I hope you are all continuing to stay healthy, safe and sane as The Great Reset continues apace. (I cannot take credit for The Great Reset phrase but I do like it.)
As advice (both good and bad) abounds in today’s flurry of information cycles, I am including a few recent thought pieces on effective advice-giving, the importance of listening and how to be someone others can reliably call upon to listen and talk through issues. The first chunk of articles tackles these topics as does one of the podcasts. There are two excellent articles on what we all can learn from our marketing and academic colleagues as we manage through the immediacy of our days and start to look at what might be as well as what we might want as we move forward into the future. The This American Life podcast on the concept of delight is outstanding and tremendously thought-provoking. And for those, like me, that need daily doses of laughter, you will find a link to the recently launched Robin Williams YouTube channel.
As always, happy reading and listening! And please stay safe and look out for your families and your community. Be well,-kj
Articles
“We Get, and Give, Lots of Bad Advice.Here’s How to Stop. One of the most effective ways to get better advice is to give it.”
“How to Give People Advice They’ll Be Delighted to Take. Evaluate, collaborate and support.”
“Be a Colleague That Others Can Confide In. ‘I’m fine’ can be just that — fine — or it can be an entryway into building a more open, trusting environment for people (including you) to share how they really feel, without shame or stigma.”
“You’re Not Listening. Here’s Why. There’s an unconscious tendency to tune out people you feel close to because you think you already know what they are going to say.”
“How Marketing Leaders Can Both Manage the Coronavirus Crisis and Plan For the Future. There is much uncertainty about the future. That said, we are likely in the midst of a generation-defining event that will influence how consumers behave for years to come…Marketers will need to be fast and pragmatic to manage the crisis, while also being strategic on how to weather the downturn.” [A thoughtful and pragmatic piece with advice that extends well beyond marketers.]
“Why You Should Ignore All That Coronavirus-Inspired Productivity Pressure. Yet we are just at the beginning of that journey. For most people, our minds have not come to terms with the fact that the world has already changed. Some faculty members are feeling distracted and guilty for not being able to write enough or teach online courses properly. Others are using their time at home to write and report a burst of research productivity. All of that is noise — denial and delusion. And right now, denial only serves to delay the essential process of acceptance, which will allow us to reimagine ourselves in this new reality. On the other side of this journey of acceptance are hope and resilience.” [Though written for the author’s academic colleagues, there is gold in here for all of us to consider.]
“How to Elevate Your Presence in a Virtual Meeting. Whether you’ve been participating in virtual meetings for years or just started this month, it’s important to realize that a video conference isn’t just a conference over video — it’s an entirely new interactive experience, which requires adapting your perspective, habits, and tactics to make it work effectively for you.”
“Social Distancing Doesn’t Have to Disrupt Mentorship. Although social distancing is necessary during the pandemic, it doesn’t mean you can’t maintain close emotional and relational proximity with your mentees. Use this moment in time to explore new ways of staying connected, show that you care, validate feelings of distress, develop talent, and challenge yourself to get out of your mentoring comfort zone.”
“The Virus Is a Reminder of Something Lost Long Ago. In rebuilding a broken world, we will have the chance to choose a less hurried life.”
TED Talks/Podcasts
When It Comes to Advice, It’s Better to Give Than Receive. “New research from Wharton’s Behavior Change for Good Initiative (BCFG) finds that when people share their own been-there-done-that advice on what works for them, they get a shot of self-confidence that helps them on their own journey of self-improvement.”
This American Life: The Show of Delights. “In these dark, combative times, we attempt the most radical counter-programming we could imagine: a show made up entirely of stories about delight.”
Freakonomics Radio: The Zero-Minute Workout. “There is strong evidence that exercise is wildly beneficial. There is even stronger evidence that most people hate to exercise. So if a pill could mimic the effects of working out, why wouldn’t we want to take it?”
Blog Posts (excerpt below with links to the full post)
Alive Time or Dead Time. What Will It Be? “So that’s where we are right now. Faced with a choice. A choice to use this or not. Make something of it or not. It’s the only potential silver lining…and it’s totally up to you.”
How would you like things to be? “The question is: Will you embrace an emotional posture that models how you’d like it to feel instead? Today, this day, we only get it once. How do you want today to feel on an emotional level?”
How Does It Feel To Get Everything You Ever Wanted? “To be alive, that is the accomplishment. To have your health. To have people you love. This is winning. To get to do the work—that’s the reward, not whether the work is recognized. Which is all we control anyway…The lucky break is the opportunity. It’s the process that we have always loved, it’s the joy of realizing our potential that should never get old or let us down.”
Arts, Music & Culture Corner
Opinion: A Politician Takes a Sledgehammer to His Own Ego. “Just in time for Easter, the story of a blind state leader who is giving up his office to join the Jesuits.”
Times Insider: When All the Zingers Were Fit to Print. “In 1978, a mischievous band of writers that included George Plimpton and Nora Ephron teamed up to create a spoof of The New York Times. Turns out, Times journalists were among them.”
“Robin Williams: YouTube Channel Launched with Classic Standup, Interviews.”[If you want to laugh, this is a source. His golf sketch is fantastic, though not kid appropriate.]
“Of Monsters and Men: Stage On Sixth, SxSW Music Festival, 03/15/2012.” [Great show at an early point of their career, which I just happened to see live.]
