WHAT DO EMAILS, PIZZAS, FOOTBALL & POP COUNTRY MUSIC HAVE IN COMMON…?

This week, I have some key learnings from Nvidia about scrapping long emails, notes on Jeff Bezos ‘two pizza rule’, advice on how companies should ‘shake it up’ like Taylor Swift, and strategies on leadership under pressure via the man-of-the-moment Gareth Southgate…

Here’s something I’m sure many of us would get behind – the end of long emails. That’s precisely what nVidia boss Jensen Huang expects, according to Entrepreneur which highlights an interview Business Insider has done with former nVidia employees. Apparently, emails should be “double-spaced, one sentence per line, and probably no more than five or six lines." One employee explained: "The idea was to nail down what you have to say, send it, and if he, or others, need more information, then it's a conversation, not another email." Interested in adopting a similar approach? Read on here - https://tinyurl.com/mvf874e8

That also reminded me of an article I read some time back about the rule Amazon boss Jeff Bezos has about meetings. Again, something most of us can relate to – keeping meetings small and manageable. And, according to reports, Bezos measures how big meeting should be based on his ‘two pizza rule’ – that is, two pizzas should be enough to feed all participants in a meeting. Whether or not the two pizza rule is true or just an urban business legend, it highlights exactly why long, unwieldy meetings are a bad idea anyway: “When you consider the hourly rate of each employee, holding an hour-long meeting with even a handful of people can incur a significant expense to the organisation. If that meeting is super productive, that's fine - but as we all know, most meetings are not.” There’s more great advice here – https://tinyurl.com/duf3vawt

Meanwhile, to company culture… and Taylor Swift… The super respected McKinsey & Co highlights ‘5 bold moves to quickly transform your organisation’s culture’, saying: “When business leaders think about culture transformation, they could do worse than look to Taylor Swift’s country–pop hit ‘You Belong with Me,’ which offers a cautionary tale about relationships and sticking with the one who appreciates you most.” And, of course, one of the key points of advice is… ‘shake it up’. Tune into more here - https://tinyurl.com/3sm624n7

Finally, with the 2024 Euros now underway – and England amongst the favourites to win the tournament – all eyes are once again on the man who carries the weight of the nation’s expectation on his shoulders over the coming weeks. Gareth Southgate has been applauded for his management style over the past few years, so I thought it worth sharing this piece from Wired – Leading Under Pressure: Authentic Leadership and Why It Matters’. It sees Southgate himself discussing how to manage successful teams, with WIRED Consulting’s MD Catherine Crump, Google Cloud’s Director of Retail Alex Rutter and Kingfisher’s CIO Chris Blatchford providing analysis. One of Southgate’s key principles: “I think one of the best things as a leader is to role model vulnerability. And to talk with your staff if things go wrong.” Tune in for more here - https://tinyurl.com/2evf5xzx

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s selection of articles. And come on England!

Pic generated by AI