Category: Reading

Books, & links to all kinds of stuff I found interesting

[Link] The Three Elements of an Innovation Ecosystem

Note to self: Yeah, it has too many buzzwords in the title.  Read it anyway.

Developing an innovation capability within a large organization is a daunting prospect. In the past, many have tried but few succeeded. Often difficulties are linked to a too narrow and shallow approach, such as training a group of employees in an innovation methodology and expecting the organization to turn into an innovation powerhouse as a consequence. It’s become clear in the last few years that building a sustainable innovation capability requires a more systemic approach.

[Link] Overcoming the Challenges of Staying Connected

Overwhelm is the most common word I heard throughout 2020 – other than “unprecedented” and “You’re-on-mute”.  Staying connected, whether at work or with friends and family has been an intensely challenging affair – how can you do that when the world seems to be heading to hell in a handbasket?
Jean Gamester, writing in the Toastmasters journal has three ideas on coping.

[Link] Are You Too Scared to Sell Yourself?

Steven Pressfield’s new self-published novel “A Man At Arms” is out, and despite being an award winning author/playwright/you-name-it, he still feels way out of his comfort zone promoting his work. And yet he does it, because:

We can’t let ourselves be too scared to sell ourselves.

Got made redundant, & looking for a new job?  Wanting that promotion at work? Telling your secret love how you feel about him/her? Unfortunately, most things involve selling.

 

[Link] Creating Impact When You’re Overwhelmed

When there are thousands of things to do, how can we make an impact? Any one of those things can feel meaningless, because they’ll barely move the needle. Sometimes the feeling is that we’re just spinning our wheels, or treading water, and not making any progress. And at the same time, so many things are coming at you.

Like nearly everyone else over the last few months, I’ve felt I’ve had more than my fair share of overwhelm.

I turn to reading in these moments. The Stoics or more contemporary philosophers (I doubt they will call themselves that, but whatever), they all offer help in their own way.

One of my regular reads is by Leo Babauta, whose writing I’ve long cherished, for its simplicity and yet profound applicability of ideas. These ideas aren’t new, for sure. But they’re timely. And that’s what matters. His recent post resonated strongly, reminding me of how to focus on what’s important.

 

[Link] A Theoretical Argument for the Causes of Zoom Fatigue

Why do we feel exhausted after hours /days / months now of videoconferencing?  What is Zoom (or Teams) fatigue really?

Stanford University’s Jeremy Bailenson has some ideas worth considering. Some – not all – of the solutions to this problem are trivial design implementations that the big tech companies haven’t yet gotten around to.

Anyone who speaks for a living understands the intensity of being stared at for hours at a time. Even when speakers see virtual faces instead of real ones, research has shown that being stared at while speaking causes physiological arousal (Takac et al., 2019). But Zoom’s interface design constantly beams faces to everyone, regardless of who is speaking. From a perceptual standpoint, Zoom effectively transforms listeners into speakers and smothers everyone with eye gaze.