Happy Friday! Here are my Sept. 6 Hot Topics and how they relate to advancing culture or leadership.
Hot Topic 1: Learning From Our Younger Self, ‘Put That Sucker on Spin.’
Source: Big Think.
What It’s About: A new study on what is often the subject of great dinner conversations among compatriots is out for consideration. The research engaged several hundred volunteers on the topic, all of whom were over the age of 30. Much like other studies, people addressed the following subjects. Money (save more money, younger me)! Relationships (don’t marry that money grabber! Find a nice person to settle down with). Education (finish school. Don’t study business because people tell you to, you’ll hate it). A sense of self (do what you want to do. Never mind what others think). Life goals (never give up. Set goals. Travel more). However a few more interesting and deeper nuggets emerged including: “Money is a social trap.” “What you do twice becomes a habit; be careful of what habits you form.” “Never base any decisions on fear.”
Why It’s Important: The researchers write: “The results of the current studies suggest that, rather than just writing to Dear Abby, we should consult ourselves for advice we would offer to our younger selves. The data indicates that there is much to be learned that can facilitate well-being and bring us more in line with the person that we would like to be should we follow that advice.” We benefit greatly when we simply allow ourselves to THINK and SELF REFLECT. If not, years goes by and we’re still at “could have” or “should have.” The sad outcome I’m hearing in many boomers today is too much regret not for what they did, but for what they didn’t do. This includes and is certainly not limited to only doing work you enjoy doing in places that you appreciate being a part of. Share this nudge with someone you love (remembering yourself first). Help them know it will, as country singer Miranda Lambert wonderfully states in her new song, “It all comes out in the wash. Put that sucker on spin.”
Hot Topic 2: Let’s All be Joyologists.
Source: Elemental.
What It’s About: Norman Cousins became famous for inspiring the phrase “laughter is the best medicine.” Cousins was chronically ill, and claimed that 10 minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect that would give him at least two hours of pain-free sleep. His article in a 1976 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine raised many eyebrows in the scientific community. Since then, there have been many more studies on the subject and research has linked laughter to many positive outcomes, including stronger immune systems, improved depression symptoms, and reduced pain in people with cancer. Researchers speculate that laughter works in part by relaxing muscles, enhancing circulation, and releasing endorphins in the brain. Laughter also helps people build relationships. People often state they value a sense of humor most in friends and partners.
Why It’s Important: I have not been explicit in highlighting the importance of laughter in an organization’s culture. However, I’m seriously thinking about being more intentional. Too often I wander the floors of workplaces and I hear nothing, just “plugged in” folks clicking away on their devices. Then they get up and go somewhere so they can get screen time on their personal mobile devices. I do know that texting is filled with humor among friends. However, hearing people laughing together says so much about an organization’s culture. What if at minimum, every meeting included easy, sincere laughter from a story or good natured kidding? How great would that be? Perhaps we’d become practiced Joylogists? We should hear laughter all the time in the workplace.
Y’all good?
My Weekly Wine Recommendation (Thanks to Tightrope):
[This is our family’s wine! The Rubis estate Pinot Noir will be ready for shipping by Christmas, 2019. Feel free to try it out here.]
And finally! Here’s Cecil’s Bleat of the Week!
“Building a new sort of empathy takes effort and sacrifice, for people who might not repay it… We each have a choice, and the sum of our choices will create the future. What are you going to do?” – Jamil Zaki.
Bye for now!
– Lorne Rubis
Incase you Missed It:
My latest Lead In podcast.
My latest blog.
Season 3 of Culture Cast.
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