December 2020 – Year two in review

The first issue of the newsletter went out in February 2019. So this is the end of year two. I played around with the format a little bit this year (longer write-ups, shorter ones, none at all), but I pretty much kept the content to about ten entries every time.

I thought there might be some value in knowing the most popular entries of the year (or doing what everyone else does). So here they are:

Financial autonomy – I was invited to comment on de-growth, the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement, and the triple bottom-line approach. As I looked back on what I said on all three, there emerged something of a first principle – applicable to all three and to several aspects of one’s life.

The job candidate selection process is a fail. Try this. – There was a story in the FT about a hiring process that boosts diversity and it reminded me of a practice that the owner of a large engineering firm shared with me a few years back.

A friendly reminder seems to have struck a chord. Lots of reactions on social media as well personal messages

On the opposite of confidence – Seth Godin writes about marketing and “the new economy” and Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a unique thinker who brought our attention to Black Swans and the concept of antifragility. I pit them against each other to conclude that there is something stronger than confidence.

In Keep track of what really matters I encourage managers to keep a journal. No, not a “Dear Diary” type! More like a captain’s log of the goings-on aboard your ship;

Interesting leadership profile of Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoseda. “When people first meet [him], they are often surprised that instead of an extrovert, effusive, globe-trotting chief executive of a tech company, they find an amiable and quizzical figure who devotes as much time and energy to listening to others as talking.”

Finding humor amid the challenges of working from home in which I revisit Robert Kelly’s live experience on the BBC that became viral;

The real future of work. It’s not what you think.

And then there was Rita:


Thanks for reading! And thank you for your comments and suggestions as well as the conversations that have ensued. As long as the newsletter serves its original purpose and leads to enlightening conversations, I will continue to publish it… in 2021 and beyond!

As always, please share your thoughts and send me suggestions for material by hitting Reply.

My best wishes for a happy and healthy new year!

Richard

p.s. And until the vaccine is deployed, please be like the girl with a pearl earring…