Hey everyone! The family is on vacation in San Diego this week. We’ve been hanging out at the condo at Mission Beach since Saturday. Nice! But, as always, I like to share some of the great things I’ve read (and shared) for business leaders over the last week or so. So, here’s your weekly summary. Enjoy!

• This article in The Economist magazine took a look at current business issues around the globe…and it ain’t pretty: econ.st/1sT3fMf
• Failure is all too often a part of entrepreneurship. So I thought it was helpful to read this article about how you can learn to fail without becoming a failure: onforb.es/1r5FXRY
• On Friday, I shared this article with a bunch of motivational quotes for you: on.inc.com/2893xzb
• In case you missed Friday’s job report…it was pretty crummy. U.S. companies slowed their hiring drastically in May (only +39K, forecast was +158K), unemployment fell as people dropped out of the labor force.
• This article shared some things you need to know about small business and search engine optimization: huff.to/22yVs2v
• Not all media attention is good attention. This article gave tips about how to handle bad media attention and reviews: entm.ag/1WxyfxO
• This article shared the news that Microsoft is getting in the venture capital game – to support startups that augment Microsoft’s core products: bayareane.ws/25yTb9i
• In this article Business Insider shared that Forbes reported that Theranos CEO’s wealth is now zero – and the co’s value is $800 million: read.bi/1t207y7
• Not all steps you might take to run and grow your small business are clear. Sometimes they can even be counterintuitive. This article shared what some of those might be: huff.to/1PhWf5I
• This article touched on how the keys to success for retailers is not just the products they sell, but also in how authentic they are: bit.ly/1WvOFXI
• Running an e-commerce website isn’t always (ever) easy. This article shared some ideas on how to boost e-commerce sales by building trust, removing and friction your landing page might have and, engaging with potential customers: bit.ly/1Ucxd4f
• There are different kinds of barriers that could get in the way of growing your business. This article shared a few of them to look out for – and ways around them: bit.ly/1TPnfvj
• It seems like there are constantly new, be-all, and end-all business strategies that are coming out. I don’t have to tell you that they NEVER work. This article talks about why: bit.ly/1WWLCrr
• This article shared some ideas about how to be an authentic, successful leader: bit.ly/1PfupqL
• Did you know that about 85% of Facebook video ads are watched with the sound off? I didn’t. But it makes sense that it’s true. This article talked about the importance of subtitles and other ways to make a video ad relevant – even without sound: bit.ly/1TU7Nej
• Even Alibaba CEO Jack Ma (worth $23+ billion) had some failures. This article shared what some of those were – and how he overcame them: entm.ag/22vxXrh

This last week I was thinking a lot about how simply being responsive in a timely and meaningful way and can make a difference for your company. Here are a few tips I shared:

• Make sure your company has a culture that embraces openness and the personal touch – and is responsive to customers.
• Make sure you assign specific people the responsibility (and accountability) for responding to inquiries.
• Quickly respond to incoming messages/inquiries (including turning around emails, phone messages, etc.).
• Demonstrate respect for customers and others by giving quick, accurate responses to all inquiries.

And my latest blog post followed this idea as well. I hope you give it a read! Can Just Responding Really Be a Competitive Advantage?