Former Thinx CEO responds to allegations of Stalin-like behavior

Former Thinx CEO responds to allegations of Stalin-like behaviorFormer Thinx CEO responds to allegations of Stalin-like behaviorOn Friday, Miki Agrawal, ex-Thinx CEO, now-self-proclaimed SHE-E-O of Thinx,responded to Rackedsexpos of zu sich alleged mismanagement and coercion of her employees.Among the many highlights of the Racked piece Agrawal was accused of being inappropriatein professional settings (staff complaints were called a coup) beinga hostile salary negotiator to her younger employees (Oh youre in your twenties, you dont need a lot of money) and coercing some of them to write fake Glassdoor reviews to offset other, bad reviews calling her Trump-like and filled with Stalin-like paranoia.Like many Silicon Valley thought leaders, Agrawalchose Medium as the space to write her explanation. Agrawal has used the platform before to share advice and debunk criticism. Her previous heart-to-hearts on Medium includeMy Lessons from Burning Man 2016 and An Open Letter to Respectfully Q uit Telling Me How to Do Feminism (and to just support one another,please)Unlike some CEOs mea culpas, though, Agrawal shows little evidence of an intent to change. She kicks off herfirst paragraphwith a disclaimer of being a human being, not a Thinx representative, and compared her ongoing plight to the culminating scene of Braveheart.Earlier this week, Ladders wrote about how Agrawalsmismanagement offered valuable lessons on how not to treat onesemployees. Agrawals explanation offers more lessons on what not to do.Yes, I have made a TON of mistakesIn her Medium post, Agrawal admits she made mistakes while running her company, but on her personal Instagram, she still refuted the allegations in the Racked report, calling them a classic media take down and baseless. Instead, Agrawal said she was compelled to respond to clear her good family anthroponym and simply share the truth of what actually happened.Human resources as an afterthoughtIn the Racked report, one employee said the co mpanys $200 monthly healthcare premiums were so prohibitive that she couldnt even afford birth control. Maternity leave was alsowell belowthe industry standard of 20 weekswith two weeks of full pay and a week at half-pay.For a period underwear company founded to help women, employees were especially bothered by the companyshypocrisy of not being able to help its own women.Agrawal defended Thinxspoor maternity leave policy with the rather flimsy rationale that no one was yet pregnant on the staff at the time we didnt have any pregnant women on the team unlike now where we have 3, including me-)The protections of your employees should be built into the foundation of ones company, not tacked on as an afterthought.Explaining why employeeshad no human resources to absprache with issues like health care, Agrawal said it was not a priority in the beginning as she was working to brand herself and the company I didnt put HR practices in place because I was on the road speaking, doing press, brand partnerships, editing all of the creative and shouting from the rooftops about THINX so we can keep going.As Motherboard reported in 2016, when Silicon Valley startups leave out human resources, its women who disproportionally feel its lack companies, led by enterprising 20- and 30-somethings, reject the cubicled infrastructure of the offices of their parents generations in favor of an ostensibly open, streamlined approach. In turn, the securities those older employers maintained- eight-hour days, parental protections, and incremental pay raises, for example- often disintegrate.Low salaries? startuplifeAgrawal used startuplife as her justification for why employees were being paid belowmarket rate. She also mentioned that staff got bonuses to make up for their lower pay.And yet, no amount of irreverent hashtags can justify underpaying your employees when your startup is raking in millions of dollars in revenue.Things are changing at Thinx. Agrawal said Thinx has hired anHR man ager who will be putting much more rigid HR practices in place. But although Agrawal said she is using the whole experience as an opportunity to learn and grow, she is not taking much responsibility for her actions, continuously reframing employee dissatisfaction as HR issues that all of a sudden and kept happening.Some useful lessons for potential leadersShow true humility to keep perspective Agrawal started her post comparing herself to Braveheart and ended it by comparing herself to Theodore Roosevelt. Agrawal uses Roosevelts quote if (s)he fails, at least s/he fails while daring greatly, so that her place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. This is heady company to keep. While maintaining inspiring role models is necessary, dont share the pedestal with your idols until youve achieved what theyve achieved in this case, either the liberation of Scotland, or the creation of U.S. national parks.Pay attention to what employees tell youU nder Agrawals logic, staff complaints were technical bugs, and not a built-in feature of poor leadership. That kind of view can only decrease dissatisfaction. Learn to shut up, and your company may actually improve.Take responsibility Dodging accountability is a losing game. Rather than quoting Roosevelt, Agrawal could have considered different kindof presidential advice. As President Truman recognized, when youre a leader, every problem your staff has is your responsibility the buck stops here.Know when to step aside Founders frequently have to know when to fire themselves, and let someone with operational experience take over.Agrawal said she has been replaced by an unnamed professional CEO, so she can go back to doing what she is better at the promotion of shouting from the rooftops about why period underwear is the bees knees.Good luck to whoever that new CEOwill be. The consequences toThinxs mismanagement are piling up. CNN reported that Thinxcancelled its South by Southwest li neup for Fridayand after the Racked report came out, model Tyler Fordcameforward with their story of Thinx managements humiliating transphobic mistreatment.

