Trickle-up activism, credentials outweigh capabilities, library with a new vocation, overcoming fear
Thank you for your patience as my month of May break lasted way beyond May! I had knee surgery and took advantage of my surgeon’s recommendation to “take it easy” to really take it easy - by stopping work completely, or nearly. I discovered how much good it does to your mind when you disconnect. I have never done that before for such a long period.
Did you know about…
Trickle-up activism
The Guardian, August 2022
Bella Lack is a leading voice in the next generation of environmentalists. I discovered her in this article in The Guardian. I really appreciate her analysis of change as “trickle-up activism” – “where young people introduce their elders to new information and slowly, if arduously, convince them to alter lifelong habits.” She believes activism must be redefined and “integrated into many careers and the work of many people. If you’re a lawyer, focus on the eco side. If you’re a chef, curb the impact of the food you’re using.”
Photograph: Kate Peters/The Observer
“Credentials outweigh capabilities” say the robots
Robots are hiding 27 million workers from employers who need them
Market Watch, from October 2021
Photo: Getty Images in MarketWatch
The findings of the 74-page “Hidden Workers: Untapped Talent” (a click downloads the pdf report) come from a study jointly piloted by Harvard Business School’s Project on Managing the Future of Work and the consulting firm Accenture. Its researchers estimate that there are more than 27 million “hidden workers” in America — ones who are unemployed, underemployed or working part time and who are eager to get hired for full-time jobs. The problem is they’re “hidden” from most employers who’d benefit from hiring them. ….This is because of Automated-hiring technology known as Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that reject countless people from job consideration.
Library with a new vocation
8 little-known things you can check out from Los Angeles libraries (that aren't books)
The LA Times, August 2022, referencing “The Library Book” by Susan Orlean.
They were picking up tax information and getting tutored in English and checking out movies and tracing their family history. They were sitting in the library, just because it was a pleasant place to sit, and sometimes they were doing things that had nothing to do with the library.— Susan Orlean, “The Library Book”
Photo collage by the Los Angeles Times / Getty
In her ode to the fire-ravaged old library in downtown Los Angeles (and to libraries in general), Orlean points out something that’s easy to forget: These beloved literary repositories offer far more than just books. And at the same low price of zero dollars. All you need is a library card. If you don’t have one of those, well, they’re free too.
From Inside Outsider
Inside Outsider is my biweekly newsletter on LinkedIn.
Overcoming fear is a long game
New to me, and inspiring Our fearless flyer in the photo, Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal (1848 - 1896) was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the "flying man". He was the first person to show that flying a craft “heavier than air” was possible. He inspired other pioneers, the Wright brothers among others, to go beyond “heavier than air” and advance aviation to real flying machines. He overcame his fears.
Carl Clifford, hang glider- https://www.flickr.com/
photos/nostri-imago/3346467331
From a manager I interviewed about managing fears:
That inner fear, that inner monologue, can sometimes be very loud. That is a personal challenge.”
What some people fear today…
Becoming irrelevant, skills no longer needed
Becoming financially insecure, unable to pay the bills, buy nice things for our kids
Being adrift in a new world where technology, politics and global forces are dominating our lives
What managers need to do…
Managers need to let go. Trust people. Listen to the edges. This has been said multiple times, but as André Gide reminded us: “Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”
What are your takeaways? What have you experienced that you can share with us?
Please share in the comments below, or directly with me via Twitter @netjmc or my website.
Check out my book, The Gig Mindset Advantage, available in hardback or digital format from major booksellers worldwide.