Fastenal reported $577.8 million in November sales, a 10.2% increase from a year ago. Daily sales increased by the same percentage, which was below October's 13.6% growth rate but still indicated strong performance.

A record number of women are working in the trucking profession, with 1.6 million now constituting almost 18% of the US trucking workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Industry leaders Ellen Voie and Desiree Wood say that burnout in other industries including health care is contributing to the rise of women in trucking.

Temporary robots are increasingly being leased for warehouses and distribution and fulfillment centers to help mitigate labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and increased e-commerce and holiday demand, vendors and users say. These subscription-based robots are also less expensive to acquire and maintain, but they need to be ordered ahead of peak seasons so they can be properly installed and programmed.

LinkedIn Marketing Solutions' Jim Habig and Alyssa Merwin talk about the three trends they think will dominate business-to-business marketing next year. "2023 will be the year that canned, impersonal sales outreach poses a significant risk to company brand and seller reputation," Merwin says, while Habig notes transformation is on the way, "driven by evolving buyer preferences for more transparency and control over how they engage with brands."

Business-to-business companies can increase productivity and revenue while freeing up salespeople for other tasks by designating senior sales support consultants to handle the final stages of deals, writes Shane Spraggs, co-author of "The Power of Remote." "Emphasize that the SSC's role is merely to help close the deal, not claim credit for the sale or change the way the sales team does their job," Spraggs advises.

When receiving difficult feedback, it may be best to take a pause, consider the emotional mindset of the person giving it and reframe it as an opportunity to learn rather than as criticism or an attack, writes Mary Kelly. "Take another look at what your critic is saying and see what you can learn once you have allowed some time for your initial emotions to dissipate," Kelly writes.

Employers should put companywide measures in place to support upcoming leaders, particularly focusing on frontline managers to offer support while also empowering autonomous decision-making, writes Mike Morini, CEO of WorkForce Software. Among other advice, Morini recommends creating mechanisms to enable leaders to connect and share knowledge, and encouraging future leaders to adopt a continuous change approach.