Strands of Genius :: Meritocracy is Bad, Brand Activism Framework by Ben & Jerry's, Pantone's Color of the Year

WRITING FROM

Los Angeles, CA

WORKING ON

a new Genius/Steals offering for 2020

UP NEXT: 

Dec 5-9: Los Angeles, CA
Dec 9-12: Nashville, TN
Dec 12-19: Beersheba Springs
Dec 20-22: Atanta, GA
Dec 23-30: Nashville, TN
Dec 31-??: Greenville, SC

THE WORD | THESE BRIEF BITS OF INBOX INSPIRATION BROUGHT TO YOU BY...

Matt&Lauren, Scott&Ivan, Megan&Niko, Manu, Carrie, Shankar&Liz&Bodhi[!], Jess, Charles, Laila, Fitz, Matt, chicken wings, The Flutter, MTN, overcast LA, a delicious charcuterie, and all our LA lovelies who came out and joined us for a happy hour.

WHAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT | TAKING A BREAK
Some cultures are great at taking breaks -- whether it's through gap years, or naps, or even just prioritizing disconnecting. It's HARD to take a break when you work for yourself. You can always be working, and sometimes that "can" translates into a feeling of "should," even if we only have our own selves or standards to blame.

One of the things that's been most apparent to us from traveling is how much breaks -- small and large -- help us to be our best selves: as business partners, as spouses, as friends, and just as individuals being respectful to ourselves and our need to relax those cognitive functions every once in a while.

With that said, you'll hear from our last guest curator for the year on Thursday, and we've got one last edition planned for next Monday -- and then we'll be back in your inbox mid-January. We hope you're able to find time to give yourself a break too -- whether it's disconnecting from social media, work emails, or even just taking an extra long bubble bath!

"Although widely held, the belief that merit rather than luck determines success or failure in the world is demonstrably false. This is not least because merit itself is, in large part, the result of luck." - Clifton Mark

Pantone's Color of the Year

#Artastic #Design #TrendsFTW
Pantone announced their pick for 2020's color of the year and it is... drumroll, please... CLASSIC BLUE. Not gonna lie, there's nothing that does it for me when it comes to classic blue. Cobalt? Absofreakinlutely. Neon blue? Sure. Pastel blue? I'm down. Turqouise? Yeah! But classic blue?! May as well be "boring blue." Womp womp. Then again, nothing could beat this year's "living coral." ::DEZEEN::

The 6Ps of Brand Activism

#Frameworks #ThinkOnTheseThings
Ben & Jerry’s Global Head of Integrated Marketing, Jay Curley, has shared a framework of thinking about brand activism — and spoiler alert, it’s more than just being purpose-driven. But even moreso than the framework itself, I love how Curley sets it up with a very important reminder: “At Ben & Jerry’s, we do not invent campaigns, issues, or causes. And we don’t parachute into a community with money. We take our lead from the activists and leaders of frontline and impacted communities. We ensure our work supports the strategies of leading progressive organizations driving these movements forward. We build our campaigns based on their goals and in support of their strategy. They are the experts in knowing what their communities need.” ::LINKEDIN::

A Belief in Meritocracy Is Not Only False, But Bad For You

#Behavior #Luck
While impartiality is the core of the appeal of meritocracy, it turns out that simply holding meritocracy as a value means you're more likely to promote discriminatory behavior, and act selfishly. This article dives into a number of relevant research studies -- on luck, on implementing meritocracy practices in private companies, showing that adopting meritocracy weirdly convinces subjects of *their own* moral bonafides, instead ot examining their behavior for prejudice. ::AEON::

Faris taking a very important phone call at the Flutter Experience in LA ;)

If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We always love getting to meet like-minded folks, so please let us know if you see if we'll be in a city near you :)

rockON,
rosie & faris & ashley, geniussteals.co
@rosieyakob / @faris / @ashley

HIT REPLY & LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER.

STILL WANT MORE?

In March of 2013, Rosie & Faris left NYC. They've been #OutOfOffice for 6 years & counting. Want more on the nomad lifestyle? Check out Technomadix.co

Want to collaborate with Rosie and Faris? They are a husband and wife team that consult, speak, write, teach, strategize, facilitate & generally play well with others. You should definitely get in touch.