Five articles that have had me thinking over the last few weeks:
How to Be Healthy in a Dopamine-Seeking Culture
Brad Stulburg. Outside Magazine
Key quote: “Thousands of years ago, FOMO worked to our advantage, ensuring we’d always be in the know and never miss an opportunity to share a meal with our tribe or hear about lurking predators or a warring faction nearby. Now, however, FOMO keeps us glued to our screens, addicted to news, relevance, retweets, and likes—all of which, when consumed heavily, have little (if any) marginal benefit and cause anxiety and restlessness.” Read the rest here.
The Myth of the Brilliant, Charismatic Leader
Raffaella Sadun. Harvard Business Review
Key quote: “What is good management? There’s no single, comprehensive answer. But in our research we focus on three facets: target-setting, incentives, and monitoring. Well-managed companies set reasonable, strategic goals; set their staff up to contribute to them; and measure their progress. Call it boring if you like — I call it good business.” Read the rest here.
The four building blocks of change
Tessa Basford and Bill Schaninger. Mkinsey Quarterly
Key quote: “In both research and practice, we find that transformations stand the best chance of success when they focus on four key actions to change mind-sets and behavior: fostering understanding and conviction, reinforcing changes through formal mechanisms, developing talent and skills, and role modeling. Collectively labeled the “influence model,” these ideas were introduced more than a dozen years ago in a McKinsey Quarterly article, “The psychology of change management.” They were based on academic research and practical experience—what we saw worked and what didn’t.” Read the rest here.
Leaders can stop quiet quitting—here’s how
Michael DePrisco. Quartz
Key quote: “Quiet quitters—employees rethinking their relationship with work and are unwilling to go above and beyond basic job requirements—are not slackers. Most likely, they feel mired in the workplace mud because they aren’t getting the direction, recognition, or motivation they seek from their leaders, managers, or mentors.” Read the rest here.
Seven Books That Will Make You Smarter
Hamilton Cain. The Atlantic
Key quote: “The seven nonfiction titles…are not textbooks; they’re accessible to lay readers, give an overview of crucial topics, and can serve as a jumping-off point for further research. They investigate what our society values and what it’s built on, driving us to the monumental, the sublime, the quintessentially human.” Read the rest here.
