Superfluous Innovations

Allison Arieff posed a terrific question in her NYT Opinion piece.  Are we solving all the wrong problems?  Are the disruptive innovations aimed at tiny slices of the population?  Do we all need an app that will help us pack our suitcase - virtually?  Or alert us when baby needs a diaper change? 

She worries that new services, apps and products ignore people most in need of a better life - vs. creating solutions for what I would call frivolous frustrations of people who are doing pretty well for themselves.

Here is a link to the article:  "Solving All the Wrong Problems" - 7/10/16.  http://nyti.ms/29pzdGy

Meanwhile, I am waiting to hear back from Whirlpool about how to dismantle a bully 'Delay Wash' feature on my front loader.  A small example of an innovation this customer does not need - what happened to wash, rinse, spin?

Global Financial Woes

IMF Chief Christine Lagarde is concerned about Britain exiting the European Union ("Brexit"); countries that are adopting more of an isolationist mindset when it comes to immigrants; and in general, a global economy that is limping.  With the Brexit vote scheduled for June 23, 2016 and Greece looking for relief on their $98 billion bailout, the scandal of the Panama Papers looks like small potatoes.  And how was your week?  (source:  USA TODAY 4/15/16 article, page 2B in the MONEY section)

Keys to Successful Teams

I had the honor to create self-managed teams in a grand adventure in the late '80s.

Recent research points to 2 behaviors of good teams:  (1)  Everyone gets a chance to talk, increasing collective intelligence.  (2)  Social sensitivity; members are attuned to how others on the team are FEELING.

These findings are from a study in Silicon Valley, where high-tech workers tend to put data over social interaction.  Learn more about Project Aristotle in this NYT article - "Group Study" by Charles Duhigg -2/28/16 'Worklife' magazine edition. http://nyti.ms/20Vn3sz 

One Step Back = Career Roadblock?

Taking a lesser job after downsizing can be hazardous to your career future -- so says a study reported in USA TODAY.  Whether the lower-level job is in your field or not, some employers apparently see it as a blemish, and you may not be called for that interview.  (11/2/15 - "Settling for lesser job may hurt your career." by Paul Davidson).

I caution people from taking lower jobs because it can be hard to fit yourself in a smaller box - you may ask too many questions, or make too many suggestions.  But desperate times call for desperate measures.  Especially for older workers who are unemployed for an extended period -- any job is better than no job. 

When I first graduated from college, and couldn't find a teaching job, an employment agency urged me to put my superior typing skills to work as a secretary.  I'd been there, done that, during a short break from college - and held out.  But we all know there is no magical formula for the zig-zag of finding, and keeping, 'good' jobs.

I worked for an immensely talented women who labored a couple of layers lower while her sons were growing up - and then resumed her rise in the executive ranks.

Good luck to us all!

Stages of Wisdom

David Brooks, in a NYT article, sketched out the stages of becoming wise:

1.  Basic Factual Acquisition - concrete, core knowledge.

2.  Pattern Formation - linking facts in meaningful ways.

3.  Mental Reformation - learning a new way of 'seeing'.

4.  Now, information is knowledge!

5.  Wisdom dawns when years of knowledge are exposed to the rigors of reality.

While he applauds adding 'soft' skills -- such as working in teams, developing self-confidence and demonstrating grit -- to school curriculums, Brooks cautions that we can't leap over the foundation steps.  (Schools for wisdom, reprinted in the Record-Journal - 10/19/15)