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Its been another chaotic weekend when it comes to President Trumps tariff trade war. On Friday, it was announced that electronic devices like smartphones and computers would be exempt from the looming tariffs of up to 145%music to tech investors’ ears. But by Sunday, the president had said that any exemptions would be short-lived. Despite this tariff exemption whiplash, the Magnificent Seven tech stocks of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla are all currently up in premarket trading this morningthe first trading session after the tariff exemptions were initially announced. Heres what you need to know. Tariff exemption whiplash Since President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on nearly every country in the world on April 2, the stock markets have been hammered. But perhaps even worse than the tariffs effect on the markets has been the messaging around the tariffs. At various times over the past two weeks, administration officials have stated that the tariffs are both open to negotiation and permanent. And now the messaging over tariff exemptions is equally as confusing. On Saturday, Bloomberg was the first to report that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is charged with managing tariffs on imported goods, had posted a bulletin day earlier, on April 11, that the Trump administration had declared tariff exemptions on certain electronic devices. These exemptions meant that many popular consumer itemsand items that are also critical to the supply chains of Americas Big Tech companieswould not be hit with staggering 145% tariffs if being imported from China (and lower, but still high tariffs from other nations). The bulletin said there were now exemptions on smartphones, computers, tablets, and even smartwatches, among other electronic items. This news was particularly welcome to Apples investors, as the company sources many of its iPhones, MacBooks, and Apple Watches from China. But this relief surrounding the tariff exemptions was short-lived. Thats because, on Sunday, April 13, Trump officials and President Trump himself stated that the just-published exemptions werent actually permanent. Policy confusion continues As noted by CNN, Trumps commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, told ABC News on Sunday morning that (Electronics are) exempt from the reciprocal tariffs, but theyre included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two. In other words, Lutnick seemed to confirm that smartphones and laptops are indeed exempt from the existing reciprocal tariffs. However, he further implied that, in a few months, the Trump administration will be rolling out another new type of tariff to cover items with semiconductors (computer chips) inside. That would mean smartphones and laptops will be hit with tariffs then. Lutnick also said that upcoming tariffs targeting products that are key to national security, which likely include semiconductor products, are not available for negotiation. President Trump also chimed in on Sunday on Truth Social, announcing that NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook’ for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst! Trump went on to claim that There was no Tariff exception announced on Friday. He said that the reportedly previously announced exempted products like smartphones and laptops were still subject to an existing 20% fentanyl tariff and they are just moving to a different Tariff bucket. The Fake News knows this, but refuses to report it, the president continued. We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations. Big tech stocks react in Monday trading While Apple would undoubtedly be the biggest winner from any electronics exemptions in the tariffs on China, nearly every major tech company would benefit as well. Even if they do not sell physical hardware products, they rely on servers and other electronics to keep their software services running. So its no wonder that, what the Trump administration says is now just a temporary pause, is still being met with a positive reaction in the markets when it comes to the stock prices of the Magnificent Seven. Heres how Mag Seven stocks are reacting at the time of this writing in premarket trading: Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG): up 1.4% Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN): up 1.6% Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL): up 4.9% Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META): up 1.7% Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT): up 0.8% NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA): up 1.8% Tesla, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA): up 1.3% Its worth keeping in mind, however, that while the Trump administration says any tariff exemptions are temporary, you have to take that with a grain of saltor at least be aware that things could change in the future. The administration’s stance on tariffsor at least the administration’s messaging around its stance on tariffshas been all over the place this month. Things could be very different a week from now, as Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts pointed out this weekend. Nobody can figure out what the rules will be five days from now, much less five years from now, she said (via CNN). This story is developing . . .
Category:
E-Commerce
I have lost count of the number of accomplished professionals whove said to me, I dont want to seem silly on video or, I am awkward when Im on camera. I have trained hundreds of people, ranging from members of Congress to supermodels to everyday folks, for national TV program appearances. Here are my tips to sound natural and authentic on camera. Toss The Teleprompter, Ditch the Script Try not to use a teleprompter! Heres why: The idea of video is to build connection. Using a prompter makes you sound like a robot. For short-form videos, under a minute long, instead of relying on a teleprompter, identify two to three bullet points. Write them on a sticky note and put it on your phone or camera. Make sure to put it close to the lens so you have the proper eye line. If you must stick to a scriptwhether its to ensure legal accuracy, clearly communicate your offerings, or include specific required detailsthen using a prompter is totally fine. Just dont let it flatten your energy. Dont Sell Etched into my memory is the spokesperson for now-defunct consumer electronics chain Crazy Eddie in a bizarre ad from the 80s where he shouts directly at you that the discounts are insane. Hes talking loudly and very quickly; its a prototypical sales pitch of that era. Too many of us remember that type of commercial, and we think we dont want to be that guy. Thats the excuse people use to avoid making videos. Heres the perfect solution: If you don’t want to be salesy, don’t sell. Every piece of content you put out there should deliver value: Focus on educating people, sharing your perspective of whats happening in your industry, or having people feel seen. Over time, that will convert into sales, but not from shouting. A recent client who hired me to build their video marketing plan said she had been listening to me on a podcast and had been following me on social media for several months. I had been able to build that trust with her through providing her with valuable content online. No Studio? No Problem If youre worried that the style or quality of your video will represent your company poorly, remember that for every Razzie Award-winning B-film, there is an Oscar-winning documentary. The key is understanding the style you want, and working with a video producer or agency to execute the style youre interested in that feels most authentic to your brand and voice. Communicate your aesthetic preferences clearly and youll be closer to Oscar documentary than slasher film. If youre interested in the DIY path but youre worried your videos feel low-budget, there are simple ways around this. I coach clients on how to get the most of your iPhone (the resolution on the cameras are very high) and my clients have been able to expand their client list extensively through iPhone videos alone. Make sure to use the highest resolution settings on your phone both as you film it and maintain the high-quality settings as you edit and upload. There are of course many reasons to hire a professional video crewwhere the audio and video quality are high and you can leave the tech up to someone else.