How to Promote Yourself at Work

How to Promote Yourself at WorkHow to Promote Yourself at WorkHow to Shamelessly Self-Promote at WorkSometimes you have to toot your own horn.We all know that one person at work the one who never misses an opportunity to pump up his own work. Did you landsee that I landed the Jennings account? Boom A braggart, a blowhard, and annoyingly successful. Meanwhile, you keep your head down, work hard, and keep the faith that your accomplishments will get notlageiced and youll get the recognition you deserve.Unfortunately, unless youre hoping to build up a stash of karma points, youre not doing yourself any favors by keeping quiet. Like it or not, promoting yourself at work is a necessary part of your career. You dont have to be a blowhard like the Jennings account guy, but you do need to be able to let your co-workers and your bosses know what you do, what you excel in, and what you accomplish in your job.If youre not aya how to start, here are some tips to help you promote yourself at wor k without annoying your entire office.1. Change how you think about self-promotingIf the very idea of self-promotion makes you cringe, you need to change your perception entirely. You probably think it means bragging and pumping yourself up above others, but it doesnt have to be like that. In fact, it shouldnt be like that.First, accept self-promotion as a part of your career. Just like the tasks you do on a daily basis, promoting yourself is a necessity. Think of yourself as a great product you may be amazing, but if you dont advertise to the right crowd, no one will know. If you think its your boss job to take note of who is kicking butt and performing at a high level, youre kidding yourself. Your boss has a lot on his or her plate and a lot of employees to handle, and thus simply cant see everything that goes on. In that light, youre not bragging, youre simply keeping your boss in the loop. Simple, right?2. Understand your best skills and accomplishmentsThis may seem like one of those things that go without saying, but it really needs to be said. Before you can actively promote yourself within your work environment, you need to take note of what it is that you do best. Do you excel at training new employees? Have you developed new methods or procedures? Are you a deadline beater extraordinaire? Make a list of your strengths and then think about the successful projects that youve worked on. How did your skills help create that success?3. Focus on the projectsNow that youve done your personal inventory, its time to let your office know just how much you contribute. To make this easier, dont focus on yourself, but on the successful projects that youve been a part of recently. By providing updates at gruppe meetings and commenting on the success of your projects, you can demonstrate your successes without hammering the team with I did this and I accomplished that. Instead of being boastful, youll come across as a team player who is only concerned about the suc cess of the company, but youll also make your part in things clearly known.RelatedHow to Successfully Track Your Work Wins Throughout the Year4. Share kudos with your teamVery few successes come from working alone. You probably had help, right? Take time to recognize those who helped make your accomplishments happen. Even if you have to dip into your own pocket to reward them with free lunch or a simple card, the benefits will outweigh the cost tremendously. Here are a few suggestionsGive your helpers recognition during an office meeting or even a private meeting with your boss. Youll come off as gracious, endear yourself to your team, and casually promote your success on that project.Have a party (even if its just a lunch date) to celebrate successes. Your team will love you for it and the rest of the office will notice.Not the team lead? No worries. Talk to the team lead to see how the project came out and give some kudos to those who helped you do your part. The team lead will no tice your interest and your ability to notice the efforts of others.5. Make yourself an industry expertIf you are serious about building your career, youre probably already on LinkedIn and some other social media sites. Take the time to do more than just create a profile. Post blogs about your profession and