If you can find a new approach into a big but apparently played out field, the value of whatever you discover will be multiplied by its enormous surface area. – Paul Graham
This insightful quote is taken from Paul Graham’s December 2019 essay titled “Fashionable Problems.” In the piece, the legendary programmer, writer, and investor discussed the idea that even though many people have worked hard in a field, most get sucked into working on similar things (fashionable problems). Graham suggests that to find ‘unfashionable problems,’ we should look no further than the areas where everyone else believes there is little left to discover. This theory means even the most saturated and exhausted of industries could be home to undiscovered treasures waiting to be dug up.
The concept is equally useful outside the business world; it applies to the arts, sciences, even athletics. No matter what the field, there is always room for innovation. But to find these treasures, it takes passion, commitment, and courage to and press on where others gave up. It won’t be easy, but the ROI could be extraordinary.
We came across some amazing photographs by Jane Lurie of architecture around the world, and below are some of our favorites. Check out her Mind Travel: Architecture gallery here, or by clicking on any of the images below.
As the world slowly begins to re-emerge from wide-spread lockdowns, the economic ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to remain for some time. The impact will differ from across countries, workforce segments, and industries. Some will experience drastic and lasting changes, while others may come out relatively unscathed. So what does this mean for freelancers who already make up an ever-growing segment of the global workforce?
In a recent article, HR thought-leader Jon Younger reported the perspectives of 21 CEOs and thought-leaders on the subject, and most to believe the demand for freelancers will continue to grow. The list of those surveyed includes Guillaume Lissorgues (CEO of Apy), Ben Huffman (Co-founder of Contra), Rob Biederman (Co-CEO of Catalant), and more. To read the insights of each of the 21 experts, we encourage you to read Younger’s full article here.
As Gen Z continuous to make a growing impact, the workplace is evolving accordingly. As change continues to accelerate, navigating the future of the workplace requires planning and preparation from managers. But where should they start?
While there are many areas that managers may need to adjust, there is a great blog post from Lane, a Toronto-based prop-tech company, that can be used as a launch point.
The post outlines strategies for navigating the future of work in four areas, including:
Implementing Review-Based Rankings
Face-to-Face Communications
Video Implementation
Work-Life Balance
If you’re interested in learning more about these strategies, we reccomend reading the full post on the Lane website.
Each is quite insightful, but one that particularly stands out is #4, experiment. Trying new things, routines, and approaches can help discover better and more efficient ways of doing things that can help ease the sense of being overwhelmed. It can also be said that experimentation can add some excitement and perspective to a situation, which can lead to a much-needed momentum change for the better.
If you are interested in learning more about these principles to see how you can apply them to your life, check out Zucker’s full piece on Forbes or picking up a copy of Wedell-Wedellsborg’s book.
When it comes to recruiting and retaining employees, it can feel like an uphill battle for entrepreneurs with small, growing companies. They will likely have less capital at their disposal than their larger competitors, so attempts at salary bidding wars might not be a viable option.
But instead of playing to their weakness, the entrepreneur can leverage the advantages they have over many larger enterprises: flexibility, growth, innovation, and purpose.
Flexibility
Smaller companies have the luxury of being more malleable and adaptable to the unique situation of each employee. Flexibility is a critical advantage in recruiting and retaining employees looking for flexible working hours/locations, a significant component of wellness that many employers still (shockingly) overlook. Large corporations with rigid, bureaucratic corporate cultures have an especially difficult time competing with this.
Growth
For those not interested in climbing the corporate ladder in exchange for a few decades of their lives, smaller businesses are an ideal place to learn and grow at their own pace. Due to the flat organizational structure and entrepreneurial culture, small businesses can provide employees with plenty of career advancement as the business itself grows. This tends to be just as critical in retaining employees as recruiting them.
Allowing employees to be exposed to new skills and responsibilities offers tremendous growth opportunities for both the individual and the business. A chance to work in this environment will be a breath of fresh air for people coming from an archaic, arbitrary, and political employee advancement process that has crippled the spirit of so many in the corporate world.By focusing on helping the employee advance in their career, instead of just the company, small businesses are better equiped to attract and retain prime talent across the board.
Innovation
Advancements in technology has made it possible to automate and even eliminate many tedious and boring tasks, and often for a fraction of the cost. Many corporations have embraced this technology for good. Still, others use it as an excuse to cut salary costs at the expense of their employees. Perhaps this makes the firm cost-efficient, but is it a truly efficient use of resources?
By substituting humans for technology, these businesses are draining their sources of innovation. A conscious entrepreneur will instead use this technology to enhance the employee output, rather than replace it. There is an abundance of cost-effective tools out there that can reduce the menial tasks so that employees have more time for creative and strategic work. Not only is this beneficial for employee wellness, but it also helps maximize returns on both human and tech resources.
Purpose
This one is self-explanatory. Humans ultimately want purpose and meaning in life. Most large corporations still do a mediocre job of connecting their employees to their mission. Others simply have a shallow mission to begin with. Organizations whose top priority is to generate profits fail to inspire their people, and these businesses are bound to have unsatisfied people searching for an escape route. Entrepreneurs by design are chasing a specific and meaningful purpose, and this becomes an incredible strategic advantage when it comes to recruiting and retaining personnel. Finding someone who buys into the same vision and mission will go a long way in persuading them to join your team, even if your financial offer isn’t as strong.
