A key managerial question, often not asked. — Human potential is a tricky thing, and there are a lot of inputs and biases therein. Sadly I don’t think most white-collar managers actually manage towards the maximization of human potential; I think they manage to make sure tasks are done and subsequently, make sure they (the manager) looks good…

In a word, it’s “hell.” — I think the scientific principle herein is “frequency illusion,” but it may be a little bit off. The real culprit may be Instagram. I’m not entirely sure what the underlying thing is, where something you want seems to be happening for or in possession of everyone else, but it’s not…

Why do we care so much about letter and acronyms? — Diversity initiatives have long had a problem with being focused on acronyms, letters, and semantics as opposed to action: Diversity: Performative | Backlash | Too many letters, not enough action There are several tiers to this concept.tedbauer.medium.com We don’t think enough about the potential backlash that diversity training causes. To wit (same link as above):

“How’s your heart?” — On a Sunday morning a few years ago, when I was surprisingly not hungover, I watched The Two Bills documentary from ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. It’s about the relationship between Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, who have seven Super Bowls between them. It’s a really good documentary, but maybe…

It’s seemingly either we ignore it, we label it wrong, or we fight on a platform. Why not, uh, help others? — This is a bigger topic and I may not get it all right, but I’ll do my best to try. If you’re unfamiliar with the terms “deaths of despair,” which local news anchors sometimes mistakenly refer to as “depths of despair,” it basically refers to a trend in the last…

The beautiful lie that is “hiring to grow” and/or “hiring before revenue.” — Josh Bersin, who once stiff-armed me walking by me at a HR Tech trade show, has a good summary of something I think many of us know, but bury our heads in the sand about: boom/bust layoff cycles. Some good examples in this article, which is sadly ultimately a plug…

Lots of implications for work and personal relationships herein. — I personally consider myself a little bit neurotic, and I’d say most people I know are neurotic about something or the other. It might just be the weird time we generally seem to reside in. The Languishing Era Think about this: in two days, we will start Year III of COVID. Nuts to even consider, right? That’s why it’s probably…tedbauer.medium.com

To these types, it’s a way to make more money — and that’s about it. — Ever wondered how a parent’s experience at work impacts their parenting, i.e. how their children perceive it? If either of your own parents worked, you have a theory and an approach to this. But there’s some new-ish research, which focuses on lower-income families (a whole different kit and kaboodle than…

We have this narrative that only hard-charging assholes can drive true growth for the stakeholders. But is that even true? — Emma Seppala, a professor at Stanford, has a new book out called The Happiness Track. One of the most popular things I’ve written in the past few months, ‘You’ll Never Have A Good Work Culture Unless You Stop Promoting Assholes,’ is rooted in some of her research too. Now she’s…