Why Communication Fuels Resilience | Inside Kerry Washington’s Fund For Black Justice | And More

Plus: 3 ways to be a strategic thinker

In a nod to one of my favorite childhood television shows, this week’s newsletter is brought to you by the letter R—and the word resilience. 

How to be or feel resilient has been the subject of more than 14,000 Forbes.com articles over the years, but it’s been an especially resonant topic in recent months—and particularly so at two virtual events we hosted this past week. One of these events was the Forbes Under 30 AgTech Hackathon, a weekend devoted to brainstorming ways to inject the world’s food supply chain with more resilience and buoyancy so it can better withstand disruptions (like a pandemic). Three teams came up with three different ideas, one of which was a solution centered on fixing broken links with simple communication.

What was striking to me about that idea is that communication is a key tool in building mental or leadership resilience, too. In a discussion I moderated at the Forbes Small Business Summit last Friday, each of the entrepreneurs on the panel talked about how over-communicating has been crucial in connecting them to their workforces. “It’s as much about the practicality of running a business,” said Birchbox cofounder and CEO Katia Beauchamp, “as it is about our own practicality of working at our businesses and loving it and enjoying it.” 

Cheers to that!

Maggie

P.S.: My favorite advice on the site this week is simple, but apparently some adults still need to learn this lesson: don’t interrupt others when they are talking.

ICYMI: Stories From The Week

Actress Gabrielle Union—who was recently named to Time’s 100 Most Influential People list—and NBC reached a settlement Tuesday to resolve allegations of racism and sexism on the set of “America’s Got Talent,” including Union’s charge that she was threatened by a former NBC executive.

India’s female labor force participation rate is just under 25% in 2020, down from 34% in 2006. But a new study finds that if you include women’s domestic work and other paid-but-unrecognized work in the economy, the total female work participation rate is 86.2%—even higher than the rate for men, which is 79.8%.

Kerry Washington announced the creation of the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund, which has a goal of supporting Black leaders and Black-owned businesses in their efforts to eradicate racism in America through work on voting rights, Covid-19 recovery and criminal justice reform. 

A bipartisan group of more than 100 House representatives sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig on Wednesday urging the IRS to promptly issue stimulus payments to survivors of domestic violence because caseworkers have said earlier stimulus money has been taken or intercepted by abusive partners. 

When director Julie Taymor set out to tell feminist icon Gloria Steinem’s story on film, her idea was to present Steinem at varying ages from six to eighty. The result of that creative vision, a film called The Glorias, was released Wednesday.

Serena Williams has withdrawn from the French Open due to an Achilles injury suffered at the U.S. Open. This means she will have to resume her chase of a record-tying 24th major in 2021, when she will turn 40.

Check List

#1: Rehearse your opening and closing statements. This advice is not just for lawyers; it’s for anyone running a webinar. People are better at retaining information from the beginning or end of a presentation, so practice these elements to make an impact on your audience.

#2: Stop trying to tick every box. A recent survey found 41% of women didn’t apply for a job because they didn’t think they met every qualification listed on the posting. But assuming a company will only hire you if you meet its every criteria is sabotaging your chances of landing a new gig.

#3: Think artisitically for your next webinar. Some two-thirds of performing artists have lost their jobs due to Covid-related closures, and 95% have lost a portion of their income. But you can help artists and boost your employees' morale by bringing everyone together in a virtual work event.

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