Happy Friday! Here are my August 9 Hot Topics and how they relate to advancing culture or leadership.
Hot Topic 1: Hunting for Easter Eggs All Year.
Source: The New York Times.
What It’s About: Do you know what an “Easter egg” is in the tech world? It is an undocumented feature in a production, set in motion by a sequence of commands that nobody would hit accidentally. Software engineers over the years have occasionally built in surprises for the user, who have to hunt for them. David Pogue’s article in the NYT gives an interesting outline of this phenomena. Using Tesla as an example, Easter eggs include but are not limited to: “Romance Mode (the screen in the car displays a crackling fireplace as a mood-setting pop song begins to play), Santa Mode (your car’s icon on the screen becomes a sleigh, snowflakes fall, and the turn signal produces the sound of jingle bells); and what Tesla engineers call Emissions Testing Mode (you, the driver, can trigger the sound of flatulence emerging from any of the car’s seats).” Apparently Tesla engineers have made Easter eggs easier to find, yet their cars still contain Easter eggs that nobody has yet discovered. Kinda cool.
Why It’s Important: We could all benefit from using our creativity for more intentional fun. What if we explored applying the Easter egg idea in the work we do (not just software development) so that we might surprise people who use our services in a delightful way? I’m not sure how yet, but I’m planning to do that. We’re building a new lornerubis.com website….Hmm.
Hot Topic 2: Big Learning from 10,000 Leaders.
Source: Inc.
What It’s About: This Inc. article refers to lessons learned from conducting coaching sessions with more than 10,000 organizational leaders across 300 companies in 75 different countries. The reflective analysis noticed three qualities the most effective leaders have in common:
They have a willingness to improve their leadership skills.
They play a game worth playing in life.
They have a desire to elevate those around them..
This totally connects with my observation about effective leaders.
Why It’s Important: While there is an overwhelming amount of leadership content in the universe, these common traits are worth reflecting on and are accessible to ALL of us. Great leaders are never ever “done.” They are constantly pursuing greater self awareness and are intentional learning machines. I find that they think BIG and play BIG. Most importantly, advancing as leaders in life and work become one in the same mission. And the very best always develop and elevate others in the most generous way. They literally never waste time putting down others. They do eliminate or avoid toxicity and always look to bring people forward. This is a simple article and there is something important we can really learn from it.
My Weekly Wine Recommendation (Thanks to Vivino):
Badge Proprietary Red Santa Barbara 2016.
[Picture and ratings provided by Vivino.]
And finally! Here’s Cecil’s Bleat of the Week!
“A meal becomes good by starting with quality instructions. It becomes great when you add a quality chef.” – Erica Ariel Fox.
Bye for now!
– Lorne Rubis
Incase you Missed It:
My Lead In podcasts.
My latest blogs.
Season 3 of Culture Cast.
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