If you’re anything like me you’re fed up with news about the federal government shutdown and a potential U.S. default. Here are some noteworthy links to read while you avoid scanning the depressing updates from Washington.

“5 Ways You Can Start Improving Employee Morale Today”
NFIB
We all know that money talks, but it’s nice to be reminded employees appreciate other forms of recognition, too. No. 4 on the list, “Give together,” is one of my favorites. At North Coast Media, which publishes Landscape Management, we sign up in small groups to serve lunches at the Bishop Cosgrove Center in Cleveland every Wednesday. Nothing is better than volunteering for getting to know your coworkers outside of work and giving everyone a boost. For good ideas about how other landscape companies get involved and “give together,” see the articles from our Giving Back page, which features the winners of PLANET’s Community Stewardship Awards.

“11 Big Myths about Social Media and Content Marketing”
Convince & Convert
I’ve had content marketing on my mind a lot lately (which I wrote about in October), so maybe that’s why I liked this post so much. We’re seeing more lawn care and landscape companies mastering this form of marketing every day, so it’s clear some firms aren’t buying into the myths. Still, there are many offenders of No. 4 (“You should ignore negative feedback”) and No. 9 (“Your content marketing should be about your products and services”), so I thought it was worth sharing.

“How Trees Can Boost a Home’s Sale Price”
Wall Street Journal
I’m not surprised at the overall gist of this article; it’s no secret trees are valuable landscape assets. That said, I’m shocked at just how much value home buyers placed on trees. Homes with street trees sold for $7,130 more on average than homes without them, according to the study cited in this article. Are you surprised it’s that much?