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THE ONE THING

1. The Power Distance Index: How to Lead Across Cultures

I first learned about the concept of the Power Distance Index (PDI) from Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers. It’s a concept that helps explain how power and authority are distributed and perceived in different cultures.

• High PDI cultures (e.g., South Korea & Columbia) tend to emphasize strict hierarchy and deferential attitudes toward authority, where subordinates may hesitate to challenge or question those in power.

• Low PDI cultures (e.g., USA & Sweden) promote egalitarianism, open communication, and a more collaborative approach to authority.

How important is this in team settings? Important enough that it causes airplane crashes. In some cases, copilots from high PDI cultures used indirect language to point out critical problems because they didn’t want to disrespect the captain.

Here’s Gladwell giving a 45-second overview of this concept (skip to the 1-minute mark):

The takeaway

If you’re a leader who leads global teams from multiple cultures, spend extra time encouraging open communication (especially for employees from high PDI cultures) and reducing barriers to speaking up. A good idea is to also train all your employees in assertive communication best practices.

INSIGHTFUL THOUGHTS

2. Why Brevity Matters

Brevity is a powerful skill in leadership communication.

It forces clarity, prioritization, and respect for your audience’s time.

However, being concise isn’t about cutting corners—it requires careful thought and prioritization.

Here are a couple of famous quotes from Mark Twain and Woodrow Wilson that perfectly capture the challenge and value of mastering brevity.

PRESENTED BY

3. Case Study About Hitting 6-Figures With One Marketing Campaign

This week’s newsletter is sponsored by Ubiquitous, a marketing agency that helps brands with their campaigns.

They’re sharing a free case study about how they helped a cat litter robot hit 66 million views (and how this can potentially help your own business). More details below.

66M Views & 6-Figure Sales: How Ubiquitous Made Litter Robot Huge

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FUNNY MEMES

4. When Your Boss Gets Requests (And Sits on Them)

THE 80/20

5. An 80/20 Tip You Can Apply Today

Here’s a low-effort, high-impact tip you can use with your team today:

• What: Assign tasks in emails using the “3Ws.”

• Why: The “3Ws” stand for: Who, What, and When, and they drastically reduce the chance of miscommunication when you use them in your task assignments.

• Example: Instead of “Please update the attachment,” try “John - Please update slides 4 and 5 of the attached PowerPoint presentation and send me the revised version by Thursday, July 16, at 1:00 pm US Eastern Time.”