7,000 feet closer to the sun
Consider this statement: “It’s amazing how needs change when you’re 7,000 feet closer to the sun.” Sounds like a great metaphor for something, am I right? I do often find myself referring to how different things are in corporate life the “closer you get to the sun.” The “sun,” in this case, can mean “headquarters,” or “senior leadership.” Let’s be real, things feel different when at any moment you might find yourself in an elevator with your VP or if the program you just launched is visible to the head of communications as she grabs coffee. How close your orbit is to the people you need to influence are the kinds of things you have to think about in corporate America if you want to advance your work and career. The challenge of being “far from the sun” is as relevant to anyone trying to navigate the challenges of distributed, hybrid or remote work as it is to Neptune
“Severance” & the Post-Human Workplace
The phenomenon that is Ben Stiller and Dan Erickson’s thriller series “Severance” took a while to land in my consciousness, much to my chagrin. When I learned that the entire story rests on the premise that a new technology — invented by the fictional Lumon corporation — can sever a person’s “work” persona from their “life” persona, I couldn’t believe I missed a sci-fi story that so perfectly encapsulates my own life’s work.
In a changing workplace, it’s essential to design “wide” and “deep” employee experiences
The future of work isn’t just about where we work — online, in-person, or a combination of both. It’s about how we help people feel connected and engaged at work no matter how the sands may shift beneath their feet. How you design your workplace experiences can make the difference between an engaged and inspired workforce, and one that feels disconnected and despondent.
Are “casual collisions” at work really that valuable?
This is one of those weeks with a seeming over-abundance of networking opportunities and obligations. On Thursday, I will be attending Adobe’s annual “Adobe For All” summit focused on D&I in our workplace. Since people are flying in from all over the world for this event, several other team meetings and summits have popped up around it. While I’m generally outgoing and confident, I’m also fundamentally an introvert, which means heavy doses of social interaction sap me of energy. So this is all a pretty big lift. Is it worth it?
Turns out the answer is yes. I’ve written before about a term we use in Silicon Valley: “casual collisions.”
