Strands of Genius: The Age of Wisdom, Is Your Organization Inclusive of Deaf Employees, Squids and Street Art
Plus, our thoughts on: Erin Meyer and The Culture Map
WRITING FROM | Los Angeles, CA (Ashley)
WORKING ON | Updating some internal documents, end of year wrap ups, fall/winter travel planning
LOOKING AHEAD
Oct 17-31 | Los Angeles, CA
Oct 31 - Nov 7 | Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Nov 8 - Dec 31 | Los Angeles, CA (tentatively)
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
The sun is coming out later in the morning and setting earlier in the evening. These longer periods of darkness are throwing me off! But I’ve thoroughly enjoyed taking a little nap each day and getting a bit of an energy reboot. As we’ve entered the last quarter of the year, there’s a lot on my mind about what’s to come, and having some extra time to rest each day is very welcomed and appreciated!
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Juiced! Pressed Juicery, Sue and our recent Hawaiian adventures, Halloween candy, a much needed rain in California, daily walks with Denver and podcast listening, Nike and their 60 day shoe trial, a new fitness challenge starting next week, F45, meeting new people near and far, naps, a UGA win, a UT Vols win (that’s for you, dad!) & YOU.
:: THE LINKS ::
THE AGE OF WISDOM
In his latest article for MediaCat, Faris discusses the concepts of age and wisdom. With information around us all the time to consume, what does wisdom actually mean? And how do we obtain it? Where do brands fit in today’s age and wisdom? I love this particular quote from Faris’ musings: “Living in a real-time culture creates social pressure to have insta-opinions because whatever is current has currency, for you and brands. These are formed too fast and pop out as hot-takes of insubstantial information and insipid insight, served hot inside stale memes, with limited nutritional value.” (MediaCat)
IS YOUR ORGANIZATION INCLUSIVE OF DEAF EMPLOYEES?
It’s Invisible Disabilities Week, so naturally it’s worth mentioning something deaf / hard of hearing related since it can fall in this category of invisible disabilities. I’ve often had people say to me, “Oh, wow, I would’ve never known”, like it’s something I should be proud of for not being obviously deaf. And this kind of thing happens a lot with people who have these invisible disabilities. This article highlights the importance of shifting your mindset and instead looking at the advantages that come from surrounding yourself with or employing those who are deaf. For instance, “deaf people uniquely can drive a culture of effective communication, both benefiting the multilingual talent in the room and strengthening global teams.” (Harvard Business Review)
SQUIDS AND STREET ART
Okay, so I know this is a little different from some other things we share, but I love seeing this intersectionality of art and science, and at a level that’s appropriate for people of all ages. This scientist is spreading facts about squids through street art. So you get a fun fact and some cool art all in one! And not one of the more depressing facts around science we’ve been encountering over the last couple of years. (NowThisNews)
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:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: ERIN MEYER AND THE CULTURE MAP ::
I was traveling with a friend in Hawaii a week ago, and we were eating all the food that we could get our hands on. Many foods there are influenced by places all over the world, and we got to talking about traveling and various cultures we’ve been exposed to on our adventures. We then began to dive into people we’ve worked with over the years who come from different countries and the cultural differences we’ve come across in the workplace.
My friend brought up Erin Meyer (an author and professor at the INSEAD Business School) and her book, The Culture Map in which is she explores the workplace in different places across the world. The book was first published relatively early on in my professional career, so I didn’t know too much about it then, but I was more or less introduced to it when Meyer was a guest on The Armchair Expert last year. Upon returning from Hawaii, I listened to the podcast again and have been thinking about her analyses ever since. I can’t say I’ve completely formed full thoughts but am rather just wishing I could see and experience more of these observations to make my own conclusions. So instead of sharing my incomplete thoughts, I’d like to turn this back to you, Strands readers, to share any thoughts or experiences you’ve had in the workplace when working with people who don’t come from the same background as you….
For a reference point, here’s a map Meyer created on the management styles across four different cultures:
And if you feel inclined, you can check out the tools Meyer has created like The Country Mapping Tool, The Personal Profile Tool, The Team Mapping Tool, and The Corporate Culture Mapping Tool.
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faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
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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. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our 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.
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