Strands of Genius: The Nature of Fame and Attention, What Italy’s B Corps Can Teach Global Business About Community, The Gay History of Camels
plus, our thoughts on: working for spouses
WRITING FROM | Nashville, TN (Ashley)
WORKING ON | SOSG content creation&planning and client brief training
LOOKING AHEAD
June 29-30 | Atlanta, GA (Ashley)
June 27-July 12 | Wingdale, NY (Rosie & Faris)
June 30- ?? | Los Angeles, CA (Ashley)
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Last year, I (Ashley) signed a builder’s contract for an investment property in Nashville, TN with a business partner. With supply chain delays, city ordinances, etc., we’re finally near ready to list it for short term rental. I’ve spent a majority of the last couple of weeks in Nashville getting the place ready - building beds, hanging blinds, painting furniture, you name it. My mom who used to be an interior designer has been here with me, thankfully! While it’s been a lot of work, we’ve enjoyed the time together and the reward of seeing something you’ve built is quite incredible!
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Debbie (my mother), Denver the pup, Rosie’s amazing Nashville map of recommended places to eat, Shelby (my business partner), Amazon, The Home Depot, Old Time Pottery, HomeGoods, Elvis (the movie, and the person, always!), buy one get two free boots at The Boot Factory, the southern hospitality, and YOU!
S C H O O L O F S T O L E N G E N I U S >> H I G H L I G H T S
// Mike Follet on ‘Attention Oligopolies” | Community Meet Up
Thursday, June 30, 2022 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM ET
More details for members on School of Stolen Genius.
On Thursday, June 30, Faris will be joined by Mike Follett for a conversation about his presentation titled 'Attention Oligopolies? Really?’. Mike Follett started his career in advertising, working for DDB in London, New York and Mumbai. In 2013, he helped found Lumen, the leading attention technology company.
:: THE LINKS ::
THE NATURE OF FAME AND ATTENTION
Shedding some light on Faris, because listening to British accents while hanging out in the Southern US is fun. In his latest podcast feature, Faris talks with MediaCat Magazine Editor Mike Piggott and Paul Feldwick, author of The Anatomy of Humbug and Why Does the Pedlar Sing? The trio discuss fame and whether it’s changed over the years with the rise of the internet and influencers and “how attention and showmanship play a part in this puzzle”. What are the drawbacks of chasing fames? And can brands find fame without having a figurehead? (MediaCat)
WHAT ITALY’S B CORPS CAN TEACH GLOBAL BUSINESS ABOUT COMMUNITY
It’s no secret that companies are reworking their physical offices in an effort to bring employees back to work - a strategy that doesn’t always work. For one Italian company, Reti, they’re designing a campus for the local community rather than for just their employees. “It’s not just about being comfortable, but about creating a sense of community,” says Bruno Paneghini, the CEO of Reti. Reti sets up events centered around books, food, and art for their staff and locals alike.
Eric Ezechieli, co-founder of Nativa, an Italian company, shares that Italian business is “very strongly rooted to the community and place where the company was started. And this stays even when the company becomes global”.(Quartz)
THE GAY HISTORY OF CAMELS
If you’re a history like me, I hope you enjoy this one. Podcaster Simone Polanen releases an episode each week and picks a moment from that very same week in history to discuss how it’s shaped our lives today. In last week’s episode, Polanen chatted with comedian Ashley Ray on the story of the U.S. Army’s little-known Camel Corps and unveils its surprising link to the creation of a queer city. The city being West Hollywood, California. (Spotify)
Strands of Genius is currently read by 13,000 subscribers. Support us by sponsoring an issue, becoming a member of The School of Stolen Genius, or encouraging friends or colleagues to subscribe.
:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: WORKING FOR SPOUSES ::
When I tell people that I work with/for a married couple, I’m often met with “oh, how’s that?!” “Do you ever feel like a third wheel?” “Does personal life ever interfere with professional life?” And a myriad of other similar questions. My response is usually, “yes, all valid questions, and all questions that have run through my mind at some point during the 4 years we’ve worked together”. And like any relationship, personal or professional, we have to work at it. Each year, I learn more about them together and separate which makes me appreciate working for the duo even more. Here are some of the reasons I enjoy working for spouses, these spouses at least:
When I first started working with Rosie and Faris, I was relatively new to the nomad lifestyle, so I knew there was a lot I could learn from them. Being married and working together meant they could impart wisdom about life on the road in work and personal settings.
Rosie and Faris know each other well enough that if I can’t get a hold of one, the other usually knows the other’s answer. Or more often than not, they’re sitting next to each other and can get the actual answer ;)
They’re similar in some ways yet different in may other ways, so I know who I can turn to for various things. In more traditional work settings, you might have like-minded people on a team who bring similar viewpoints, but with Rosie and Faris, they come from separate backgrounds (one grew up in the US and the other grew up in the UK), so they approach things quite differently.
Sometimes it’s hard to identify things yourself, but when you have someone on your team who knows you super well, sometimes that person can articulate what you need or how you operate even better than you can. Rosie and Faris are especially good at this when it comes to breaking down each other’s working operating manual.
Because they spend so much time together in work and life, they’re keen to make sure they work on their own individual endeavors. I don’t think you see this kind of support quite as often in your normal workplace. It allows for an additional space for me to work with each of them one on one. A year or so in, I actually requested to have individual one on one calls with each other them, so that I could better know Rosie as Rosie and Faris as Faris rather than just the unit of Rosie and Faris.
Rosie and Faris have figured out how to work well together, so when I’m struggling with something or am unable to get to something in a timely manner, I can let them know and know they’ll effectively communicate to get the thing done.
Holiday gift shopping usually means I can buy them something to do together or ship to one places versus multiple places ;)
Above all else, I’m grateful for their willingness to understand where I’m coming from in figuring out how I fit in in their dynamic and making an effort to make me feel seen and heard.
:: AND NOW… TEAM HAIR BRANDING ON POINT ::
Join a community of people looking to work smarter, not harder.
Enroll today >
http://schoolofstolengeni.us
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
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
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. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, 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 :)