October 20, 2018—To better assist shop owners with their production management, marketing tactics and leadership styles, FenderBender has compiled a short list of essential business-building material from some of its favorite sources.

Help Your Team Measure Customer Experience Data More Accurately — Harvard Business Review
Customer experience (CX) goes beyond measuring the relationship between customers and companies; it is also about quantifying the hundreds of regular interactions and residual memories that influence future behavior. Specific tools like journey mapping and touchpoint management are keys that employees can use to unlock the code for many in-store and in-person experiences. But it’s important for your team to understand the context in which data is being used to make company-wide decisions.

Brands Shouldn't Believe Everything They Read About Themselves Online — Harvard Business Review
“Don’t believe everything you hear” is good advice, especially in an era of fake news and alternative facts. The same goes for managers who often rely on social-sentiment analysis to get a handle on what consumers think of their brands. Social-sentiment analysis is the process of algorithmically analyzing social posts, comments, and behaviors and categorizing them into positive, negative, or neutral. Many companies use it to understand how their customers are feeling about their brands.

Why This CEO Fired Himself and Asked His Friend to Take Over — Entrepreneur
A few years ago, when Matt Bodnar was the CEO of a small technology company, he got lunch with a fellow CEO friend. This friend was frustrated; his company was struggling, and he wanted a change. So the two spent 15 minutes or so talking through solutions, and then, to his own surprise, Bodnar said the words that would change his life: “Well,” Bodnar asked his friend, “what if you just took my job?”

Psychology Says Even White Lies Can Backfire. Here's Why — Inc.
You say a new haircut looks nice even though you don't like it. Or maybe you tell your team you've started on your project when you're not even close. Those types of "white" lies are supposed to do some good, but a new psychology study suggests these kinds of fibs should come with a big "beware" sign.

Want to Succeed? Don't Obsess Over Your Goal: Focus Relentlessly On Your Process — Inc.
After all, one of the most common reasons people give up on their goals is the distance between here, where they are today, and there, where they someday hope to be. If your goal is to someday run a marathon, but today you're only able to run a mile... the distance between here and there seems insurmountable. That's why so many people give up on huge goals: they don't feel they can bridge the gap between here and there.