Strands of Genius: Women Don't Have to Compete Against Each Other, A Look at Past Olympic Ads, Decision Fatigue

plus our thoughts on: adaptability and flexibility

Jul 27, 2021

WORKING ON | Strategic sprint pitch consulting with an awesome creative agency, travel planning, live and virtual gigs planning

LOOKING AHEAD

July 21-August 15 | Porto, Portugal
August 15-August 29 | Lisbon, Portugal
Aug 29-Sept 8 | Orlando, FL
Sept 8-Oct 3 | France

:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::

Today starts my US Deaf Women’s National Team Soccer Camp. Our first in 2 years because of the pandemic. We’re a non-profit organization, and due to funds, timing, staff, etc, we only meet twice a year. Our winter / spring 2020 camp was originally scheduled for end of March 2020, but as we all know, that’s when the world went into lockdown. I’m excited for this camp but also nervous because of a) all of the Covid protocols that are in place and b) not having played together in 2 years means it could be a rough start, but as we always do, we’ll be flexible and adaptable (more on this below)! Thrilled to meet new teammates and be reacquainted with familiar ones!

This week, we’re especially thankful for:

Ted Lasso, air conditioning (it’s hotter than hell in TX), Piper, Derek, Shepard, Ryan, Fletcher, Victoria, Jenny, puppy Rocco, Steve and the soccer boys, all the wins happening at the Olympics, a functioning washer and dryer, some delicious brunch from Mexican Sugar, Topo Chico, the Dive In, Max (my Jeep), my Nike sweatpants, Crossfit Deep, a Saturday meditation session, making real estate dreams a reality, and my mom who sent me a care package.

:: THE LINKS ::

WOMEN DON’T HAVE TO COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER

With the return of Apple’s Ted Lasso, loads of press and interviews from the show’s cast have been released. The show’s strong and only female leads (from season 1) share an amazing on and off screen relationship that is shifting the narrative of women in sports comedy. “Rebecca and Keeley’s unique dynamic immediately stood out by subverting the expectation that they should be at each other’s throats — a deliberate choice from the “Ted Lasso” team, which delights in keeping audiences on their toes by throwing stereotypical story beats out the window.” All I can say is I love women supporting women, in real life and on the small screen. (Variety)

OLYMPICS: A LOOK BACK AT SOME OF THE GREATS

It’s no secret that this year’s Olympics event has faced its share of controversies (i.e. 83% of the Japanese population wanted the event to be cancelled). With Toyota recently cancelling all of its ads for the events, many other brands are starting to wonder if it’s worth being featured at the world’s premier sporting event, but let’s not forget some of the incredible ads that have been featured in the event in the past. The stories showcased in these ads continue to pull at the heartstrings and be inspirational time and time again. (The Athletic)

DECISION FATIGUE

The last year has seen people feeling overwhelmed with making big decisions right and left in their personal and professional lives (buy a house, start a new job, how to teach kids remotely, etc.). If you’re one of those people, you’re not alone. Decision fatigue is very real and something to be mindful of. Very much a quality vs quantity element at play here. “Our ability to force ourself to do difficult things — that is, applying self-control or self-discipline — draws upon a certain limited resource within us. And when we’re forced to make tough decisions, it calls upon that same resource. So when our self-control runs low, we start to make poor choices,” says psychologist Roy F. Baumeister. (Ness Labs)

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:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: FLEXIBILITY & ADAPTABILITY ::

We received a message from our captain in our camp GroupMe chat that says “As always - returning players know this well. Flexibility is our middle name, please come with patience and a ‘roll with it’ attitude.” This is very real. Historically at camp, things can change in a moment’s notice, and we pivot, because we have to, but it had me thinking… In addition to ‘uncertainty’, I feel like ‘flexibility’ and ‘adaptability’ have been the words or themes of pandemic life.

For many these concepts are their kryptonite, for others, it’s their norm. The disruption from our seemingly more consistent routine over the last year and a half has some of us thinking that flexibility/ adaptability is a personality trait, but some psychology professionals believe that it can be a learned skill. People have adapted to working from home or participating in online school whether we wanted to or not. It became our new reality - we had to do it.

The truth is that we, as a human species, are constantly flexing and adapting as the world evolves and shifts around us. Situations, like the pandemic, force us to switch gears and go a different direction. We can go on an even smaller scale. Sometimes traffic makes you late to work, and you have to adjust for how that might impact the rest of your day. Your kid forgot his homework, so you have to turn around and drive home only to turn right back around again. We adapt because that’s what we know to do.

I love this bit from the Washington Post published early on in the pandemic:

Executive coach Marcia Reynolds, an early leader in the coaching movement, likes to remind clients that the future was never certain to begin with. “Einstein said that ‘reality is merely an illusion — albeit a very persistent one,’ ” she says. “The idea that we believed everything was going to be okay was unreasonable. Unexpected shifts are always around the corner, whether in personal life or in business.” Adaptability in the face of uncertainty, she adds, is important because it allows us to see the possibilities in unanticipated change. “Sure, the pandemic could be the apocalypse,” she says. “Or it could just be accelerating changes that were going to happen anyway — such as the shift to remote work.”

So in the words of Ted Lasso, allow yourself to feel the motions and frustrations that come with small and big disruptions and then: “be a goldfish”. Adaptability and flexibility are possible, and chances are you’re doing it when you don’t even realize you’re doing it.

:: BE A GOLDFISH ::

I’m happy “Ted Lasso” is back if you couldn’t tell ;)

(Okay, okay, the goldfish memory thing has been debunked, but you can still be satisfied with being a goldfish — they’re known for their excellent memory and frequently used in scientific studies, and have even been shown to be great problem solvers!)

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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

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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 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.

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