Business
Don’t Ban “Politics” at Work (via HBR)
This move typically backfires by either (1) people leaving, (2) or requiring a litany of specific rules about what people can and can’t discuss at work. Instead… (1) build empathy toward others’ views, (2) invite different perspectives into the senior leadership fold, (3) accept mistakes gracefully, and (4) teach people how to disagree.
Communication
Your Messaging to Older Audiences Is Outdated (via HBR)
“Given a rapidly aging population, effective messaging to older people holds national importance for public health as well as marketing of goods and services. Older people make up an incredibly diverse demographic that varies in terms of physical and cognitive ability, economic power, and social connection, and market segmentation based on age is becoming futile. These messengers should instead focus on appealing to varying time horizons based on subjective age and perceived time left in life. To better reach older populations, the authors recommend three strategies: 1) Focus on emotionally meaningful material, 2) Prioritize the positive, and 3) Identify with the elderly — and ditch the stereotypes.”
Process
When to Take On Tasks That Are Outside of Your Job Description (via HBR)
- Beware of switching in turbulent environments. Keep information flows consistent; by the time you switch back to your lane, things may have changed (situational awareness).
- Beware of crossing team boundaries. Boundaries exist for a reason, and inconsistent leadership can be confusing.
- Be sure to update when switching back. This is expectation management so that it’s clear what the current state is.
Uncovering Better Ways (via Software Lead Weekly)
- Try removing something. Imagine no offices, no meetings, no backlogs.
- Try constraining something. No more than X tasks in progress, no changing code owned by another team.
- Try the opposite. Work in pairs? Try individual.
- Try the extreme. Pair on all tasks (easy, hard), deploy hourly instead of daily.
- Reflect on what you learned.