share your insights. Welcome connections from others in your field. If you consistently pop up on other peoples screens as a resource of information in your field, youll quickly brand yourself as an industry expert. How cool is that?Are there people who you consistently see on your Linkedin or Twitter feed who are providing valuable tips and information? Dont just read their posts, comment on them and start dialogues. Then, create your own posts and add your name to the field. Its an easy task and, frankly, its kind of fun to get out there and discuss the tips and tricks that you have learned.Think your boss wont notice? Think again.6. Reach out to other departmentsIf you find y ourself with a little downtime, even if its in the break room, talk with the people in your company who work in other departments. Try to get a feel for what they do well and where they may need a helping hand. If you are able to provide that help, youll quickly become a resource for that department and build a name for yourself outside of your own team.The beigabe to this strategy is that youll also learn new skills while working with other departments, adding even more to your resume.7. Be ready for chit chatWhat does office chit chat have to do with self-promotion? Everything If you wind up at the coffee machine with your boss who says, Whats new? you may be inclined to blurt out the typical Nothing much.Opportunity wasted.Casual office conversations comprise a large percentage of the communication you have at work every day. Dont miss this opportunity to discuss a project that you are working on and how it will impact the company. Again, make sure to focus on the project and the team, not yourself. Show your enthusiasm for the project and its potential. These little conversations serve to build a positive reputation for you throughout the office.Learning to promote yourself at work comes much more naturally to some people than others, and thats okay. The fact is that you need to think of it as another part of your job if you want to further your career. Does that mean you need to become the office braggart? Not at all. Just continue to find little ways to let your peers and your bosses know what youve been up to and how successful youve been. Its not bragging, its simply keeping them in the loop.When you learn to change the way you think about self-promoting, youll learn that its not as hard as you think. If all else fails, look at someone you admire in your office and pay attention to how they do it. Just like the skills you learned in school that trained you to be good at your job, the skill of self-promotion is essential for being successful in your car eer.Click on the following link for more advice on getting ahead.Your resume is another opportunity for self-promotion. Make sure youre doing it right with a free resume critique.Recommended Reading6 Ways to Impress Your BossHow to Brag on Your Resume Without Sounding Like a Jerk7 Questions to Ask Your Boss on a Regular Basis

Starbucks debuts its first protein-packed coffee

Starbucks debuts its first eiweistoff-packed coffeeStarbucks debuts its first protein-packed coffeeFor those of us who feast on coffee alone for our on-the-go breakfasts, Starbucks now has a way for you to make your liquid breakfast a little more nutritious. The coffee chain announced that it is introducing its new ProteinBlended Cold Brew in the almond and cacao flavor on Tuesday.You can now get protein with your order of Starbucks coffeeFor those of us who cannot handle dairy, we can still drink the new drink. The 16-ounce grande size drinks are made up of cold brew coffee, coconut or almond milk, and pea and brown-rice protein. The drinks carry between 10 to 12 grams of protein and 180 mg of caffeine in every cup. The drink gets sweetened with a banana date fruit blend for sweetness.Plant-based beverages, plant-based proteins are a choice that many consumers are gravitating towards, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said in June about Starbucks foray into more protein.Starbucks new addi tions are part of a growing trend among American consumers who recognize we cannot survive our work mornings on sugar and willpower alone. More than half of American adults say they want more protein in their diets, according to research firm NPD Group.