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:
- Bidenomics, explained – Noah Smith – Noahpinion. “Noah Smith has an uncanny knack for unpacking complicated issues. While I’ve avoided breathless punditry for the last few years, I’ve found two amazing posts this week that compare the state of American and Chinese society. In this one, Smith speculates that the current presidency will lead to a two-track economy: Export powerhouses and domestic employers. It remains to be seen whether this shift from the Reaganomics philosophy of past administrations can survive cut-throat partisanship, and the efforts of adversaries to sow chaos in democracies.” (Alistair for Hugh).
- 2020 Letter – Dan Wang. “Dan Wang‘s job is to understand China’s technology industry, and how fast the country is changing. He avoids the usual oversimplifications and hot takes; if you want to understand where China’s headed in terms of tech, economics, and public policy, he writes one long letter a year on the state of things. Read this and Noah Smith’s piece (above), and you’ll have a decent perspective on how two rival superpowers are tackling digital expansion and infrastructure spending.” (Alistair for Mitch).
- Is the Standard Model of Physics Now Broken? – Scientific American. “The latest possibly huge discovery in particle physics.” (Hugh for Alistair).
- The Coal Plant Next Door – ProPublica. “Coal is dirty stuff.” (Hugh for Mitch).
- Herman Miller’s new office line is the anti-cubicle – Fast Company. “I have several (and self-admittedly, they are weird) interests. Comic book collecting (weird). Passion for music created on the electric bass (weird). Collecting Funko Pops of bass players (weirder). There are others. Fine, I will give you one more: offices. I like office supplies. I like office design. I even like office furniture. Now, for some context: I have an office that is about a ten minute walk from my house. It’s just my business partner and me. We haven’t been since the pandemic started (so, that’s over a year now). We pay attention to great work spaces. We want our space to look (and, more importantly, feel) great. If we’re going to be spending so much of our time at work, shouldn’t it feel great? Now, we need to think about spaces that look and feel great, while also being post-pandemic friendly (and realistic). So, take a look at this. How does it make you feel? For me? This is cold, scary and not too welcoming (it also feels like I have to rush to get work done and get out here). But, maybe, that’s what our work space will have to be for safety? So is the future of the office a space where we come together simply to make sure that we don’t get too close?” (Mitch for Alistair).
- Hemingway – A Film By Ken Burns and Lynne Novice – PBS. “The impact of one voice when it is put into words can change the world (or help us to see the world in another light). It’s hard for most of us to understand just how much the written word and books changed when Ernest Hemingway started publishing. His accomplishment and his life are this weird mixture of brilliance, challenges, and a look at when times were so very different. This is a new docu-series by PBS, and if you like writing, books, publishing, and the life of an artist, this is a series that you do not want to miss. I have become deeply enraptured by this series. I think that you will as well.” (Mitch for Hugh).
Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.
Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends ;):
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.