Category:
E-Commerce
Who am I to tell them how to make decisions? This anxiety-induced thought played like a broken record in my head as my first leadership training event approached in my new role as a training director. Talking in front of 40 leaders, most of whom were older than my ripe old age of 30 at the time felt like the perfect opportunity for them to see right through my lack of expertise and expose me as the fraud I was. Years ago, while working at a regional bank, I was promoted from trainer to leading a training team in another department. My prior roles as a sales trainer and human resources consultant allowed me to build a company-wide reputation as an expert on complicated sales processes and navigating employee benefits and hiring processes. This new role pushed me out of the payment division into the retail branch banking side. In other words, it was way out of my comfort zone. And at this first training event, I could no longer rely on my expertise to help me feel safe, trusted, or relevant. The Sky Parted That first event was tough. Afterward, I admitted to my manager, Who am I to tell them what to do? Ive been a manager for about five minutes and most of these leaders have been managers for 15 years. The question she posed to me next transformed my relationship with expertise for a lifetime. She asked, What if your job is not to be the expert up there, but to facilitate the expertise in the room? It was like the sky parted and the sun emerged. Of course that was the answer. Because I had been promoted throughout my career due to my level of expertise, it was natural for me to assume that in my new role, expertise was the only way I could add value. Instead of being the expert, I had to rebrand myself as a leader who could facilitate, promote, and grow the expertise around her, whether it be in a training room, on my team, or even now leading my own coaching and speaking practice. Managers looking to break their identity as the expert and the go-to can benefit from undertaking a similar rebranding campaign. People will likely continue to reach out to you, hoping for you to provide quick answers or jump in to help them fix an issue the way you used to. But its critical that you teach others how to see and use you in a new way so that you can advance to more strategic levels of leadership. This is easier said than done. After all, people have grown accustomed to your old ways of working. Here are some common situations that can keep your stuck in the expert identity trap and some strategies to consider to avoid it. THE GUILT TRAP Moving into a new leadership role can sometimes unsettle colleagues accustomed to our old ways of working. They may (intentionally or not) attempt to elicit guilt, saying things like, You used to do this for me or People are going to be upset about this change. While these concerns may be valid, your role is to redirect any resistance toward productive outcomes. A helpful response might be, Thats true, and moving forward, my focus is on working on this strategic project development for my team. Here are some other questions you can ask to redirect their energy: I know I used to handle this issue. How can I help you get the resources you need to move forward? I could give you the answer and I would also love to help you self-source for future needs. Where have you looked so far? I understand that people may be upset that Im not involved any longer. What ideas do you have to help support them moving forward? THE HABIT TRAP As I rose to new levels of leadership in my corporate roles, if I continued saying yes to too many requests to do the work myself, people would continue to expect this of me. As a result, I would have been too busy delivering training without enough time to plan for, coach, and develop my direct reports. It would also mean my team loses out on valuable development opportunities and meaningful work. In every conversation, you have the opportunity to set the tone for your leadership, for the team, and for yourself. This includes expressing your expectations and having clear boundary conversations to redistribute and delegate work that is no longer yours. This might sound like: Jane handles this project now. Id be happy to coordinate an introduction and handoff. Matt will be leading this initiative from now on. Id be happy to schedule time for us to connect and coordinate transitions. THE COMFORT TRAP When you are promoted, comfort can get the best of your leaders if they continue assigning the same tasks as they did before the promotion. Because they value your speed and competence, this can hinder your growth in your new role. To avoid this, proactive communication is key. In my experience making this shift, I proactively communicated with my leader by clearly defining which projects Id handle personally and which Id delegate. I also encouraged my leader to reset expectations with her peers, making it clear my team would take on more project work as I transitioned into higher-level responsibilities. Aligning with leadership across the organization ensures that both you and your team are positioned to grow into new opportunities. This might sound like: Id like my team to take on this project moving forward, so I can uplevel. How should we best communicate this to your peer group? Instead of me, my team will be leading these events. How should we best inform your peers so they know to go to Susie instead of me? THE FREE TIME TRAP You have excused yourself from meetings you dont need to be a part of and successfully delegated work. Now what? The mindset shift from respond and react to think and plan is challenging. One of my clients said it best: Im staring at a blank Word document that is supposed to be our annual strategic plan and I dont know where to begin. This space can feel disorienting and lead to the question, If Im not doing the visible work, then how am I adding value? The key is to turn non-doing into an opportunity for growth and clarity. Focus on creating value by developing a new expertise setting strategic goals and coaching your team to achieve them. Try reflecting on some basic questions like: What did our team accomplish in the last month? Quarter? Year? What opportunities exist in our organization or market? What threats may hinder our progress or ability to succeed? Do I have the talent on my team to accomplish our future goals and objectives? What does good coaching, development, or support look like to achieve our goals? What key relationships do I need to repair, retain, or cultivate to ensure we reach our teams goals? Breaking free from the expert trap requires you to redefine your value as a leader. The real measure of leadership is not in having all the answers but in cultivating the conditions for others to grow, contribute, and step into their own expertise. As you navigate this transformation, ask yourself: What legacy do I want to leave? Do I want to be the person who always had the answers or the leader who empowered others to find their own?
Category:
E-Commerce
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