A Holiday Reminder to Engage and Appreciate

As Thanksgiving approaches in the U.S., here’s a little-known fact to bring some holiday humor: it’s actually the busiest day of the year for plumbers! With all those big feasts, clogged drains and overworked garbage disposals are often on the “menu.”

Thanksgiving is a wonderful reminder to be grateful, and that includes showing appreciation for your LinkedIn followers! Each follower isn’t just a number—they’re individuals who’ve shown interest in you, your company and its mission. Acknowledging them can go a long way.

When working with clients, I always recommend reviewing new followers at least once a month. Consider reaching out to those who may be potential customers or partners. A simple thank-you message—no hard sell—can show you’re genuinely interested. You might even ask if there’s specific content they’d love to see on your page.

Engaging with your followers is also a great prompt to keep your page active and engaging. Consistent posting ensures that anyone who follows you won’t see a page that’s gone quiet for weeks or months.

So, as you celebrate Thanksgiving, remember to keep it fresh, keep it relevant, and keep it consistent.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and here’s to showing gratitude for every connection! 🧡

Trey Smith: from his Atari 800 to CIO leadership

What leadership skills will you need in this modern tech world? The old ways of command and control do not work. This was just one of the takeaways from my terrific conversation with Trey Smith, who has been the CIO at multiple firms across the chemical, finance and insurance industries. He is now the CIO at Discovery Land Company.

Trey shares important insights about his experiences with leading people as a technologist, and the power that comes from showing your vulnerability and saying: “I don’t know.”

Here are some other highlights from our interview:

• I bought a book on programming, but I didn't have enough money to buy a computer at the time. So I learned programming from the book and wrote the code on paper, then executed it in my head.
• If you sense fear in something, that probably means it's something where you can learn. It's an opportunity to grow.
• The opposite of love is not anger. The opposite of love is fear.
• Leadership is transitioning from intellectual intelligence to emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is what's going to allow us to truly lead people, especially people that are in newer generations because their thinking is different.

Watch the full interview here!

​
You will also enjoy this episode from Season 1 where Toby Buckalew, President of the Association for Business Technology Professionals (ABTP), discussed how to bounce back even stronger after losing a job.

Content tip:

Snackable Content

As we come together with family and friends this Thanksgiving, it’s a perfect time to reflect on the core values that define who we are at our very essence.

In this brief video, I share insights on how to weave your core values into your content, making it a genuine expression of the unique gifts you bring to the world.

A little inspiration:

Go where your creativity takes you A good friend recently gifted me with a crafting project to make a holiday wreath. No instructions. Just supplies and a single sentence to start pulling accessories together. It reminded me that we don't always need a manual - just go wherever you creativity flows. Check out the final product on my Instagram! Watch here

Thank you to our Tech Legacies sponsor, CG Infinity!

Huge thank you to CG Infinity for sponsoring our podcast so we are able to feature these tech leaders with their perspectives and insights. Follow their company page to learn about their tech consulting services and #peoplefirst culture.

Now we want to hear from you, Reader

What is your favorite hobby?

Fanny

🌟 Want to elevate your company's brand by creating a podcast, livestream or video series for 2025? Click here and let's explore the possibilities.