Synnex on Thursday announced fiscal second-quarter profit of $56.9 million on revenue of $5.53 billion. Both figures were down from a year earlier.

Vulnerabilities in Windows are being exploited by Lucifer, a new malware that can self-propagate and is capable of denial-of-service attacks and Monero cryptojacking. Researchers at Palo Alto Networks say the hackers behind Lucifer also use credential brute-forcing and take advantage of an "exhaustive list" of exploits.

Sales managers should encourage their teams to get more sleep as a method of improving performance on the job, writes Jeff Kahn. Sleep debt can lead to mental lapses, errors, memory impairment and more sick days, among other problems.

Showpad's Helen Yu outlines five tips to help business-to-business marketers and salespeople work together more effectively, including using data insights to ensure prospects aren't overloaded with content. Create interactive presentations that prioritize the value your business offers, use augmented and virtual reality to showcase products, and offer continuous education to keep salespeople informed about your industry, she recommends.

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of HR to distributors, even smaller firms that might consider outsourcing HR, says Cory Calderon of Valin and John Salvadore of GRN Coastal. "Certainly, HR is much more than just recruiting and talent acquisition, they touch so much of the organization, they should be front and center and have a seat at the table," Salvadore says.

Contrary to common belief, introverts can make excellent managers, drawing on their tendency to leverage alone time to reflect and refresh. Organizational psychology professor Adam Grant reviews some of the other reasons introverts stand out in top roles, including their calm and an ability to really listen to others, and author Susan Cain offers tips to help introvert managers.

Would-be leaders cannot avoid office politics, but they can be deliberate in influencing people without compromising their values, writes Art Petty. "Start small and help to fix issues that affect you and your colleagues in your daily work," he writes.

In his Chairman's Column, NAW 2020 Chairman of the Board Doug York talks about the benefits of membership in NAW to include exposure to new trends and ideas in distribution, access to key partnerships and government affairs. He adds that this combined value has grown exponentially throughout the pandemic, bringing particular attention to the daily updates from our government relations team which deal with the impact COVID-19 has had on distribution businesses and our industry. Read his column.

Distributors have made progress in navigating through this unprecedented disruption, but much more is needed. In this live webinar, we will follow up with Michael DeCata, President and CEO of Lawson Products, to hear how he is navigating through COVID-19 and how it has accelerated his plans around innovation. Mark Dancer, author of NAW's "Innovate to Dominate," and Richard Blatcher of PROS will explore with Mike how distributors must implement an "innovation ecosystem" to compete in the new normal. Register today! Sponsored by PROS.