Is it better to be a jack of all trades and a master of none or a specialist these days? As a chamber pro, you probably understand that a broad knowledge of your business community can be very helpful in coming up with creative solutions.
But who has time to acquire such a broad range of knowledge? Your schedule is filled as it is. Sure, learning is important but doing is better, right?
What if you could do both? What if you could fit in some learning even with a busy schedule? We’ve put together a list of learning opportunities that require just minutes a day.
Quick Learning to Make the Most of Your Time
Here are a few easy-to-implement ideas.
Sign up for Newsletters
Self-improvement and learning are critical to your career success but it’s not always easy to find the time to attend conferences and seminars. You can “stay in the know” with a couple of strategically chosen newsletters in areas you need to learn more about. Want to become more proficient in marketing? There’s a newsletter for that. Want to stay abreast of the newest AI tools? Newsletter. Want to explore the depths of human psychology? Newsletter.
The beauty of the newsletter is that the information is curated and condensed for you–like reading the headlines of a newspaper. You can learn quite a bit over a cup of coffee or breakfast. In minutes a day, you can uncover tidbits that will help you change strategic direction, pursue your goals, or recommit to your current path.
Newsletter Suggestions
This is a list of AI newsletters I subscribe to. Since AI changes on what seems like a daily basis, I make sure to skim them over coffee each morning or while I’m waiting for a call to start. However, you will want to make sure you subscribe to your areas of interest.
- Mindstream. Daily delivery. Provides relevant news, insights, tools, and trends shaping the AI landscape in a lighthearted yet informative tone. Summarizes key developments, highlights innovative applications, and shares expert opinions.
- Superhuman. Daily. Summarizes the latest AI developments, innovations, tools, and news into actionable insights readers can immediately implement to boost productivity and advance their careers. Provides tutorials, expert interviews, business use cases, and more.
- AI Breakfast. 3x per week. Delivers curated analysis of the latest AI news and innovations in an engaging tone. Features digestible summaries, ethical discussions, new tools, and key research to help readers stay current.
- The Rundown AI. Daily. Provides a curated list of important AI news with bulleted key points so you don’t have to read the whole article if you don’t have the time.
The best newsletter for you will depend on your specific interests, how much time you have to devote to staying up to date on AI, and how deep a dive you want to take. If AI isn’t your thing, try Refind. It allows you to select topics of interest and analyzes thousands of articles across the web to serve up the best (as aligned with your interests) to you daily.
If there’s a chamber you’ve heard about that is doing some exciting work, sign up for their newsletter. (Check out what the Canby Area Chamber of Commerce is doing below.) If there’s a downtown or merchant association in your area with a newsletter, see what they’re up to. Newsletters are not only sources of information, but they can also help you improve your chamber newsletter (or give you ideas to start one).
Bookmarking Apps
If you skim your newsletters (or Refind articles) over coffee and don’t have time to get into the meat of them, you can save it for later. There are several “read it later” or bookmarking apps such as:
- Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
- Features: Allows users to save articles, videos, and other content from any device. Offers a clean reading layout and the ability to listen to articles. This narration feature is a game changer because now you can listen to the article on the go. Pocket allows offline reading.
- Pros: User-friendly interface, supports various content types, and offers a premium version for additional features like advanced search and permanent library.
- Cons: Lacks a built-in notes feature so if you don’t remember why you saved it you’re out of luck.
Instapaper
- Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
- Features: Users can save articles via browser extensions or mobile apps. Instapaper formats saved articles for a clean reading experience and allows customization of fonts and colors.
- Pros: Excellent for reading with a focus on minimalism; supports sending articles to Kindle.
- Cons: Some users find it less intuitive compared to Pocket.
Omnivore
- Platforms: Web, iOS, Android, Mac
- Features: Free and open-source app that can pull in newsletters automatically. Offers webhooks and integrates with various tools like Obsidian.
- Pros: Great reading experience with customizable themes; actively improving as a newer app.
- Cons: May have occasional bugs due to its newness.
Safari Reading List
- Platforms: Mac, iOS
- Features: Built into Safari, allowing users to save articles directly from the browser. Syncs across Apple devices.
- Pros: Easy to use without needing additional software.
- Cons: Limited organization options and only available on Apple devices although other platforms have similar functionality with bookmarking.
Raindrop.io
- Platforms: Web, iOS, Android
- Features: A visually appealing bookmarking tool that organizes saved articles beautifully. It supports various formats and integrates with other services.
- Pros: Strong organizational features and aesthetic design.
- Cons: Primarily focuses on bookmarks rather than just reading later.
Listen to Podcasts
The best thing about podcasts is that you can listen anywhere–while driving, exercising, cleaning your house, or waiting for a meeting. There are over 5 million podcasts worldwide. While they won’t all improve your business acumen, you can find one to fit your mood, business need, and attention span.
Again, selecting a podcast is a personal choice. I tend to like short podcasts (under 15 minutes) because they fit into my “time pockets” better than podcasts that require an hour to listen to them. I enjoy listening to motivational podcasts. You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Prime Music, Wondery, and SoundCloud.
Some of my favorites include:
- The Mindset Mentor – focuses on providing tips on focus, motivation, and direction.
- The $100 MBA – 10 minutes of no-fluff business lessons.
- The How of Business – offers actionable advice on starting, running, and growing a business.
- Duct Tape Marketing Podcast – focuses on cost-effective marketing strategies for small businesses.
- Small Business Big Marketing – features interviews with successful entrepreneurs and marketing experts, providing insights that can help boost marketing efforts.
There are also many chambers entering the podcast space. Some do weekly shows, while others create a series on members. Learning what other chambers are doing is a great way to get some ideas on how you might highlight your members or areas.
Look at how the Alameda Chamber & Economic Alliance is using podcasts to highlight their events and programs. They’re doing both an auditory format and posting the video of the podcast on their YouTube channel.
Join Facebook Groups
Just as there are newsletters and podcasts for every interest, there’s also a Facebook group. Facebook groups are an ideal way to learn from others. Think of it as a peer mentoring program. If you join an active group, there will always be fresh content ready whenever you are–even when you can’t sleep in the middle of the night. These groups are ripe with ideas.
Just keep in mind there are no degrees or advanced learning required to offer your opinion in a group. While you can trust the members of the Chamber of Commerce Pros group on advice about the chamber world, you might not want to follow everything someone says in an illness group, for instance. Some people want to be helpful even when they don’t know the answer to your question.
Watch Videos
If you want to be a creative leader who comes up with solutions for your business community, you want to ensure you’re exposed to a variety of experiences, learning, and opinions. The digital world has made that very easy. You have a variety of learning options that are free, accessible, and entertaining. Best of all, you can use them on your schedule, even when you are short on time.
The key to making these actions work for you is to notice when you have those available moments. Instead of scrolling through Facebook and liking your friends’ vacation photos, expand your horizon and see what others are doing to solve challenges similar to your own. It’s a much better use of your time and will assist your professional growth and that of your community.
