What makes the perfect office?

Tim Harford takes a good look at what makes for the best productive work environment. Surprise — pristine, design focused spaces are not the answer. He covers some history in this post, including the details of M.I.T.’s infamous Building 20 (also covered in detail in Deep Work) and the Pixar offices under Steve Jobs. Through the piece, Harford is making the case that so many great innovations come from spaces where the worker is in control of the environment. He refers to studies that prove jus…

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Faith and the workplace: created for good works

It’s been 8 years since I developed the habit of getting up long before the rest of the house. There is something about those early morning hours; the blessed stillness before the bustle of a family of 6 begins their day. I’ve long treasured the opportunity that this time offers, the ability to get the day started in whatever way suits me best. And it’s these times where I develop most as a person. Whether it’s time spent in prayer, meditation, studying the Word, or writing and creating in any…

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You’re meant to do what you’re good at

In a similar vein to Cal Newport’s 99u talk [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIMu1PGbG-0], Brianna West makes the case that focusing on what you love is misguided. The problem at the heart of this issue? > People usually can’t differentiate what they really love and what they love the idea of. And this leads to: > Premeditating what we think we’d love to do without actually being in the thick of it is the beginning of the problem, and having too much ego to scrap it and start over is the end.…

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Teams who share personal stories are more effective

From the department of “Captain Obvious”, this article in HBR makes the case that teams who share about their lives are stronger for it. Of course they are. How many times have you made that first impression judgement of a person, only to later revise your opinion when you learned more about the person? Sharing our lives allows us to see how our teammates are the same as us, to see where we have shared experiences. This results in increased empathy. Hearing about the details of our coworkers ou…

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