RWL Newsletter #59
Greetings from the University of New Hampshire where fall semester is officially under way! That's my home away from home (pic above), Hewitt Hall. UNH has such a beautiful, classic New England campus. It's nice to have the bustle of students running around again, though parking for my scooter has suddenly become more competitive. Competitive like gladatorial combat competitive. But still, it's nice to have the students back. They are why I am here and why I do what I do.
I've got a diverse set of links this week because there's a lot going on and they represent a few of the different tracks of thought I've had this week.
Read
What: Brain Pickings, How to Master on the Art of Getting Noticed: Austin Kleon’s Advice to Aspiring Artists
https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/03/12/austin-kleon-show-your-work/
Why: I've mentioned Austin Kleon before, for his book, Steal Like an Artist which is just an amazing little book of management and career advice. This Brain Pickings summary is in reference to his latest book, Show Your Work, which I am also a big fan of. In fact, I gave copies of the book as a sort of thank you to the students who dared to stick with me through my experimental organizational behavior course last spring. The concept behind Show Your Work is that there are a ton of reasons to maintain a public presence if you work as a creative/knowledge worker - which is pretty much anybody who reads this newsletter, and a huge swath of the American work force. Are you an expert on something? Put it out there - give it away - at least a little - and people will discover you. It's also a great way to get feedback.
I thought of sharing this article because this semester I am, once again, having my students in my management class start their own blogs. My fall management class is a survey of the functions of a healthcare organization, not organizational behavior, so they'll be writing on slightly different things, but they will have full autonomy to blog about whatever interests them, so long as it is related to the management of a healthcare organization - which you all know is a pretty broad area. I asked Shayna and Colleen, two students from last spring who I've mentioned before to come talk to this fall's class about their experiences with public scholarship, and Shayna said something like, "You know, Professor Bonica is really into this Show Your Work thing" so that's why I'm sharing it with you. I am into this whole, Show Your Work thing. I love having the chance to talk shop. I was thinking about my leadership philosophy, a question I always try to ask my podcast guests about, and I think if I had to say it in one sentence it would be, "Let's make something amazing together." So yeah, I am into this share your work thing. How else are you going to make something amazing together?
Watch
What: Conversations with Bill Kristol, Justice Clarence Thomas: Personal reflections on the Court, his jurisprudence, and his education.
https://youtu.be/Q3rZknW5gAk
Why: I recently discovered this show. It's also available as a podcast from iTunes, so you don't actually have to watch this - you can get the audio - which is what I normally do. Kristol's show is excellent. The interviews run 80-90 minutes, and he doesn't rush from topic to topic. And he has amazing guests like Clarence Thomas. I have to admit, I didn't know that much about Justice Thomas until I listened to this interview. I really enjoyed it. I love that he's an RV'er, and that he loves to sit with people he meets on the road and ask them about their lives, and he doesn't tell them who he really is. "I'm Clarence, I live in Virginia, and I do some law." Now if that isn't the understatement of the century.
I'm sharing Thomas's interview in part in light of the Charlottesville mess, as well as the other recent protests and counter-protests.
Thomas has a remarkable story of growing up black and poor in America. It's really worth listening to.
Listen
What: Econtalk, Munger on Price Gouging
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2007/01/munger_on_price_1.html
Why: This is one of my favorite podcasts of all time. I'm pretty sure I've already shared it, but I'm sharing it again in light of what is going on in Houston with Hurricane Harvey. I saw a friend post a meme on Facebook that said, "Let's let the free market take care of this." showing a flooded out city block. I don't get into Facebook flamewars (not anymore, at least...). Of course government has a role in recovering from disaster, but let's not underestimate the importance of free markets.
This podcast is with Dr. Mike Munger, the chair of the Duke Department of Political Science, and he tells the story of how free markets helped bring ice within 24 hours to the city of Raleigh after a major hurricane. It's a great story with a ton of great lessons about how markets actually work.
That's it for this week! Be safe with this holiday weekend coming up and do amazing things.
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line by e-mail, or you can tweet to me at @bonicatalent .
Also, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://tinyletter.com/markbonica
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast: http://healthleaderforge.org
Twitter: @bonicatalent
"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor." - Henry David Thoreau