Strands of Genius [BFTP]: Building Human-Centered Organizations, The Future of our Homes, Maps Showing LGBTQ+ Inequality

BLAST FROM THE PAST [June 2021]

May 28, 2024

WORKING ON | enjoying the garden and the birdies

LOOKING AHEAD
May 20 - June 16 | Chattanooga, TN
June 16-17 | Atlanta, GA

:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::

We’re taking some time away from our computers, but we didn’t want you to miss us too much! This is a blast from the past, featuring content from June 2021.

:: THE LINKS ::

THE TWO PRINCIPLES & THREE PRACTICES OF BUILDING HUMAN-CENTERED ORGANIZATIONS

There are so many gems in this post from Grahame Broadbelt. He writes that, “Too many organisations have dehumanised themselves, either deliberately in the name of efficiency, profit or exploitation, or unconsciously, as purpose and meaning become crushed beneath to-do lists, deadlines and targets.” It was the pandemic that reminded us just how important human relationships are in our lives, and now we need to remember that we created organizations to serve us, not so we could be servants to them. He offers up a number of ways that both organizations and individuals can begin to transform our places of work into human-flourishing organizations. One way to start? See the person, not the job. This Danish TV company created a beautiful video that brings to life this practice. (Impact International)

6 MAPS THAT SHOW JUST HOW FAR WE HAVE TO GO FOR LGBTQ+ EQUALITY

The first Pride march was held in NYC in 1970, and while we’ve come quite a long way since then, we still have hurdles to overcome. For example, in 27 states within the USA, it’s not illegal to discriminate against queer people in areas like housing. In some states, public school policies prevent teachers and school staff from talking about LGBTQ+ people and issues. As we know from recent news, some states don’t allow transgender youth to participate in school sports. More than 10 states allow adoption agencies to refuse to place children into households with same-sex couples. Here are 6 maps that show how far we have to go in the USA when it comes to LGBTQ+ equality. (Mashable)

WHAT THE FUTURE OF THE AMERICAN HOUSE LOOKS LIKE

After so many of us transitioned to working from home, how could the pandemic not impact how we view our homes, and what we might want from them?! These trends, from more than 170 architects and designers, show that while folks may be craving the cocktail bar… they’re also turning their homes back into social gathering spots themselves. Think: dining rooms that open into lawns, pocket doors that can disappear to turn small spaces into larger ones, dining rooms that can be used for dinner parties or WFH seating, and dark rooms where we can feel elegant without leaving the house. (Veranda) (PS: Looks like lumber prices are down 45% since their peak last year!)

Strands of Genius is currently read by 15,000 subscribers. Support us by sponsoring an issue or encouraging friends or colleagues to subscribe.

:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: CITRUS CURED SALMON ::

Whenever we’re in the UK, I always make sure to pickup some Pished Fish, as introduced to us by our friends Antonia and Ronan. It’s booze infused smoked salmon — it has delicious flavor combinations without the strong smoked flavor, and the slices are substantial rather than those thin little pieces that often come in smoked salmon packages in the store.

I told my host Jared when he was visiting us in the Dominican Republic that when I came up to visit him, I wanted to give it a go — and thankfully, he was down for the adventure. So on Wednesday last week, we trekked out to Adams Grocers in Poughkeepsie to get some high quality salmon, and attempt to make some magic happen.

It turns out that people have been curing fish for quite some time, with the earliest documented reference in 1743. You can cure fish by fermentation, pickling, smoking or some combination of the three, though the earliest form of curing fish was actually dehydration. Most people believe that preserving meat by salting it originated in Asian deserts. According to Wikipedia:

‘As early as 3,000 BC in Mesopotamia, cooked meats and fish were preserved in sesame oil and dried salted meat and fish were part of the Sumerian diet. Salt from the Dead Sea was in use by Jewish inhabitants around 1,600 BC, and by 1,200 BC, the Phoenicians were trading salted fish in the Eastern Mediterranean region. By 900 BC, salt was being produced in "salt gardens" in Greece and dry salt curing and smoking of meat were well established. The Romans (200 BC) acquired curing procedures from the Greeks and further developed methods to "pickle" various kinds of meats in a brine marinade.’

We went for a gravlax, which is a traditional Nordic means of curing salmon and includes a sugar, salt & spice mixture. While Jared opted for a more traditional sugar and salt mixture that you rinse off at the end, I was inspired by The Pished Fish - Margarita, andwent for a spicy margarita iteration.

Ingredients you’ll need:
- 1.5lb-2lb salmon filet, bones removed, super fresh/high quality
- 2 cups of finely chopped cilantro
- 2 Tbs freshly ground black pepper
- 4 Tbs brown sugar (dark or light works fine)
- 4 Tbs of kosher or coarse sea salt (less if you're using a heavier salt)
- 4 teaspoons of chipotle chili powder (less if you don’t want it to be spicy)
- 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin
- Zest of two limes

Preparation

Combine the cumin, chile powder, salt, pepper, sugar, lime zest and cilantro in a small bowl. Place the salmon flat, skin-side down in a long baking dish. Rub/press the spice / salt mixture on top of the salmon, and the sides as well.

Cover the fish tightly with plastic wrap, then place a slightly smaller baking dish directly on top of fish and weigh it down with heavy unopened cans. Refrigerate for 2-3 days.

When ready to serve, remove the gravlax from the refrigerator, and pour off the juices. Thinly slice the salmon flesh, taking care not to cut through the skin and arrange the pieces on a platter. Honestly you could just eat it on its own, but for brunch we went with English Muffins or bagels (we opted for everything bagels sliced into thirds for a thinner base), cream cheese, tomatoes, red onion slices. For dinner, flour tortilla, crema, lime, and slices of avocado would be great!

:: AND NOW… LOOK AT THIS SALMON ::

I’m so proud of how it turned out! And also kinda sad that it’s already gone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Want to chat, comment, question, compliment?

Know someone who could use some inspiration in their inbox? Forward this email to them! We appreciate you spreading the word.

It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.

Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. We have a distributed team ourselves, an accounting team is based in Tennessee where our company is registered, our admin extraordinaire is based in Playa del Carmen, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.

Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)

Strands of Genius