Why are they here?

"...despite all the public focus on Californication, there are intriguing signs that many of the newest arrivals share key characteristics with lifelong Texans. Many are coming for abundant jobs, lower taxes, fewer regulations, and a more reasonable cost of living (which may be hard to believe for Texan buyers and renters fretting over the housing market but is a fact)."

Tom Foster in Texas Monthly, Dec. 2021

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/newest-texans-who-are-they/

Why convincing skeptics is unnecessary

Activate a strong minority instead...

Digital Tonto: Change Consultants Recommend You Do These 3 Things. Don’t. 2021-Nov-21 by Greg Satell

There is an inherent flaw in human nature that has endowed us with a burning desire to convince skeptics. So it shouldn’t be surprising that change consultants focus on persuasion. Nothing validates a high fee like some clever wordsmithing designed to persuade those hostile to the ideas of those paying the bill.

Yet anybody who has ever been married or had children knows how difficult it can be to convince even a single person of something they don’t want to be convinced of. To set out to persuade hundreds—or even thousands—that they should adopt an idea that they are inherently hostile to is not only hubris, but incredibly foolish.

It is also unnecessary. Scientific research suggests that the tipping point for change is only a 25% minority. Once a quarter of the people involved become committed to change, the rest will largely go along. So there is no need to convince skeptics. Your time and effort will be much better spent helping those who are enthusiastic about change to make it succeed.

That’s what the change consultants get wrong. You don’t “manage” change. You empower it by enabling those who believe in it to show it can work and then bringing in others who can bring in others still. The truth is that you don’t need a clever slogan to bring change about, you need a network. That’s how you create a movement that drives transformation.

Reminder to consider your email audience

British company Perkbox Insights surveyed 1,928 people in late 2019 and found...

Perkbox Resources: The most annoying phrases you can use in an email, ranked, 2020-Jan-6 by Hazel Ramsell

The Top 5 best greetings for a work email:

1. Hi – 49%
2. Good morning / afternoon – 48%
3. Hello – 21%
4. Dear – 20%
5. Happy [insert day]! eg Happy Friday! – 7%

Now for the worst

It seems like no greeting is a big no-no, with 53% saying that not greeting the recipient is the worst way to start an email. This is followed by the impersonal ‘To whom it may concern’ with 37% thinking this is unacceptable to use, with the friendly ‘Hey’ takes third place (28%).

The top 5 worst greetings for a work email:

1. No greeting – 53%
2. To whom it may concern – 37%
3. Hey – 28%
4. Happy [Insert day]! Eg Happy Friday – 23%
5. Greetings – 22%

‘Kind Regards’, ‘Thanks’ and ‘Regards’ are the best ways to end an email

Now, they probably surveyed British companies, but this is valuable insight into how people feel about the tone of their business emails. Happy "day of the week" seems pretty polarizing!