Which sources do B2B buyers trust most when researching vendors and solutions? Which channels do they turn to most often during the early research phase? What are the top challenges they face?
To find out, Reddit and SurveyMonkey conducted a survey of 1,202 B2B decision-makers in the United States.
Respondents say the sources they trust most when researching are peer recommendations (73% say they trust) and vendor websites (55%).
B2B buyers say the channels they turn to most during the early research phase are search engines, peer recommendations, and vendor websites.
Buyers say the top challenges they face when researching B2B vendors and solutions are not knowing what information sources to trust and finding real user testimonials.
About the research:The report was based on data from a survey of 1,202 B2B decision-makers in the United States.
Here's the leadership secret that's changing their minds.
Servant Leadership is an “employee-focused” style that’s been studied for over 30 years.
Companies like Starbucks and Southwest Airlines have recently adopted its principles.
The reason?
Straightforward, ethical guidelines that transform work at all levels.
Here's a framework based on years of research (To catch you up in 2 minutes):
The TRUST Model of Servant Leadership:
1. Train • Develop leaders who prioritize team growth • Instill a mindset of service and support
2. Reflect • Encourage self-assessment and personal growth • Promote transparency and accountability at all levels
3. Uplift • Identify and nurture each team member's unique strengths • Create opportunities for employees to lead
4. Support • Foster an inclusive environment • Provide resources and remove obstacles
5. Transform • Align company culture with servant leadership principles • Reward servant leader behaviors
5 Practical Tips to Practice Servant Leadership:
• Listen closely • Lead by example • Invest in leadership growth • Foster open, honest feedback • Celebrate servant leadership acts
Top companies are recognizing the power of this "person-first" approach.
And it's saving teams and organizations worldwide.
Now's the time to embrace the "new school" of leadership!
How do you promote TRUST in your teams?
Credits toRuss Hill, follow him for more valuable models
https://tinyurl.com/y252nf6z
На изображении представлена модель лидерства «T.R.U.S.T.», направленная на создание высокоэффективных команд через принципы целенаправленного и служащего лидерства. Модель включает пять основных принципов, пять компонентов искусства T.R.U.S.T. и десять привычек выдающихся лидеров.
5 принципов лидера: Быть намеренным, энергичным, поддерживающим, этичным и настоящим.
Искусство T.R.U.S.T.: Обучение, рефлексия, развитие талантов (Uplift), поддержка и трансформация.
10 привычек: Включают поощрение других, соответствие слов действиям, постановку целей и развитие команды.
Модель T.R.U.S.T.: Как лидеры создают высокоэффективные команды
5 принципов целенаправленного лидерства от Гарварда
Будьте намеренными: Связывайте свою цель с миссией компании.
Будьте энергичными: Внушайте надежду и создавайте импульс.
Будьте поддерживающими: Ставьте потребности команды на первое место.
Будьте этичными: Руководствуйтесь честностью, уважением и состраданием.
Будьте настоящими: Делитесь своим истинным «я» и убеждениями.
I thought our team had a time problem. We had a clarity problem. Here's what fixed it:
Busy is not the same as moving forward.
You can fill every hour and still go nowhere.
That gap between motion and progress is where projects quietly fail.
Chaos is expensive.
✔️Missed deadlines. ✔️Shifting priorities. ✔️Hours lost to rework.
Most teams feel busy while progress quietly stalls.
Here’s what actually works:
🧠 Why plans break down: • Meetings drag without direction • Scope changes derail momentum • Unclear goals cause missed deadlines • Managers lose hours to misaligned work
Simple plans save time before problems show up.
📋 What makes plans work: • Plain language, not jargon • Clear goals and deadlines • One owner per step • Fewer than 7 steps
Simple plans move faster.
Ownership keeps them moving.
🧩 A plan that fits on one page: • Project name that’s specific • Dates tied to each step • One owner per task • One-line objective • 5–7 clear actions
That’s enough to create focus.
⚙️ Habits that keep work moving: • Check progress weekly • Keep ownership obvious • Adjust without over-editing • Reuse templates that work • Start small and build speed
🌟Try this this week: • Write a one-page plan • Cut steps until only the essentials remain • Assign one owner per task • Share it before the meeting
Good project management isn’t more tools.
It's clear thinking shared before the work begins.
Highly successful CEOs share habits like ** relentless learning, focusing on strategic vision, prioritizing health, effective delegation, building strong networks, clear communication, fostering a growth mindset, and disciplined action**, often starting days early with clear priorities and minimizing distractions for impactful execution and resilient leadership.
