Reflection days and the year of learning

In the middle of the strangest year in history, one of the best things to happen at work was the introduction of ‘Reflection Day’. Every leader is empowered to consider what is best for their team and implement ways to help employees better prioritize their work and step away from work when needed to re-energize. This has resulted in designated days off, no meeting days each week, and other wellbeing initiatives across our company.

I love reading and sharing my opinions via blog posts, articles, podcasts and several other mediums. For me, they represent awareness, learning and growth. Reflection days give me an opportunity to spend focused time catching up on business articles, podcasts, book reviews and in general, good content. 

Here are the three books that had a huge impact and inspired me to think and rethink about my values and goals

No Rules Rules by Erin Meyer and Reed Hastings

The idea is to demonstrate how a company like Netflix has evolved, how executives took decisions, what path they took but more importantly which path they didn’t. You get inspired and utilize these learnings to create contextual solutions in your company, teams and world!

What stood out to me was how Netflix values, respects and grows talent. Creating strong teams is imperative to creating impact driven products, and it seems Netflix has so far achieved both of those goals beautifully.

Favorite Quote 

“A fast and innovative workplace is made up of what we call ‘stunning colleagues’ - highly talented people, of diverse backgrounds and perspectives, who are exceptionally creative, accomplish significant amounts of important work, and collaborate effectively.” - Reed Hastings

No Filter - The inside story of instagram by Sarah Frier

"It used to be that the internet reflected humanity, but now humanity is reflecting the internet" - Aston Kutcher.

I posted a review of this intriguing book two weeks ago. It is even more relevant in light of what happened in the capitol last week. A journey of how business decisions made at social media giants tend to create ripple effects in our society altering it for better or for worse. 

The author achieves a balance with criticism in the appropriate places (example - the cultural shift Instagram brought be it the crazy rush to acquire followers or the picture perfect life we feel yearn to replicate) and praises for connecting the world like never before.

“The more you give up who you are to be liked by other people, it’s a formula for chipping away at your soul. You become a product of what everyone else wants, and not who you’re supposed to be.” - Sarah Frier

On the Clock: What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane by Emily Guendelsberger

This has to be one of my favorite books of the year. A large number of amazing products are shaped by customer problems and the propensity and strong will to not only solve those problems, but also delight customers. On the Clock helped me envision the impact of our products in the service world as we innovate and move beyond the normal and the expected. 

Author goes undercover to witness first hand work-life (or lack of) at three low paying jobs - an Amazon fulfillment center picker , a call-center rep at Convergys and as a multi-tasker at a McDonald’s in downtown San Francisco. This book shows a mirror to not only policy and lawmakers but also business leaders. They have a huge opportunity to utilize their platforms to build processes, products and services which are human centric by keeping the worker at the center of decision making. 

Un-favorite Quote

“Q: Your warehouse workers work 11/5-hour shifts. In order to make rate, a significant number of them need to take over-the-counter painkillers multiple times per shift, which means regular backups at the medical office. Do you:

A. Scale back the rate ---clearly, workers are at their physical limits

B. Make shifts shorter

C. Increase the number or duration of breaks

D. Increase staffing at the nurse's office

E. Install vending machines to dispense painkillers more efficiently

Seriously---what kind of 'person' goes with E?”

In summary, I had some of the best learning moments through the medium of reading. Learning and skills are beautiful. Anyone who spends time learning anything, comes across as more and more moderate because learning balances your opinion. In a world full of loudness and chaos, it gives you an anchor to centralize and refine your thoughts and decisions. 

Here is to more learning in 2021.