How Effective Leaders Approach Communication
At the start of my career I was trained to facilitate a leadership development program called “Frontline Leadership” (FLL). A few of my co-facilitators from this era recently reminisced with me about the timelessness of this training program.
5 Steps to Successfully Present Your Concepts
There is an art to presenting art—or, in LMD’s case, presenting branding and marketing design ideas to our clients. Whether we’re sharing logos, ads, videos, websites, brochures, or annual reports, LMD uses a tried and tested process to present our concepts.
Sharing is Caring in Creative Mentorship
Life as a creative professional is kind of strange these days. Working from home means not seeing your work buddies walk by your office or running over to another designer’s office to share some logo designs.
Stop Taking Advantage of Online Survey Respondents
Time is money. If you waste your money you can always try to earn it back. However, once time is lost, it can never be regained.
When it Comes to Research, Go Backward, Not Forward
Talking about the research results first when designing market research tends to break peoples’ brains. That’s because when people think of market research, they think of traditional applied market research.
Energy Management is the New Time Management
In a recent ZipRecruiter report, 93% of employers want to hire candidates with soft skills.
Accessibility for All
You may have heard the term “508 compliant.” But what exactly does that mean?
What is Rainbow-Washing?
It sounds cute, but it’s anything but. Rainbow-washing is a form of performative activism that is designed to pander to the LGBTQ+ audience and allies, while not actually engaging in meaningful dialogue and in some cases, even hiding harmful behavior.
The Do’s & Don’ts of Marketing to the Transgender Audience
Did you know that approximately 1 million people in the United States identify as transgender? “Approximately” is an important qualifier: the population size of transgender people is not well known, at least in part because the U.S. Census does not include data on gender identity.
What Your Organization Can Learn from Sesame Street
I grew up in ‘70s and ‘80s, which is a shorthand way of saying I watched a lot of TV as a kid. Some of it was formative, most of it wasn’t. I can’t pinpoint any wisdom Fantasy Island or the Dukes of Hazzard imparted on me, but there’s no question that Sesame Street burned important lessons into my young, cereal-fueled brain.
Taking Care of Your Employees' Mental Health Year Round
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and while it’s easy for companies to get swept up in the hype surrounding a nationwide conversation about the importance of mental health, the real value is found in the companies that promote mental health in their daily operations year-round.
How To Elevate Your Brand In The Digital Space
The digital space is rapidly changing as consumers are driven to consume and engage with product brands. This has led companies to rethink their marketing strategy to optimize their presence across a variety of online platforms.
Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (or Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi American Heritage Month; or Asian Heritage Month; or Asian Diaspora Heritage Month)
Justin Timberlake's “It’s gonna be me,” meme, Star Wars Day, Mother’s Day–there is a lot to celebrate in May. But as an Indian woman, to me May also means it’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage (AAPI) Month.
FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS! How to Keep Your Strategic Planning Meetings on Track
When it comes to strategic planning meetings, it can be hard to keep your team focused. A lot of decisions need to be made in a short amount of time, and even with a meeting agenda, things can still get derailed. How can we help ourselves, or lead our group, to make thoughtful, well-informed decisions that advance our strategic goals?
The Language of Inclusivity
You’ve probably heard or maybe even used the phrase “No comments from the peanut gallery!” It means that the speaker doesn’t want to hear petty criticisms from the audience. Or how about describing someone who’s a little arrogant or full of themselves as “uppity”? Perhaps you’ve heard a lawmaker say that a new ruling doesn’t apply to a particular organization because it’s been “grandfathered in.”
How to Write for Social Media
Rather than thinking of social media posts as a full content piece, think of them as an advertisement or taste of your brand.
Setting Mental Health Boundaries in the Age of Remote Work
For years, our work locations were physically separate from our houses—and we used the physical separation as a hard boundary.
The Courage to Act – Reflections from Two Successful Women Entrepreneurs
During Women’s History Month, we’ve been inspired by stories of strength, resilience, and innovation from the women of Ukraine to the women of STEM celebrated at the Smithsonian’s #IfThenSheCan – The Exhibit. Reflecting on the advice we’ve received through the years we decided to share some of our experiences and advice in support of other women who dream of becoming entrepreneurs and business leaders.
Between Remote Work and the “Great Resignation,” Employee Value Propositions Have Never Been More Important
I’ve been doing a lot of client brand work lately, and while much of the focus has been on articulating the organization’s externally facing mission, vision, and customer value proposition, the idea of an employee value proposition (EVP) has been coming up a lot more.
Busy One-Pagers vs. Cleanly Designed Infographics?
Have you ever seen an infographic with far too much information packed in to be readable or useable? When it comes to creating content for your organization, the difference between a busy one-pager, and a cleanly designed infographic is vital.