Fastenal earned $231.2 million in the fourth quarter on revenue of $1.53 billion, both up from a year earlier. Fastenal continued its trend of closing branches and opening Onsite locations, while employee headcount increased 0.7% from a year earlier.

Ocean freight carriers earned about $150 billion last year, about nine times as much as in 2020, and that growth is expected to continue, thanks to higher spot and long-term contract rates. Shippers struggling to pay the higher costs are asking regulators to examine carriers' practices, and economists say the increased rates may make inflation worse.

Customer relationship management systems in sales aren't helpful if they get used rarely, lead to missed opportunities, inhibit customer growth or have a high customer churn rate, writes Benj Cohen, founder of Proton.ai. CRMs that use artificial intelligence are a better choice because they "can improve customer retention by empowering sales reps with valuable insights," Cohen writes.

Successful B2B teams will be focused on change management and customer retention in 2022, writes Matt Heinz, president of Heinz Marketing. Other key trends include an emphasis on data intelligence, with machine learning and artificial intelligence allowing sales and marketing teams to develop insights quickly, Heinz notes.

Leaders can learn five important skills from sports, including the self-discipline to persevere and being able to effectively communicate to everyone on the team, Mike Powell writes. The other three skills Powell highlights are honesty, adaptability and preparing for every scenario.

Plan your day and week through timeboxing or other strategies to focus on activities that move you ahead personally and professionally, writes Nir Eyal. "A blank schedule and a mile-long to-do list, on the other hand, is a recipe for torment," Eyal writes.