Take the Black

Squeezing unexpected value from far-flung time zones, delegating holiday stress, and going with your (very full) gut

BLUEPRINT // the future of work // ISSUE #13 NOVEMBER 25th, 2016

Co-workers,

Black Friday already? Don’t worry — it snuck up on us, too. May it bring good deals and glad tidings. With all that’s happening in the world, we could all use extra shots of both.

As the holidays looms, our ever-feisty rosie yakob showcases the tools and technologies she uses to delegate holiday stress, from text expanders to guided meditation.

GMT, EDT, PST? Our itinerant columnist and resident nomad Faris knows firsthand the perpetual hassle of coordinating teams across multiple time zones. But he refuses to be discouraged. “You can look at time zones as an inconvenience, or you can embrace them and discover the magic of the time difference,” he writes.

Finally, the holidays require a lot of split-second decisions. World Economic Forum tells us, go with your gut.

Perfect timing since this is the time of year when our guts tends to expand beyond their normal bounds.

Looking forward,

Dept. of Future Possibilities

What we’re reading

Go with your gut. According a fascinating study of Wall Street traders, our bodies can make brilliant choices without any help from our conscious minds. A large body of research indicates that “subtle physiological changes can aid people in making tough decisions,” reports the World Economic Forum.

• Pair with: The media loves Type A personalities, but the WEF takes time this week to praise the virtues of Type Bs. “The very traits that people assume are the products of laziness or indifference are distinct personality characteristics that help Type Bs to achieve and prosper,” the WEF reports.
• Where there’s a will: Uh oh, we need to try a little harder. The Harvard Business Review tells us that we may have been misunderstanding will power for more than three decades.

The uneasy blurring of work and play. Author Tom Chatfield calls social media “a riotous carnival played out within the most immaculately calibrated of Skinner boxes.” And it may dangerously undermine our ability to tell work from play.

• Dazed and confused: Mental bias is a subtle foe — in politics, in the workplace, inside our own minds. The Verge tries to make sense of why liberals couldn’t fathom Trump’s victory. “Sometimes we double down on wrong beliefs when we’re presented with new evidence,” writes Angela Chen.
• Hello, I love you: Companies once tried to retain CEOs with golden handcuffs. Now, Bloomberg reports, the trend is toward “golden hellos” — multimillion-dollar signing bonuses to incentivize candidates to head the team.

Dept. of New Tools

New software we’re excited about

Nomad Airlines — The ultimate packing tool for digital nomads, including travel, productivity and meditation.

Dept. of Who to Follow on Twitter

Future of work thought leaders, irascible know-it-alls, and friends

• Lori Dernavich — “Growth-stage leadership advisor” and talent management guru.
• William Tincup — president of RecruitingDaily.com.
• Lisa Rowan — Vice President of HR and talent research at IDC.

Dept. of Future Graphs

What we’re sharing

Dept. of Goodbyes

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Blueprint is where the workplace of the future is realized. We cover the changing nature of work and present points of view on how work gets done. Blueprint is powered by Box, the modern content management platform.

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