Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 72

SPOS #846 – Dr. Ella F. Washington On Making Real Progress On Equity And Inclusion

Welcome to episode #846 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #846. Candid conversations about diversity, inclusion and equity are never easy. Dr. Ella F. Washington is an organizational psychologist and DEI expert with a wealth of experience through her involvement as the Founder and CEO of Ellavate Solutions, a Professor of Practice at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, the Co-host of Gallup‘s Center of Black Voices Cultural Competence Podcast, and the author of the amazing book, The Necessary Journey – Making Real Progress on Equity and Inclusion. Dr. Washington continues to deepen her research pipeline and thought leadership as a Gallup Senior Scientist studying race, strengths and other DEI workplace topics. Dr. Washington’s global human capital consulting experience has allowed her to impact clients across a myriad of industries including financial services, sports & entertainment, oil and gas, higher education and government. Previously, Dr. Washington led the Diversity and Inclusion function Gallup as a subject matter expert where she provided insight to clients on issues of inclusion, culture, strategic diversity and engagement. Her research and client work focuses on women in the workplace, barriers to inclusion for diverse groups, and working with organizations to build inclusive cultures. She has conducted inclusiveness audits, developed learning workshops, and facilitates strategic planning sessions with executive leadership teams who have goals of intentionally improving diversity and inclusion. These experiences inspired the 2016 founding of Ellavate Solutions, an integrated DEI strategy firm. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 52:57.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.Check out ThinkersOne.or you can connect on LinkedIn.…or on Twitter.Here is my conversation with Dr. Ella F. Washington.The Necessary Journey – Making Real Progress on Equity and Inclusion.Center of Black Voices Cultural Competence Podcast.Ellavate Solutions.Follow Dr. Ella on Instagram.Follow Dr. Ella on LinkedIn.Follow Dr. Ella on Twitter.

This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #846.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #639

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

We Spoke With the Last Person Standing in the Floppy Disk Business – AIGA – Eye On Design. “There was a last telegraph repairman, and a last Blockbuster. What about those once-ubiquitous floppy disks? There are still plenty of computers out there that need them (turns out, a lot of them are in the airline industry, probably because those PCs are just dumb terminals. I should know; I used to be a product manager for that software, and we shipped a lot of floppies).” (Alistair for Hugh). Dries Depoorter . “I love the world of tech art. Here’s the portfolio of one Dries Depoorter, a Belgian tech artist who, among other things, has trained an algorithm to detect when politicians are scrolling on their phones, or match staged Instagram photos to data from public cameras to see when a photo was shot. These kinds of things might seem far-fetched, but artists playing on the digital frontier today turn into mainstream code tomorrow, and we should all be paying attention.” (Alistair for Mitch). Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need – Scoop.Me . “What’s the cheapest and most effective way to deal with homelessness? According to Finland, the solution is to give people homes (or at least, small apartments). Apparently this is less costly than just leaving homeless on the streets.” (Hugh for Alistair). The Strange & Curious Tale of the Last True Hermit – GQ . “Ever want to just get away from it all? Like everything? Forever. From homeless to hermits.” (Hugh for Mitch).Tim Cook, Sir Jony Ive, and Laurene Powell Jobs – Code 2022 – Recode – YouTube. “It’s hard to believe, that it has been more than ten years since Steve Jobs passed away. It feels like yesterday, and I remember a lot of the musings that Apple‘s brightest days were behind it. In the past decade, Tim Cook has proved everybody wrong. Apple’s market capitalization increased over 600% since taking over the reigns. It’s a number that is so hard to imagine. Apple is, without question, an organization that is way bigger than it was when Steve Jobs was leading it. This, is a very interesting conversation that features, Cook, along with Laurene Powell Jobs (Steve’s widow and business executive/philanthropist) along with Apple’s Chief Design Officer (from 1997 – 2019), Jony Ive, where the trio ponders what Steve would think, do and say about the current state of technology and the world. Well worth the watch…” (Mitch for Alistair). How “Spider-Verse” forced animation to evolve – Vox . “Listen, I am a huge comic book nerd, science fiction freak, and pop culture infovore. With that, I could never have imagined the types of movies and TV shows that we currently have in the marketplace. If you would have told the 12 year old me, that there would be a Doctor Strange movie, and that it would be a huge success… I would have never believed you. Let alone many of them. There is probably no one as excited as I am about the new Star Wars television show, Andor. With that, I can’t seem to keep up with all of this content, and I’m not all that much appreciative when I do get to it because it is simply not striking a chord with me. I recognize that I am being a ‘market of one’, but if it’s not striking a chord with me, I am going to guess that it’s having a hard time reaching a broader audience. When someone asks me what the best Marvel movie is, I always refer them to Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Yes, the animation is incredible, but it’s also the way the story flows. It proves, that animation is something that can satiate both the child an adult. Here’s a great rundown on a movie that doesn’t get enough attention in the Marvel universe and beyond.” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Tom Webster On The Future Of Podcasting – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #845 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.

