RWL Newsletter #80 - in which the ne'er-do-well curator comes out of retirement
Do you know who Brandon Stanton is? No? But I bet you have heard of his project Humans of New York. So a few things happened earlier this week in rapid succession. I was listening to the Tim Ferriss show, which I do occasionally, and he had Stanton on, and I was looking forward to the talk because I've actually heard Stanton interviewed before and I really like his style. But this interview skipped over most of the how did you get there and because Ferriss knew that had been done. Instead what came out was a more philisophic approach from Stanton. What came across were two values that have clearly made him who he was (these are my words, not his, so it doesn't sound like he's an arrogant ass): grit and empathy. I heard that story and I thought, this would have made a great RWL listen. Grit and empathy are basically the two most important things a leader can cultivate in her/himself. Pretty much everything else you can hire teammates to round out.
So then I was listening to the Chase Jarvis show and came across a short interview with Austin Kleon about his book (and creative philosophy) Share Your Work. The more time I spend around senior leaders in the healthcare industry, the more I realize how important this philosophy is. It's not expressed the same way as Kleon talks about, with blogs and whatnot, but instead it's expressed through generous networking, mentorship, and sponsorship. Successful executives that I know are always giving away value.
So as I was listening to Kleon talk, I knew it was time to get back to it. So here it is - RWL #80 - about seven months late.
Oh - and greetings from sunny and humid Durham! The students are gone for a few more weeks, but I've been insanely busy writing papers - I'm actually kind of looking forward to them coming back so I can have an excuse to come out from behind my desk. I usually (re)start things like this when I have too much to do. It's sort of my way of forcing my hand to get more efficient.
It's good to be talking with you again! Here's a kayaking picture, just to make sure we're all back where we are supposed to be:
(my father paddling with me on Great Bay in Durham)
Read
What: HBR, Why Women Volunteer for Tasks That Don't Lead to Promotions
https://hbr.org/2018/07/why-women-volunteer-for-tasks-that-dont-lead-to-promotions
Why: What struck me about this study was how clever it was. It is classic experimental economics and it's fun to think about the participants looking at each other as the clock ran down. Of course, in the real world these are repeat games, so institutions of fairness tend to arise. That's one of the errors of classic experimental economics. The outcomes of many of these economic games are different if they are repeated, and the individual playing them know that tomorrow, we're going to play again. One of the things economists have learned from studying these sorts of games, especially under repeat conditions, is we humans are all very good at extracting our pound of flesh. But given these results in a one shot game, there is something interesting there that managers should be aware of. We are often unaware of our own short term behaviors and prejudices.
Watch
What: Chase Jarvis Live, STANDING OUT: WHY YOU MUST SHOW YOUR WORK + BE DIFFERENT NOT JUST BETTER
http://www.chasejarvis.com/blog/show-your-work/
Why: Like I said above, this is why I'm back. You should read both of his books. He writes for artists, but the books are just packed with useful management ideas, completely by accident. And they are fun to read.
Listen
What: The Tim Ferriss Show, Brandon Stanton – The Story of Humans of New York and 25M+ Fans
https://tim.blog/2018/06/18/brandon-stanton-humans-of-new-york/
Why: Like I said, grit and empathy. It's a long interview, but listen to it. It will do your soul good.
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 @mbonica .
Also, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://tinyletter.com/markbonica
Have a great weekend and do amazing things!
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
"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor." - Henry David Thoreau