This week’s highlights:  Vulnerability, The Banana Trick, and The Fastest Path to the Corner Office.

Fifteen on Friday – 02/09/18 – Issue 272

Happy Friday Everyone,

While completely unplanned, this week’s issue has ended up with a number of articles focused around the theme of work/success/identity.   They explore the relationship we all have with success and failure, corporate advancement and escape.  Even the likely patron saint of work-life balance, Jimmy Buffett, isn’t immune as the thoughtful profile from the NY Times reveals.  I hope you will find them as thought-provoking as I have.

All the best,

David

Food for Thought:

1. WashPo – I finally learned to accept my own vulnerability as a man. It helped.  “Not long ago, I gave a talk about what gives us meaning and satisfaction in life. When I finished, a woman who appeared to be in her mid-70s rose with a question. “I had a good career,” she said. “I was a college professor, and for a number of years, I was the chair of my department. But I’ve also loved my retirement. Most men my age seem lost when they stop working. Why do you think that is?”
2. HBR – If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week? “My research, published in my new book about leadership in professional organizations, shows that our tendency to overwork and burn out is framed by a complex combination of factors involving our profession, our organization, and ourselves. At the heart of it is insecurity. “
3. NYT – Jimmy Buffett Does Not Live the Jimmy Buffett Lifestyle
4. Economist – Crafting a Life  White-collar workers are fleeing their desks to become brewers, bakers and pickle-makers. Ryan Avent reckons the artisanal boom points to the modern economy’s failings, and maybe its future as well
5. Guardian – The awful truth about family WhatsApp groups.  This is coming out of the UK – but I think it holds true for family iMessage groups as well.  “If you have a family WhatsApp group, you can guarantee there’s a fringe group in existence, too. My fringe group is called “Family Moans”. Here is where we comment on annoying things said in the main family WhatsApp group.”

Business/Economics:

1. NYT – For Millennial Investors, a Harsh Lesson in Market Gyrations.  I have long distinguished between early and late Millennials.  Early Millennials (born pre-1990) can distinctly remember the Dotcom crash and were in or near the workforce in 2008.  For late Millennials, this week maybe their first bout with a little volatility.
2. NewYorker – How Delivery Apps May Put Your Favorite Restaurant Out of Business
3. TheAtlantic – The Banana Trick and Other Acts of Self-Checkout Thievery.  “Anyone who pays for more than half of their stuff in self checkout is a total moron.”
4. CIO – Kentucky Lawmakers Propose Casinos to Fix Ailing Pension.  When off balance sheet liabilities move on-balance sheet…
5. Bloomberg – The Death of Clothing.  The apparel industry has a big problem. At a time when the economy is growing, unemployment is low, wages are rebounding and consumers are eager to buy, Americans are spending less and less on clothing.

Culture/Tech/Science:

1. NYT – When You’re a ‘Digital Nomad,’ the World Is Your Office
2. TG  – Want To Become A Multi-Millionaire? Do These 15 Things Immediately.  Unlike most people, who simply wait and wish for luck, you can seek to become the kind of person equipped with the skills and abilities to do brilliant things.
3. BBC – Sprawling Maya network discovered under Guatemala jungle
4. HBR – The Fastest Path to the CEO Job, According to a 10-Year Study
5. WashPo – Winter Olympics TV schedule and highlights