The Friday Thing #673

Thanks for all the notes last week – the variety seemed to be satisfying for many of you. 

The Friday Thing #673 is has variety too – I had so many things to share this week that I didn’t really know where to start. So I’ll start with music (again). It’s been a week of uncertainty, exhaustion, anxiety (again) and at times inspiration, perspiration and imagination. I’ve enjoyed playing a lot more vinyl this week than random tunes offered by Spotify – could it be that my mind is subconsciously craving certainty over serendipity? Maybe. But it could also be because of some great new box set vinyl releases of late. Just yesterday, the 20th anniversary edition of U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind showed up on my doorstep. And earlier in the week, the re-issue of a seminal New Order album. It’s a classic and I love the juxtaposition of U2 opening their album with Beautiful Day and the title of New Order album shown below. I’ll just leave that album title out there ??

Two pieces I meant to share last week from LinkedIn – both involving Adam Bryant who I have gotten to know and admire over the last year. The first is an interview Adam conducted with Sandi Peterson that covers a lot of ground. The standout line for me was Sandi’s admission that “I couldn’t just put on my armor and go to work anymore” as she reflected on the loss of her husband to cancer. I admired her bravery in sharing such a personal experience and also her admission that is changed her as a leader. It really made me sit back and think about the armor we all put on – even more so during Covid perhaps – and how hard a decision it is to shed some of that, yet how powerful it can be. It’s one of the most powerful things I have ready lately and has really stuck with me – which was a sure sign that I should share it.

The second piece from Adam is an interview with Ursula Burns, the former CEO of Xerox. I have to credit and thank Rhonda Morris for directing me to this piece. It’s another read that has stuck with me for the last few weeks as I digested the wisdom Ursula shared about race in corporate America – and specifically what should be done to increase the ranks of Black leaders in the C-Suite. The following two sentences and the paragraph that goes before there were profound for me

"We have to rethink society in a more intellectually advanced way. We have to be more inclusive in defining normalcy.” 

It is a remarkable interview with a remarkable person. It’s also full of practical advice and hope. I love the closing line of advice as it holds true for everyone and is something I only realized mid-career – “find something that you’re really good at, perfect yourself in that and work really, really hard.” Amen. 

I was going to add one more thing but these two interviews are powerful enough to not require any more links this week. Instead, I’ll just share an image that has been on my mind for a few weeks.

I used the word imagination back up there in the introduction – which I currently have spelled out on my desk in Scrabble letters (long story). I’ve been concerned of late that my imagination is not being exercised enough – through lack of travel, lack of social interaction, lack of creative input etc. But a photo I saw recently inspired me to think a little differently about imagination so I thought worth sharing and closing with. I love the definition Cristina offers here. 

And thus, this week’s cocktail is called Inspiration and Imagination ??

Until next week…stay safe.

-Steve

ps: this didn't make the email version but as I researched the header photo of Power Corruption and Lies I thought this exchange was worth sharing given the moment we find ourselves in:

The National Heritage Trust first refused Factory Records access to it (the image of A Basket of Roses by Henri Fantin-Latour). Tony Wilson (head of Factory Records) then called up the gallery director to ask who actually owned the painting and was given the answer that the Trust belonged to the people of Britain, at some point. Wilson then replied, "I believe the people want it." The director then replied, "If you put it like that, Mr. Wilson, I'm sure we can make an exception in this case."