more about Starbucks Cold Brew coffee, go here!

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Candy Making and Clean Labels

By: Jamie Hooker

They say not to judge a book by its cover, but that rule doesn’t translate to food. For health-conscious grocery shoppers, they often search product labels for terms like “no artificial sweeteners” and “made with all-natural ingredients”.  Are people searching for the same terms in their candy? There’s a growing demand for natural ingredients, but are candy-making companies expected to offer “healthier” candy options? (Or rather, “not-as-bad-for-you” options!)

The idea of a clean label refers to consumer demand for transparency and simple ingredients from food companies. This was a talked-about topic at the Sweets & Snacks Expo at the end of May, where major players in the industry revealed innovations and their intentions to rid their products of artificial colors, sweeteners, flavors and preservatives.

For some smaller and mid-size candy companies, transitions like this can be expensive. Just Born Quality Confections, who makes Peeps, Hot Tamales and Mike and Ike candies, is an example. Instead of rolling out new product and spending major dough, the company has focused on their transparency of ingredients. If companies are not prepared to reinvent their product, it’s a step in the right direction to be upfront and honest with consumers about what’s in their candies.

Just Born Quality Confections understands if the consumer demands it, they will comply, but they say for now they are doing well with what they’re selling.

When it comes to processed foods, 65 percent of people, up from 47 percent, want minimally processed foods, and 54 percent of people, up from 33 percent, look for food and beverages with a short list of recognizable ingredients. More and more people are paying closer attention to the Nutrition Label on their foods, and the last things they want to see are long, unrecognizable ingredients and 30 different color dyes.

It’s a fine line candy companies are walking along. How do you remove artificial flavors and colors while keeping the integrity of the product, especially its taste? Check out this article to read more about what leading candy companies are doing to please their consumers.

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Shared Kitchens: How do they work?

By: Jamie Hooker

 

Also known as “kitchen incubators”, “community kitchens” or “shared timed kitchens,” shared kitchens are a great option for entrepreneurs who are just starting out.  So what are they? Fully licensed, professionally equipped commercial kitchen that you can rent for hours or days at a time, depending on the kitchen. Sounds pretty cool, right? Austin is home to more than a few shared kitchens, and with so many start-ups and small businesses in the area, it’s a great place for them.

It’s no secret that starting a business can be challenging, especially a food business. With all the costs and how fast it adds up, it can be overwhelming. The idea behind shared kitchens is they replace the need for you to rent or buy a space (which alone can be expensive) and then the need to build a kitchen inside of it. The nice thing about a shared kitchen is that you only pay for what you need, which can help keep start-up costs low. If you have a full time job, but want to build a food business on the side, it’s convenient to be able to plan ahead and schedule kitchen time when you know you’re available.

Most shared kitchens have a space to serve the food you make, so you can invite friends, family and potential new customers to enjoy your cuisine. This is a great way to get your name out there, and also a way to test-run processes before you move into your own independent kitchen.

Check out our blog post on Choosing a Location for a New Restaurant when you’re ready to take the leap to your own place!

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Busy People Listen Up: Productivity Hacks

By: Jamie Hooker

Are you one of those people that always have a million things on their to-do list? If you’re nodding your head, you know how important being productive is. You want to check as many things off your list as you can before the end of the day, but it’s easy to get side tracked or distracted when you try to get things done. Productivity is being able to check things off your list quickly while still completing tasks accurately, and it isn’t always easy. Luckily, we have some productivity hacks for you busy people out there. Here are just a few:

Tackle your hardest task first

Normally, you may see an undesirable task on your to-do list, and you skip over it because you don’t want to work on it yet. Next time, go ahead and take care of that task first before you move onto anything else. That way you can focus on different tasks throughout the day without the thought of the undesirable one looming over you, dragging down your overall productivity.

Log in on Sunday night

No one likes coming in on Monday morning to find a flooded inbox, much less seeing all the things that have to get done for the week, all at once. If spend as little one hour on Sunday nights going through your email and planning your week, you will be less overwhelmed and more productive Monday morning.

Keep meetings to a minimum

Meetings are great for getting a team on the same page, but often times just a group email or phone call can replace them. The average meeting is around 45 minutes, and if you’re spending half your days in meetings, you could save up to three hours per day if you have an alternative. If the meeting is necessary, make sure it is organized and has a set end time.

There are a lot of ways to enhance productivity that focus on your mind, body and health, as well. So, make sure you stay hydrated and get plenty of sleep; you’ll be more productive when your body is agreeing with you!

 

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Choosing a Location for a New Restaurant

By: Jamie Hooker

 

Choosing a location is arguably one of the most important steps in opening your new restaurant. After looking at what you can afford, there are other aspects of location that will affect your business. Different from an office building, a restaurant is a place where customers frequently visit, so these location tips cater to restaurants specifically.

Check out the demographics

If you have a location in mind for your restaurant, don’t forget to research the demographics of the area. Things like age groups, population and crime rates are important to take into account. For example, if you’re opening a hip and modern restaurant but senior citizens are abundant in the area, it may not be the best location. Make sure to research the population of an area, too, so you know how big or small your potential customer base will be.

Who’s the competition?

In any market, you want to know who your main competitors are. If you’re opening a new burger joint, you might not want to put it near an already established burger joint (unless you feel like your new joint has something better to offer!). You’ll also want to look at competitor’s prices and menus to see what you’re up against. You can’t be too prepared, so dig up as much information as you can.

Visibility and Accessibility

Obviously when opening a new restaurant you want to make it easy for your customers to check it out. In order to bring people in, they have to know you exist! Consider choosing a location near an intersection or off a busy street. Unless you hire a great PR firm (like Snackbox, wink wink), you should make it as easy as possible for people to learn and hear about you when you’re first coming up. Drive-bys and word of mouth are two huge ways to spread the word on your new business.

What are you buying into?

It will help to know what the real estate value of the location you choose will do in the future. Research the surrounding area and see what the trend is. Keep in mind that a high real estate cost might also mean a customer base in the area with higher income, which in turn could generate more money for your restaurant.

 

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