Here's a checklist of common habits for successful CEOs:
Time Management: Ruthlessly manage time and avoid multitasking to stay productive.
How to Use This Checklist:
Self-Assess: Rate your consistency in each area.
Identify Gaps: Pinpoint 1-2 habits to focus on improving this month.
Seek Accountability: Share with a mentor or peer for support.
https://tinyurl.com/bde6v98y
Time is our most precious resource. Every CEO will need to commit to effective time mastery behaviours in order to “win the war for talent” and accelerate business results.
1.Develop a 3-year Career BHAG
Explore all options. Combine passion with competence and need to achieve extraordinary results. Develop a plan to achieve your career BHAG. Think and act world-class to achieve your full-potential.
2. Let go of the decision.
List your top 30 work-related activities. For each activity, assess your ability to do each one based on the descriptions below:
Masterful: extraordinary ability; passion; gives you energy
Excellent: superior ability; no real sense of passion
Competent: adequate ability; boredom; little improvement in performance over time
Spend most of your time on masterful and excellent activities and delegate the competent and incompetent activities to accelerate results. Caution: Delegation without coaching and mentoring does NOT work!
3. Spend your time wisely.
What are the three most important activities on which you need to focus to deliver extraordinary results? Plan your time every day, week, month, quarter and year and you’ll be on the path to achieving your full potential and producing extraordinary results in all aspects of your life. Do you have a 90-day action plan.
4. Identify your top 20 list of 360 degree stakeholders. Business is about people. Do everything you can to build relationships with your stakeholders and help them be successful. Know why people would want to build a relationship with you. Practice the following simple, yet powerful, relationship-building strategies: Keep commitments; start on time and end on time; finish what you start; say please and thank you.
5. Take 100% responsibility and accountability for your own ability to influence.
Focus on outcomes. Clarify expectations with 360 degree stakeholders (board/boss, peers, direct reports, customers). Claim the D. Dial-up assertiveness. Minimize frustration.
6. Take control of your life balance. You are 100% responsible for achieving your full potential in all aspects of your life. Assess how satisfied are you with the following: career, health, financial situation, spouse/partner, friends/family, personal growth, home/physical environment, social responsibility and fun. Set goals and enjoy the bumpy journey of life. Be assertive with your 360 degree stakeholders to manage expectations and ask for what you want. Stop judging others. Life balance is personal.
7. Build your Skills, Behaviours and Experience (SBE) toolkit. The higher you go, the more critical leadership success behaviours are to your success. Read the HBR article, “Coaching the Alpha Male” to learn more about the following success and (derailment) behaviours:
Self confident and opinionated (intimidating)
Highly intelligent (demeaning)
Action oriented (impatient)
High-performance expectations of oneself and others (always dissatisfied)
Direct communication style (CYA culture)
Highly disciplined (burnout)
Unemotional (not inspiring)
Leadership coaching, 360 feedback, job shadowing and mentoring are very effective approaches to learning success behaviours.
8. Reach out to internal and external mentors and coaches. Surround yourself with people who inspire you to learn, grow and achieve your full potential. Be courageous and ask for help.
9. Take risks and don’t be afraid to fail. Learn from your mistakes and move on. Ask for forgiveness, not permission. Failure and rejection build character so don’t be attached to the outcome. Read Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway by Susan Jeffers.
10. Set ideal outcomes, always do your best and celebrate your success. Increase your ability to identify compelling ideal outcomes and get out of your comfort zone. Understand your starting point and work towards achieving your ideal outcomes. Look back to celebrate the progress you have made from your starting point. Avoid beating yourself up if you don’t achieve your ideal outcomes. You are good enough now and you are on a life-long journey of progress toward ideal outcomes. Strive for success, not perfection. Take five minutes every day to celebrate success and to identify your three most important accomplishments.
11. Coach, mentor and empower others to be accountable for results. Use influence, NOT position power. Listen first and listen 80/20. Dial-up empathy and use your SBEs to help others be successful. Ask questions to help people identify issues and options and make effective decisions. Stop telling people what to do and how to do it.
12. Believe in yourself and build self-confidence. Get smarter every day by building on strengths (www.strengthsquest.com) and using the “feedback is a gift” principle. Don’t take anything personally. Invest your time, money and resources to improve your SBEs. Read like crazy.
