Archive for 2017
Is working 9 to 5 really for losers?
Take the time to work smarter. I recently read an interesting article in the New York Times entitled In Silicon Valley, 9-5 Is for Losers. The gist of the article is that the high-tech culture in Silicon Valley values extreme work hours in order to potentially make a lot of money over all other values. As the article…
Read MoreGoogle’s Oxygen project took months to find out what makes a manager great; Cerebyte takes a day
Recently, a colleague forwarded me an article about Google’s Oxygen project from Inc. Magazine. This is a well-known effort by Google to use statistical analysis of performance reviews to determine what makes someone a good manager. The Google team’s findings are hardly revolutionary but, because they are Google, they are treated as some great revelation. It took Google…
Read MoreDoes sitting next to a “star” improve your performance?
Recently, I read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Use Your Seat to Get Ahead.” The subtitle of the article, “Sitting next to a star at work improves your performance,” particularly piqued my interest since we do a lot of work with star performers at Cerebyte. The gist of the article is…
Read MoreDoes having a “sense of purpose” help you sleep?
As anyone who read this blog knows, I am an advocate of developing a compelling social purpose and aligning everything in your work and life with achieving that purpose. Recently, I wrote a blog about how purpose-driven approaches to learning in general and the Cerebyte methodology contribute to brain health. Now there’s another study that…
Read MoreWhy We Work
I just finished reading a book entitled, “Why We Work” by Barry Schwartz. The book has three core messages that really resonated with me: – The evidence that purpose is the primary motivator of behaviors is overwhelming – The conventional wisdoms that formal, particularly financial incentives are the primary motivator of behavior is wrong and…
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