The Purpose: Of The Economy, And Of Leaders

"The purpose of an economy is not to make bosses happy."

That's a Paul Krugman quote from this article:

I talked about something similar on CNBC a few weeks ago:

We have some organizational cultures where the focus is about keeping the bosses and executives happy and comfortable -- and not about true quality of work or long-term goals. Some jobs should be in-person. Some jobs really don't need to be. Many jobs are a mix. You figure out what is best for you as an organization. It varies by geography, by industry, by vertical, by pre-existing culture, and by a number of other factors. But there's no one-size-fits-all, and some companies have been falling into that trying to placate the power core. That's part of why you are seeing the rise of anti-work narratives and general backlash of late. There's a sense that decisions are being made for the privileged, by the privileged. Work needs to be a hierarchy so that there are clear lines of command, but a hierarchy doesn't have to involve placation of needs top-down.

Good Pull Quote No. 1

The new job of the leader isn’t telling people what to do or how to do it. Instead, leadership is instilling a culture in which people can find meaning in their jobs and therefore re-engage with their work — a culture based on helping people learn enduring skills, founded on a model of open and fluid cooperation and dispensing with the damaging fictions of slow-and-tight business, like illusory long-term employment.

That is from a newsletter by Stowe Boyd :

Good Pull Quote No. 2

In mapping what people believe about who should do what, conflicting assumptions emerge that have not been said out loud before. Once said, tension grows as the group struggles to disentangle the conflicts. Baked into this process are many awkward moments. There is a reason why people obstruct progress. Chances are they are unaware of their resistance, much less the reasons for it. That’s where leaders earn their pay.

That is from an article called "The Tricky Business of Leading Teams" by Julie Benezet :

Related to that: Why doesn't bad management evolve out?

This is with some help from Freek Vermeulen of 英国伦敦商学院 :

Essentially, most of us know what we don't like in managers -- micromanagement, lack of flexibility, lack of transparency, poor communication, etc. But then people who hated all that stuff become managers, and in many cases, the problems persist. If you believe in evolution, wouldn't bad management eventually need to evolve out? Unfortunately, it's not that simple.

If you need an "easy fix" on the #culture side of things, really it does come down to flexibility. In modernity, that's what most people are seeking -- via kids, aging parents, other needs/demands, wanting to be involved in their neighborhoods and communities, etc. They want the ability to work when they're most productive and prioritize other elements of their life. That's the fastest path to culture success, in all honesty.

Graduation Season

This was an interesting piece:

Here's their takeaway:

But what strikes us, based on this and other research, is that?for many young people, passions seem to be based in large part on internalized societal expectations about what is appropriate for their gender rather than complete and accurate information about what, say, studying computer science is really like.

I got asked by a media outlet in San Diego this week for some graduation season advice, and I said something similar: the advice is usually "follow your passions," but I would tell people "follow and find compassion." Look for compassion and empathy in friends, mentors, colleagues, romantic partners, etc. You end up a lot happier near 40 if you do that than if you just chase your passions.

Do executives focus on "culture" in a recession?

I wrote that earlier this week. The short answer is: not all do or will, but all should. Culture is the glue that gets companies through a few tough economic quarters. We don't know for sure if we will hit a recession this year or next, although there are obviously some troubling signs. I'd encourage you not to cut down on "non-essential" spending and instead focus on what areas of your company most need refining as economic chaos settles itself.

New CMO at Culture Partners

We brought on Erez Yereslove at CULTURE PARTNERS this week:

He's going to be great. Look for some changes from us on the overall #marketing side in the next few weeks. It was interesting to see him in his first few days because he did blend into the culture very well -- looking into priorities, seeing where the most immediate impact could be found, talking to our sales partners, etc. I don't believe in "hit the ground running" as a narrative (when you do that in real life, you end up with a mouth full of shattered teeth), but it was still heartening to see.

AI's Good, Bad, and Ugly

We don't know the full scope of AI at work yet. We know a lot of different theories and speculation. Right now, I'd tell people that historically, most technological revolutions ultimately create more jobs, and usually the gap between a big tech swing and true work impact is 5-10 years, if not longer than that. You are OK for right now, but you should definitely be thinking about a decade out and how your skills would hold up if programs can generate a lot of what you do, and faster.

"Mom Guilt"

Good hit from Paula Faris of CARRY Media? on NewsNation this week about mom guilt and the increasing need for flexibility:

We sometimes frame this as a mom issue, but it's a bigger issue than just moms. Women need support, but men also need flexibility and support and the ability to attend kid events, re-bond with their parents, meet friends, work out, etc. Flexibility is the essence of what most are looking for from work right now, and the companies who provide it the quickest and the most seamlessly will win the talent war long-term.

As for the mom/women side of the flexibility coin, here is some original research we did on empowering women at work:

Heartwarming Clip Of The Week

Think more like that father as a leader: How can we help others and inspire more people in the process?

Any lessons from the Bed, Bath, and Beyond bankruptcy?

Here's a good article from 美国麻省理工学院 - 斯隆管理学院 :

The essence of their argument is that Bed Bath & Beyond focused too much on righting the financials, and not enough on customer value and culture. Yep. That's accurate. When things are going bad, we often double down on the numbers. Logical. But what we often need to fix is internal (culture) and external (what customers see as our value).

What else would you like to see us cover next week?

Let us know in the comments.