There is no shortage of companies who are lacking in each of the above areas, and chances are they have great people who feel overworked, undervalued, or otherwise unwell. This is where small business can leverage their strengths to help these people achieve flexibility, growth, innovation, and purpose in their work.
For anyone who loves mathematics (or those of us who are not mathematicians but would like to play one in a movie), say hello to the coolest piece of math-related content you will ever read/interact. In fact, this is probably the coolest piece of content we have come across in recent memory, regardless of topic.
This masterpiece is called The Map of Mathematics, a project by Quanta Magazine (text by Kevin Hartnett, design and visualizations by Kim Albrecht and Jonas Parnow). It is a visual and interactive map that connects numbers, shapes, change, and passages by starting from simple starting points and branching out from there.
What is the state of mathematics today, as mathematicians practice it? Quanta's new online interactive experience, The Map of Mathematics, gives the flavor of the major questions and controversies that animate the field.. #mathmaphttps://t.co/5wAzA6iy0Wpic.twitter.com/IgxE8kjyik
Note: this lockdown has really spurred some ‘out there’ thinking, for better or worse.
So yes, aliens.
Last night’s episode of Joe Rogan featured Tim Pool, and part of the conversation was around aliens. Some intriguing ideas were being discussed that conjure up a mix of laughter, doubt, and bewilderment. Whether you believe in aliens or not, there is no hard, undisputed evidence to prove either way. The fact is, we may never actually know the answer. Given this, is there even a point to thinking about aliens?
Well, maybe.
While our brains may not be able to completely grasp the concept of extraterrestrial life, thinking about such complex topics might still be a good exercise. Even if we disregard the question of other life outside earth, there are still other planets, stars, galaxies, etc. to consider. Taking time to sit and think about this can be a humbling exercise in perspective.
There is a whole lot more going on out there than just us. Reflecting on such unfathomable topics like aliens and space can really make one feel foolish when thinking about all the petty and insignificant things we dwell on every day. Also, thinking about problems with so many unknown variables can be an excellent exercise in critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity.
“I’m sure the universe is full of intelligent life. It’s just been too intelligent to come here.”
Arthur C. Clarke
So if you ever need a fresh dose of perspective, or just need to jump-start your mind, go ahead and think about aliens. No judgement.
At the very least, it will help pass the time during a global lockdown.
The future is unpredictable. We cannot predict any future event with 100% certainty, although we can use past experiences and future expectations to infer potential outcomes. Even this has some risk involved since we cannot estimate all possible results in a world full of unexpected and random events. Most of us disregard the inherent uncertainty involved in the decisions we make and instead choose to believe that uncertain events are predictable. We see this in financial markets all the time when amateur investors think they can accurately predict future stock prices. Any unbiased and rational person would agree that this is a prime example of an uncertain outcome, yet many of us foolishly believe we can predict it with certainty.
The essence of investment management is the management of risks, not the management of returns.
Benjamin Graham
If something is unpredictable, does this mean we should avoid it? Not at all. We should instead be welcoming it with open arms. Once we accept that we cannot predict the future, we can make better decisions in business, investing, and anything else – which is where risk management comes in. The entire premise of risk management revolves around knowing that most outcomes are out of our control, but by strategically managing our risk exposures, we can favourably affect the probability of beneficial outcomes occurring for us.
Risk management goes beyond business and investing. It’s fundamental to the decision-making process of all humans. Contrary to popular belief, risk management is not risk aversion. It’s about strategically managing your portfolio of risk exposures and deciding when, how, and how much to spend. Just like with money, reckless spending of risk could result in unmanageable debt burdens, overwhelming failures, and other undesirable consequences. That said, merely hoarding risk units without spending or investing them in potential return-generating opportunities will severely limit the ability of an individual or a business to grow, and ultimately maximize the returns on their risk. Risk management isn’t static, however. It continually changes based on circumstances. Like their investment portfolios, the optimal risk portfolio for a student will drastically differ from that of a retired senior based on their different stages of life.
If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.
Jim Rohn
But before we can manage risk, we must understand it. Risk is one of the most valuable assets any person, business, or other entity can possess. You can buy anything with risk if you have enough to spend. The more you are willing to pay, the more potential returns you can buy. Unlike many other tangible assets, its value almost always holds. It’s rare to see a high risk-low reward or low risk—high reward opportunity. When they do pop up, they quickly disappear. The former would become obsolete from lack of demand, and the latter would be capitalized on by arbitrageurs before immediately disappearing. For the most part, there is no free lunch when it comes to risk.
Strategic and intelligent thinking about risk can make a big difference in the decision-making process for businesses and individuals alike. Risk management involves actively controlling risk to achieve our goals. Once we have a clear understanding of our risk portfolio, then we can decide how to maximize the returns on a risk-adjusted basis. But it all starts with abandoning the fallacy of predictions and embracing the power of risk management.
If you don’t invest in risk management, it doesn’t matter what business you’re in; it’s a risky business.
