The creation of Avient in June 2020 by PolyOne and Clariant Masterbatch "was two innovators coming together with sustainability ambitions" and sustainability has remained a focus ever since, said executive Deborah Sondag. "The reality is that sustainability has many components" and Avient recognizes that by focusing on plastics recyclability, biopolymers, lightweighting, sustainable infrastructure and other areas, said Sondag.

Prices increased 6.2% year-over-year in October as inflation continued, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Economic growth for 2022 and 2023 will likely be slower and could be further affected by inflation and supply chain disruptions, says Brian Lewandowski of the University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business.

Many freight, transportation and logistics businesses are encouraging warehouse workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 but are not mandating it. Some are requiring vaccination for office-based employees or those who interact with outside customers.

Sales managers must prepare their teams for the price-based objections they're likely to encounter, which often include "whack back" or immediate pushback and anchoring, where buyers set a target price to kick off negotiations, writes Mike Schultz. Salespeople should also be proactive when preparing for negotiations by building value from the outset of conversations and preparing to trade instead of caving into demands, Schultz notes.

Chatbots can be used to save you and your business time and money while actually increasing customer satisfaction, say business leaders who have used them. "The advantage to chatbots is that they work around the clock, at all hours of the day, and can be there to answer customer questions even when you are sleeping," says Jason Butcher with CoinPayments.

Companies have struggled to replace or fix employee performance reviews, as switching to an ongoing feedback process can merely shift the problem to unhelpful manager-employee interactions, writes Know Your Team CEO Claire Lew. "Focus on the interaction -- the connection, dialogue, and information and delivery of that information between peer to peer -- and everything else about the performance review becomes dressing," Lew writes.

The NAW Executive Summit is back in-person January 25 - 27, 2022 and it will be bigger and better than ever before! Learn more about the NAW 2022 Executive Summit.