Do goldfish have greater memories and attention spans more than humans? Hint: Goldfish, human attention spans and Netflix are connected. I remembered a quote that a teacher of mine shared when I was entering college. I shared it on LinkedIn and it unleashed a fish market! This week you will learn about Zoom etiquette with me.
Abhijits Sketchnotes No 7 talks about death and life. Brooks Brothers - the 202-year-old maker of business suits, and one of the last with U.S. factories, went bankrupt. Most organizations in S&P 500, barely get past their teens. But humans are living longer. That has many implications. The professional poker players were among the first to notice the spread of corona virus. How did they do it? Besides life lessons from Poker players, we explore how to get insights and stay curious. This newsletter has the drawing of an elephant. Can you guess the reason why? And our lead story is about thinking of your mind as an Operating System. So let’s go…
Welcome to Abhijit's Sketchnotes No 6. My work week ended with a bang. It is good news I have to share. So hold on. In this issue, I ask if Covid-19 could be fuelling innovation and some ideas you can try. There is a new #trend in videos that has grown 600% since the lockdown - something you must know about. There is disruption that leverages the human factor - not tech. And may I ask you a sensitive question? “How are you doing with your new year resolutions?” If you struggle to build new habits, the answer may be in building Tiny Habits. You may know about habits - but what are tiny habits? That is our lead story.
Abhijit's Sketchnotes No 5 explores why FDA is recommending a videogame as a cure. What could be driving this decision. There is a a great sketch about the fear of making mistakes. Yes, there is a term for it. You can know that here and a big question - is it a curse to be a genius? Or worse still the parent of a genius? Read this compelling story
This is a situation that nobody in the world has experienced before and, therefore, this is a time to make bold bets. It’s a time to start questioning the basic assumptions and begin to design a different workplace that values everything that the previous workplace norms did not allow for. Mental health has always been something that organisations have left people to worry about on their own. Perhaps this is a time to step up to the plate, prioritise employees’ holistic well-being, and question the inclusivity of the whole process. These are things which endear people to you. You build deeper connections, and that’s one of the big ways in which you build emotional resilience.
Imagine that a business you built over ten years is going to go public in 2020. Then comes a pandemic that makes people wary of health and safety. That was Airbnb. They had to lay off 25% of the people. The way it was done is a model for many others to follow. They tried their level best to help people find other career options by engaging an outsourcing firm. Finding another job seems really hard for most people. You must read the shocking statistics for layoffs in India here
Tesla creates a “digital twin” of every car they sell. Data from the real car is sent to the digital twin in the Tesla office. It lets Tesla update the software in a car remotely even as it is being driven. Singapore city has a digital twin to help plan its services. Should humans have digital twins? Celebs are creating their own digital twins. Should you? But first, do you really want passionate people when you hire? And if you are a passionate person, can you monetise your uniqueness?
Burnout is often a result of wanting to be perfect and hence taking many more hours to complete projects. People who are pessimistic are also more prone to be pulled out at work. Burnout is a real challenge in these times. What should do to avoid burnout?
