Drones Enter Supply Chain [1]

Logistics Management The emerging use case for drones in the supply chain is not necessarily the application that drone enthusiasts first envisioned. Some companies use drones to track their inventory, but there are impediments to broad adoption of drone technology. According to the article, robot pilots can be trusted. Click for article

State of US Economy in 11 Charts [2]

World Economic Forum What is the state of the U.S. economy today? Here are 11 economic snapshots from stock market highs to global trade disputes, from innovation to rising inequality. The charts show: Soaring stocks, but bond market may signal wobbles. Job growth is strong, but wage growth is sluggish. Income inequality is getting worse. Trade war ahead? Innovation powerhouse. Closing the gender gap for long-term growth. Click for article

9 Ways to Tell If You're a Leader Worth Following [3]

A CNBC article by Alexandra Gibbs lists nine ways you can tell if you're a leader worth following: You have an operating system. You impose accountability through consequences. You're fair, firm and consistent. You're decisive and direct. You put others first. You put the right people in the right roles, even when family members are involved. You're not afraid of employees who know more than you do. You support middle managers. You're molding the next generation of leaders. Click for article

DO YOU HAVE A SALES FUNNEL PROBLEM? [4]

John Gunderson writes that there are four stages in most B2B sales funnels: Awareness Discovery Evaluation Decision/purchase The funnel stages haven't changed, but the role of the B2B distributor has. Click for article

8 Ways People Judge You [5]

Are you unwittingly leaving a negative impression on others? Even having your phone out during a meeting or meal can be perceived as disrespectful or unprofessional, regardless of your intent. Awareness is everything. People instantly judge others on these eight things. Click for article

Calculate Your DISC Profile [6]

This DISC test contains 28 groups of four statements. After you complete the test, you'll receive a detailed report with a graph depicting your DISC type, a concise textual characterization of your personality profile and elaborate explanations of all DISC factors. (The PEI staff took the test, and the results explained a lot.) Click for free test

PODCAST: DOING BUSINESS IN EU? KNOW GDPR FACTS [7]

GDPR is why your inbox flooded recently about updated privacy policies. Twenty-eight EU countries are trying to prevent another Cambridge Analytica privacy SNAFU, and the rest of the world is affected. "Any company with a digital presence in the EU will have to comply with the law or face steep penalties. EU here still includes the U.K. because the Brexit drama hasn’t played out in full yet. It’s not just Facebook or other big names that will be affected," according to a Moneycontrol podcast. Any PEI member company that corresponds with EU companies or individuals needs to know the new rules. Click for article and podcast

Parents Pushing College Caused US Labor Drought [8]

NPR digs deeper into a trend outlined in a new report in which the Washington state auditor found that good jobs in the skilled trades are left unfilled because students are being almost universally steered to bachelor's degrees. The article cites a U.S. Department of Education stat: There will be 68 percent more job openings in infrastructure-related fields in the next five years than there are people training to fill them. Sound familiar? Click for article

Best-Paying US Companies [9]

According to an article by Jan Salisbury in Money magazine, some U.S. companies pay employees more than half a million dollars or more in annual pay. Examples cited include California-based cancer-research company Geron Corp. (median pay: $500,250) and New Jersey clean-energy firm NRG Yield (median pay: $964,000). "Figures are for median pay, meaning they represent the mid-point for each company’s payroll, with an equal number of employees earning more and an equal number earning less," the article states. "Experts consider the median to be a better indicator of 'typical' pay than the average since a few exorbitantly paid executives can dramatically skew the average upwards." Click for article and map

AUTOMATION WILL AFFECT US CITIES, JOBS DIFFERENTLY [10]

New research shows that small U.S. cities could see an exodus of workers, as well as exacerbated income inequality because robots likely will hollow out the middle class there. The studies also show that large cities are not entirely immune. By combining information from that research with data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on the composition of each city’s workforce, the researchers were able to predict how many workers would be displaced in 380 metropolitan areas across the United States. Click for article and calculator

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