Secrets of the Future Sellers
Patience in a world of instant gratification, AI and the ethics of exponential technologies, and Daniel Pink on humanity and the art of modern selling
BLUEPRINT // the future of work // ISSUE #14 DECEMBER 2nd, 2016
Co-workers,
To work is human. To kick back after a long week? Divine. Happy Friday!
This week, our ever-feisty rosie yakob digs into Daniel Pink’s new book, To Sell is Human. Like it or not, we spend nearly 40 percent of our time in ‘non-sales selling’ activities (i.e. persuasion not involving a direct purchase). Yakob offers three hot-Pink tips to bring more humanity into your pitch.
Feeling antsy? A 2016 study found that 96% of Americans “knowingly consume hot food or beverages that burn their mouths.” In a world of instant gratification, rosie yakob explains why patience is increasingly rare — and precious — workplace commodity.
Finally, futurist Gerd Leonhard tells Lisa Gill that, in a world of exponential innovation, we need to “put walls around the things we don’t want to become technology, that must remain human,” Leonhard says — before it’s too late.
Looking forward,
Dept. of Future Possibilities
What we’re reading
Silicon Valley’s biggest failing? — Om Malik calls out the Valley’s “distinct lack of empathy.” “As technology finds its way into our daily existence in new and previously unimagined ways,” writes Malik, “we need to learn about those who are threatened by it.”
- Speaking of screw-ups: In World Economic Forum (WEF), a former Air Force officer shares four tips for making good on workplace goof-ups — which he learned the hard way
- Procrastinate much?: Maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all. “The brain deliberately procrastinates, even if we ask it to do otherwise,” reports the WEF — and it’s actually an enormous evolutionary benefit.
Why do we keeping putting narcissists in charge? — We need to get over our collective crush on narcissists and other “archaic prehistorical archetypes,” writes Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic in the Harvard Business Review. “Less narcissistic leaders can be expected to outperform their more narcissistic peers,” he argues.
- Pair with: In Work Futures, futurist Stowe Boyd argues that, despite their charms, charismatic outsiders often fall down on the job.
- Speaking of trolls: In intolerant times, WEF says we should ignore trolls and embrace “constructive conflict” that transcends all “‘isms’ that strip serious issues from their nuances.”
Dept. of New Tools
New software we’re excited about
Workramp — employee training platform with real-time analytics.
Dept. of Who to Follow on Twitter
Future of work thought leaders, irascible know-it-alls, and friends
- John Hollon — founding editor of TLNT.
- Kris Dunn — founder of HR Capitalist and Fistful of Talent.
- John Sumser — principal analyst, HRExaminer.com.
Dept. of Future Graphs
What we’re sharing
Dept. of Goodbyes
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