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Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #527

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another:

Technology Panic – BBC. “Everyone freak out! 2020 is the worst year ever! Well, maybe. But this amazing infographic from the BBC puts our current times in perspective.” (Alistair for Hugh).
Amazing Military Infographics – Paul Ford – Medium. “There are many reasons to mistrust the military-industrial complex. But it looks like their mad PowerPoint skills isn’t one of those reasons. Mitch, I know you’re always looking for clipart.” (Alistair for Mitch).
Work begins in France to recreate process that powers the Sun – France 24. “What’s hot? Nuclear fusion, powers the sun, tiny amounts of fuel, safe, clean, carbon free. What’s not: Nuclear fission, creates lots of radioactive waste we don’t know what to do with, occasionally results in reactor meltdowns. Problem: so far, humans have built systems that takes more electrical energy in than energy you get out. Which defeats the purpose. Maybe this big project will overcome those obstacles?” (Hugh for Alistair).
Climate crisis: Offshore wind power ‘so cheap it could return money to consumers’ – Independent. “UK companies are now building offshore wind turbines with 220 meter rotor diametres, driving electricity prices down, 30% lower than 2 years ago, and 66% lower than 5 years ago.” (Hugh for Mitch).
How Harvard’s Star Computer Science Professor Built A Distance Learning Empire – The New Yorker. “This was brought to my attention by Dorie Clark and is a worthwhile share. We often discuss what the future of education will look like. Now, as we sit in this pandemic, the question and the outcomes have been accelerated as many post-secondary student will not be spending much time on campus (maybe? We shall see?). This is an exemplary example of what can make school (at a distance) exciting, refreshing and different. I mean, if your teacher is giving out t-shirts and stressballs, and turning his program into a massive business, it bears paying attention to. Is the future of education the rock star-ification of professors and courses to keep the momentum and energy high? It just might be…” (Mitch for Alistair).
The pandemic is giving people vivid, unusual dreams. Here’s why. – National Geographic. “My dreams. Oh, my dreams. Here’s my current situation (and it happens nightly): My dreams are my life before the pandemic. I am running around major, bustling, cities, traveling, shopping, in meetings, speaking on stages, and whatever else used to be my life and work. When I wake up, I am now working from home, no speaking gigs, some Zoom meetings, everyone is wearing masks, keeping their distance, apprehensive about going for a socially-distanced coffee and walk. We wait in lines for provisions. In short, my reality is a dystopian dream and my dreams are what my life was. How’s that for strange? Here’s why…” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.