A late October batch of links
Since the most recent batch of links went out, paying subscribers have received an essay about how I’m not for everyone, a reflection on how I’d estimated wrong, then everyone got a memoriam for someone who’d passed unexpectedly, then paying subscribers enjoyed a meditation on when to turn down a promotion, and most recently a recommendation about how to approach money matters. This coming weekend, they will receive my take on offsites.
Below, you’ll find a batch of links that represent the themes of this newsletter, which are career development, community building, and self care.
Nike’s CEO climbed from intern to the corner office. Here are 11 Fortune 500 CEOs who did the same—and how long it took. Good approach. People want to believe that they can rise in the ranks with enough hard work. I’d also add, though, that a vast majority of people in today’s workforce have zero interest in becoming the head honcho, so it’s really about taking what’s proven to work and applying it to their own spheres and personal ambition.
If you’re going to multitask, do it mindfully.
A Midwestern Supply Firm Beats Apple, Google on Career Growth. Sometimes, it feels as thought we’re having two or more completely different sets of conversations in coastal big cities and across the rest of America. What does work mean to each individual? Most people would prefer to have a regular job than one that comes with all kinds of unwanted pressures.
Why Married Women Leave Their Wedding Rings at Home. It’s Not What You Think.
Meet the ‘super users’ who tap AI to get ahead at work.
She’s even made a BeccaGPT bot, which she trained with a year’s worth of her writing and podcasts, to help brainstorm and edit content for social media using her voice. BeccaGPT inspired her to create bots for company executives so her team can ghost write for them.
Current policies ‘failing’: How HR leaders can fight workplace ageism.
The end of American careerism.
Rather than toe the company line, Zack quit. He found a job that didn't require him to be a manager, and took a $20,000 pay cut. Today he far prefers being an individual contributor who's free to focus on his own work — another reason he declined the promotion he was offered last year.
Bosses Are Calling Workers Back to the Office. That’s Good News for Landlords. “Companies that offer space with gyms, outdoor decks and fine-dining restaurants in their properties say these amenities are luring workers back to their desks.” I doubt this to be true. What people want is to see value in coming in. Those aspects distract from the goal, which is to get home sooner with more to show for that time in between.
If You Think Carbs And Sugar Are All 'Bad,' Nutrition Experts Beg To Differ.
Big Tech workers got too used to perks. The pampering is over. There’s been so much discourse these past few years about needing to treat employees like adults, and I agree that we should be able to do that, but there’s also lots of evidence pointing to the fact that many adults who are hired are not behaving as adults, and HR shouldn’t be responsible to supervise and to chastise. So it’s probably best to give people very little to exploit and to compete on good management instead of whatever newfangled perks you can conjure up or cobble together.
Blue-Collar Job Envy: Myth vs. Reality. This is an area of the workforce I don’t read about and hear about enough, and I was glad to get some of those blue-collar voices into my feed. There’s no one way of doing things, no one perspective on how it all should work.
Age matters when it comes to boards.
Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula.
I’ve also taken this news as a reason to coax myself into carrying a reusable coffee mug more often, if only to avoid the black plastic lids on disposable cups—heat plus plastic equals chemical migration, after all. It’s a minefield of random hazards out there, as Turner said. Most of the time we’re trying to navigate without a map. But in at least some areas, we can trace a safer path for ourselves.