13. Be happy now. Life is short. You are only one thought away from being happy with your life. Read: You Can Be Happy No Matter What: Five Principles for Keeping Life in Perspective by Dr. Richard Carlson.
Stephen R. Covey's book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," has been a cornerstone in personal and professional development since its publishing. According to Covey, these seven habits are specifically designed to help individuals from all walks to life achieve success by fostering effectiveness and leadership. Let's take a closer look at the seven habits and how they can be applied to enhance your life.
Habit 1: Be Proactive
Being proactive means taking responsibility for your actions and decisions instead of being reactive. Proactive people recognize that they have the power to choose their responses to different situations, enabling them to focus on what they can control and influence. This habit is rooted in the understanding that our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. This is why proactive individuals tend to operate on the principles of initiative and responsibility. They foresee potential obstacles and plan accordingly, thus avoiding far more pitfalls than their reactive peers. By adopting a proactive approach, you can create a positive ripple effect in your personal and professional life - one that leads you to greater satisfaction and success.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
It's a good idea to always start a task with a clear understanding of your desired outcomes. This habit encourages you to set clear goals and work based on your values and long-term objectives. By envisioning the end result, you can create a detailed plan to achieve your aspirations. Of course, having a clear vision also allows you to more easily navigate life's decisions with purpose and direction. By identifying what you truly want in life and ensuring that your actions are aligned with achieving it, you can avoid distractions and staying focused on what truly matters. For example, successful individuals and organizations often begin with a mission statement that outlines their core values and desired outcomes. This is then used to guide all their actions and decisions.
Habit 3: First Things First
It's also a great idea to prioritize important tasks and manage your time to focus on activities that align with your goals. This habit is about organizing and executing decisions around your most important priorities. Combined with Habit 2, it helps to ensure that you allocate the right amount of time to what truly matters. Still, such effective prioritization requires distinguishing between what is urgent and what is important, focusing on tasks that contribute to your long-term goals rather than those that simply demand immediate attention. Techniques such as time-blocking and the Eisenhower Matrix can be very helpful in managing tasks efficiently. By consistently putting "first things first," you can build a disciplined approach to time management that enhances productivity and reduces stress.
Habit 4: Think "Win-Win"
Adopt a mindset that seeks mutual benefit in all relationships and interactions. Also known as win-win thinking, this involves understanding that others do not have to fail for one person to succeed. This habit fosters cooperation and positive outcomes for all parties, promoting a culture of mutual respect and collaboration. In business, for example, win-win negotiations can lead to stronger partnerships and more sustainable agreements. The same goes for employer-employee relationships. The point is: by cultivating a win-win attitude, you can create an environment where everyone feels valued and motivated to contribute their best efforts.
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
Effective communication starts with understanding others. That's why this habit emphasizes the importance of genuinely listening to others' perspectives before sharing your own. By putting yourself in other peoples' shoes and listening empathetically, you can build stronger, more trusting relationships. For example, the soft skill of empathetic listening involves paying attention to both verbal and non-verbal cues, thus showing that you truly value the other person's viewpoint. This approach not only helps in resolving conflicts, but also fosters a deeper connection and mutual respect.
Habit 6: Synergize
This habit encourages open-mindedness, creativity, and collaboration, leading to innovative solutions and enhanced teamwork. Synergy is the principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, meaning that working together can yield results that would be completely impossible to achieve individually. After all, most managers know that embracing and leveraging each person's individual strengths can allow you can create more effective and efficient teams. On a broader scale, cultivating synergy involves fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and heard.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
To maintain and increase your effectiveness, you should invest in self-care and continuous learning in four key areas: physical, mental, spiritual, and social/emotional health. This habit ensures you remain balanced, refreshed, and capable of performing at your best. Regular self-renewal also helps in preventing burnout and maintaining a high level of performance. For example, physical renewal involves activities like exercise and healthy eating; mental renewal includes continuous learning and creative pursuits; spiritual renewal may involve meditation or reflection on core values; and social/emotional renewal includes building healthy relationships and social connections. By regularly "sharpening the saw," you sustain and enhance your ability to handle life's demands effectively.
Applying the 7 Habits in Daily Life
Mastering these habits requires dedication and practice, but they nonetheless offer a pathway to personal and professional growth. Indeed, integrating these habits into your daily routine can transform your approach to challenges and opportunities, leading to a more balanced and successful life. Whether you are navigating career advancements, personal relationships, or community engagements, these habits provide a robust framework for making positive and impactful decisions.
