Think about it this way: a startup moves fast and moves boldly because it has to by necessity and design. Its small size means there’s not much overhead and also that lines of communication are clear. The presence of a founder, a CEO, or at most a small group of cofounders and execs who can make decisions fast and feel singularly accountable for the outcome makes the results personal. If the company wins, they win. If the company fails, they fail.It’s exactly the same for small teams within a large company, which is why they’re crucial. Amazon’s structure built on teams of no more than ten people is a testament to how to scale up a company without losing the urgency, focus, and quality of talent that characterizes a startup by building a large company out of what are essentially many startups. Among other things, it eliminates complexity of collaboration, which grows rapidly with the size of a company. That means it’s (almost) exponentially more difficult … [Read more...] about The “dozen-bagel” secret to preserving startup spirit as your company grows
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Hear what Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ would sound like in a post-climate-change world
Like the original music, some of the representation is fairly literal: Instead of hearing strings play what sounds like a thunderstorm once, you might hear it repeatedly, illustrating the extreme rainfall that some cities will experience. Much of the score, though, is meant to evoke the feeling of each season. Vivaldi’s “Spring” was intended to be joyful; the new version sounds discordant. A passage in “Summer” that originally represented a peasant peacefully napping in the afternoon is now syncopated and tense, an anxiety-filled dream in a time when wildfires, hurricanes, food insecurity, and other disasters will become increasingly common. … [Read more...] about Hear what Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ would sound like in a post-climate-change world
The pandemic inspired a new wave of conscious consumerism—but only temporarily
The dark drumbeat of a protracted pandemic, the deafening noise of political propaganda machines, the endless black hole that is social media, all left our country with many questions and few answers. As 2020 dragged along, it became less and less clear what to believe and who to trust. We began to lose patience with social distancing, working from home and putting our lives on perpetual hold. We were burned out and tired of operating in survival mode. Our finances and our mental health were strained and stretched to their limits. The end result is a predictable onset of compassion fatigue. … [Read more...] about The pandemic inspired a new wave of conscious consumerism—but only temporarily
