Ling- English
The rise of pointless work
John Maynard Keynes predicted that, by the end of the century, technology would have become so far advanced that developed economies would have a 15-hour workweek. What we got is pointless work.
Richard Brisebois
Newsletter
December 2019 - "The First Year" in Review
I hope this finds you energized and ready for year-end celebrations with family and friends. I hope you had a good year and that you are looking forward to a new decade (depending on whether yours starts with 0 or with 1). The first newsletter of 2019 went out
Newsletter
November 2019 - On the anatomy of work, managers and self-managing, Amazon, and employee letters to FB
Welcome to a new issue! I’m happy that you are here. This month’s delivery is a selection of the material that crossed my desk/RSS feed over the last month… and a few suggestions from readers (keep ‘em coming!) I’ll see you again down below. In about
Newsletter
October 2019 - On closing the skills gap, one-on-one meetings, changing your mind as a sign of intelligence, and southpaws
Welcome to a new issue! I’m happy that you are here. This month’s delivery of links to research-based articles is the usual hodge-podge of topics. It’s a selection of the material that crossed my desk/RSS feed over the last month. I’ll see you
EME
Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity
The quote in the title is from Simone Weil. When I pay attention I am giving my time. It prompts the question: Who, or what, receives my attention? Therein lies my treasure.
Ling- English
Goethe and Beethoven: not all geniuses are alike
Goethe positioned himself in front of the Empress and as she passed executed a deep bow. Beethoven pushed his top hat firmly on the back of his head, crossed his arms and strode past the Empress, intentionally snubbing her. Goethe was appalled, and their friendship was irretrievably damaged. See Classic
Ling- Français
C'est quoi un pote?
Un souffre-douleur, un faire-valoir; À la vie, à la mort; Quelqu'un avec qui on aime être, davantage que seul. L'extrait qui suit est tiré d'un making of d'un film que j'ai beaucoup aimé. Un truc qui raconte une
Newsletter
August 2019 - On busyness, company culture, working remotely, and strategic decisions
Welcome to a new issue! I’m happy that you are here. This month’s delivery of links to research-based articles is the usual hodge-podge of topics. It’s a selection of the material that crossed my desk/RSS feed over the last month. I’ll see you
Ling- English
A subtler, more intangible, but vital kind of moral consensus: Comity
The basic humanity of the opposition is not forgotten; civility is not abandoned; the sense that a community life must be carried on after the acerbic issues of the moment have been fought over and won is seldom very far out of mind; an awareness that the opposition will someday
Business Basics
Discovered in translation
discovers points of real difficultyarrives at fresh solutions Not only in formal translation but also when living in multiple languages. It sometimes helps to think of a situation in a different language. See also: Discovery is not finding new lands, it’s something else
EME
The best advice
often comes in the form of a relevant, timely, open-ended question.
Newsletter
July 2019 - On job automation, tech workers, burnout, wandering, and diversity training
Welcome to a new issue! I’m happy that you are here. This month’s delivery of links to research-based articles is the usual hodge-podge of topics. It’s a selection of the material that crossed my desk/RSS feed over the last month. I’ll see you