Overtime Issue #5: Debunking common work myths
This is Big Think Business Overtime – our top three releases each month worthy of your time. Get advice directly from the people who have been through it.
Worth Watching
The history of work: 3 experts debunk common myths
with James Suzman, Tyler Cowen, and Cal Newport
One of the greatest historical mysteries lies in why our hunter-gatherer ancestors made the sudden transition to agriculture. Hunter-gatherer economies always focused on the here and now, without spending a great deal of effort doing anything which was more than meeting their specific needs for that day.
On the other hand, in our modern societies, everything has shifted to forward-planning with an emphasis on productivity. This dramatic leap altered our priorities as people and communities, and developed what we now know as the modern approach to work and business.?
Experts James Suzman, Tyler Cowen, and Cal Newport unpack common business myths, tracing how we reached our current work cultures from our hunter-gatherer origins.
Worth Reading
Leadership essentials: “Inspire, motivate, and cultivate”
with Benjamin Oakes, CEO of Scribe Therapeutics
Nobody knows for sure who will ultimately fulfill the vast commercial promise of genetic medicine, but a lot of very smart people have high hopes for Scribe Therapeutics. CEO Benjamin Oakes was a researcher in Jennifer Doudna’s CRISPR laboratory long before her 2020 Nobel Prize win, back when precise genetic engineering had barely cracked the chrysalis of science-fiction. If Oakes succeeds at Scribe, all previous eras will finally be cemented into one crude BC: Before CRISPR.
He co-founded Scribe in 2018, following an Entrepreneurial Fellowship at Doudna’s Innovative Genomics Institute, and has had to navigate a warp-speed journey from lab bench to executive suite for which no reliable guide or playbook exists. Unless you count his own instincts and internal compass, which so far appear to be working just fine. He has inked over $4B worth of deals with notable big pharma players (including Sanofi and Lilly), and since then has launched genome and epigenome editing platforms.
Big Think caught up with Oakes for a nuanced dive into the business end of his remarkable career to date, in which he lays out his philosophy of leadership and innovation, contrasts the instant dopamine hits of research with the protracted timescales of industry success, and explains why “move fast and break things” is a total bust in the therapeutic biotech space.
领英推荐
Together with Miso Robotics
The future of fast food is automation
Working a kitchen deep fryer is tough. So tough that fast food operators grapple with 150% turnover. That’s why brands like White Castle use Miso. Their automated kitchen robots have already worked 150,000+ hours in real kitchens. Now they just sold out the first commercial run of their most advanced robot yet in just one week. Become a Miso shareholder while you still can.*
*This is a paid advertisement for Miso Robotics’ Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.misorobotics.com.
Worth Listening
Mentorship, lifelong learning and the multigenerational workplace
A conversation with author and entrepreneur Chip Conley
With up to five generations now sharing the modern workplace, how can leaders bridge the gap and leverage age diversity as a strength?
Enter Chip Conley, founder of MEA (Modern Elder Academy: the world’s first midlife wisdom school) and Airbnb’s former advisor, hospitality strategist and resident “modern elder.” He draws on his experience joining the then-startup as a 52 year-old, navigating a youthful technology company as an experienced hospitality executive.
In this episode, Chip offers actionable insights for any leader aiming to leverage generational diversity as a strength rather than a challenge.