Articles

Originally posted in our June 2021 Top of Mind Newsletter. When we think about well-being in 2021, employment is likely high on the list for most of us. However, the pandemic has exposed various holes in our economic structures. Employers and workers feel short-changed from wage stagnation, health and safety concerns, infrastructure, and lack of talent. Some believe a significant factor to this is an education system (at least in the US) that has not kept…

Originally posted in our May 2021 Top of Mind Newsletter. Keeping the theme set by John Kay’s talk on obliquity, we turn to an article from the BBC about the beginner’s mindset. The work of Tom Vanderbilt is outlined in the article, showing ways that adults can re-commit to learning and the importance of learning many things. Learning from our mistakes, varying our practice, and sharing our new knowledge with others are ways to improve…

As we discussed with the term languishing, when we focus on a particular profession, teaching, we see a fraught and reductive phrase bandied around: burnout. Teacher burnout is a topic which many think pieces, studies, and keynotes have tried to address. ‘Teachers need to learn to relax,’ they might say, with some relaxation techniques included. But how are we ignoring what’s really going on with teachers that “describe themselves as frustrated, exhausted, and disappointed by their…

Whether we discuss psychology, business, entrepreneurship, education, or society in general, resilience has become a hot-button issue. But, what do we mean by it, and how can we develop it in others? In this comprehensive New Yorker article, we see a thorough breakdown of the research and conceptions around resiliency. From the research of Norman Garmezy, we learned that situational factors play a huge role, but there are also dispositional variables to consider in an…

Big companies understand the importance of brands. Today, in the Age of the Individual, you have to be your own brand. Here’s what it takes to be the CEO of Me Inc. Written by Tom Peters, The Brand Called You outlines the idea that all workers (receptionists to CEOs) must be in control of their own careers. Sixteen years after publication in Fast Company, Tom’s article is still the go-to resource on the subject.