Analytics
Your Data Initiatives Can’t Just Be for Data Scientists (via HBR)
“Without buy-in from your company’s rank and file, even the cleverest AI-derived model will sit idle and ‘data-driven decision-making’ will just go around in circles. Companies need to start seeing regular people as part of their data strategy. Data teams must work with regular people every day, develop a feel for their problems and opportunities, and embrace their hopes and fears surrounding data, then focus on equipping people with the tools they need to formulate and solve their own problems.”
Business
Purposeful Business the Agile Way (via HBR)
- Create a microcosm of the world you want
- Build a “how could we test that?” culture
- Do the right things for the right stakeholders
- Prioritize collaboration over competition
Career
What you give up when moving into engineering management (via Software Lead Weekly)
Focus time, short feedback cycles, conflict avoidance, making technical decisions, and learning new technical skills.
Employee Retention
What to Do If Your Employees Keep Getting Poached (via HBR)
- Make sure compensation is fair
- Acknowledge your flaws and highlight your strengths
- Create a career plan
- Ramp up training
Leadership
Leading an Exhausted Workforce (via HBR)
- Be a role model — be flexible as things change, be open with your team, demonstrate healthy behaviors
- Lighten the load — reduce stressors, don’t add to anxiety
- Create a cognitive safety net — mitigate mistakes, reduce tunnel vision, learn from failure
- Make it meaningful — “meaning matters more than happiness”
Managing Up (via Software Lead Weekly)
- Remind them where you left off
- Be specific and explicit about what you need
- Mention things that are just FYI
- Adopt an action-oriented posture (speak up to get what you need)
- Share less when you’re mature in the area, decision is reversible/inexpensive, your boss is already well informed on the topic
- Share more when the decision is irreversible/expensive, customer-facing, or this is your first time deciding
- Mention criteria and assumptions for decisions
- Recommend first, then give context below it (i.e., start with the conclusion, then add how you got there)
Mentoring
How to Mentor in a Remote Workplace (via HBR)
“To master virtual mentoring and build effective developmental relationships, managers and leaders need to sharpen five skills. First, build trust by making the relationship a safe space for both parties and delivering on any promises you make. Second, clarify the rules of engagement, including deciding on the frequency of communication and preferred mediums. Third, be intentional when forming the relationship by asking questions and discovering shared values. Fourth, balance authenticity with boundaries. Finally, when possible, collaborate.”
Productivity
Breaking Free of the Cult of Productivity (via HBR)
- We tend to tie our productivity to our worth.
- Guilt is a double-edged sword. It can be a signal to help us find what’s not working, or it can start us into a downward spiral of rumination.
- Productivity is not pass/fail; every moment is an opportunity to start anew.
- We have technological advancements that allow for more free time, but then we worry about wasting that free time. (I think this is related to “time poverty.”)
- “It’s okay because we don’t have to define ourselves by what we do. We can get so caught up on our ambitions, our definitions of success, our comparison to other people using busyness as a badge of honor. And all of these are ways to find self worth that is outside of us in many instances. It’s outside of us because we’re placing our self worth in what we do. We’re placing it in what other people think of us. We’re placing it in our success or how much we earn.”
- Redefine “lazy.” You can’t breathe out without breathing in. Think of it like a sponge — you can’t absorb forever; you also need to squeeze.
- We often fail because we set exceedingly high expectations.
- Not every productivity hack will work for you.
- Accomplishing things is not how to define yourself.
- Define what a good day/week looks like for you. Maybe you’ll get all of those things done, or maybe just a few. (I do this via weekly goal-setting and daily bullet-journal tracking.)
- You can’t always sprint. You need time to think, plan, reflect, rest, etc.
Society
The Secret History of Home Economics
- Change the name from family and consumer science back to home economics.
- Make home economics mandatory.
- Diversify the profession (i.e., not only older white women).
- Embrace life skills as well as career preparation.
- Advance the progressive, scientific, ecological view within home economics.