If you ever need to know anything about the state of Podcasting (or where it’s going), just ask Tom Webster. Tom has a new role as Partner at Sounds Profitable, dedicated to setting the course for the future of the audio business. He is a 25-year veteran audio researcher and trusted advisor to the biggest companies in podcasting, and has dedicated his career to the advancement of podcasting for networks and individuals alike. He has been the co-author and driver behind some of audio’s most influential studies, from the Infinite Dial series to Share of Ear and the Podcast Consumer Tracker. Tom has led hundreds of audience research projects on six continents, for some of the most listened-to podcasts and syndicated radio shows in the world. He’s done a card trick for Paula Abdul, shared a martini with Tom Jones, and sold vinyl to Christopher Walken. Tom is known as a results-driven consumer insights visionary, and I am honored to call him a friend. We’ve both been in the podcasting game longer than most and enjoy the back-and-forth banter about the industry. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose):  #845 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

SPOS #845 – Tom Webster On The Future Of Podcasting

Welcome to episode #845 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #845. If you ever need to know anything about the state of Podcasting (or where it’s going), just ask Tom Webster. Tom has a new role as Partner at Sounds Profitable, dedicated to setting the course for the future of the audio business. He is a 25-year veteran audio researcher and trusted advisor to the biggest companies in podcasting, and has dedicated his career to the advancement of podcasting for networks and individuals alike. He has been the co-author and driver behind some of audio’s most influential studies, from the Infinite Dial series to Share of Ear and the Podcast Consumer Tracker. Tom has led hundreds of audience research projects on six continents, for some of the most listened-to podcasts and syndicated radio shows in the world. He’s done a card trick for Paula Abdul, shared a martini with Tom Jones, and sold vinyl to Christopher Walken. Tom is known as a results-driven consumer insights visionary, and I am honored to call him a friend. We’ve both been in the podcasting game longer than most and enjoy the back-and-forth banter about the industry. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 51:39.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.or you can connect on LinkedIn.…or on Twitter.Here is my conversation with Tom Webster.Sounds Profitable.Follow Tom on LinkedIn.Follow Tom on Twitter.

This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #845.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #638

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

On my resignation as regulator of the Dutch intelligence and security services – Bert Hubert . “Bert Hubert is a tech founder who works with governments and open source groups, and teaches on how tech impacts society. In 2020, he became one of the three members of the board that checks warrants for the Dutch intelligence and security services. This was a relatively new innovation: When the legal system needed a warrant to intercept digital communications or hack someone, a panel of two judges and a technical expert weighed in. And Bert was that expert. On September 9, 2022, he resigned, because that system was switching from ask-for-permission to ask-for-forgiveness. His resignation allows him to speak publicly about the change, part of a global trend towards state surveillance that should worry us all.” (Alistair for Hugh). QAnon Conspiracy Theorists Have a New Cure-All: $120,000 TVs – The Daily Beast . “If this title doesn’t say it all, well. It’s becoming increasingly clear that a significant chunk of humanity is living in a parallel universe where science doesn’t matter and magic is real. I’m a big fan of diverse viewpoints in public discourse, but at some point, I really don’t understand how humans think. Or maybe I’m just bad at branding.” (Alistair for Mitch). Engineer Splits the Rear Wheel of His Bike in Half to Show That Two Halves Make a Whole – Twisted Sifter . “Do you think that if you cut your bike wheel in half you could still ride your bike? What if I gave you another half wheel but specified that you had to use that second half wheel behind the first half-wheel? Could you make it work?” (Hugh for Alistair). You’re Underestimating Kindness – Lifehacker . “Here’s a fascinating study that shows that people underestimate how much other people will appreciate their (small) kindnesses; and further, that when you are kind to someone they are likely to be kind to others as well. So all of you (and me) should make a little pledge: I will make an extra gesture of kindness to a stranger at least twice a week.” (Hugh for Mitch). Why Ethereum is switching to proof of stake and how it will work – MIT Technology Review . “This is a big week for cryptocurrency and Blockchain technology. Many people have probably glazed over the news. Especially, considering that this time in our lives is a crypto-winter. Still this is a big deal for technology and our future. Here’s is a great primer on what Ethereum has done by switching to a new model called, ‘proof of stake’. Now, you can go off and debate whether this makes crypto a better currency or something less durable (and closer to fiat). It will take a while for what is being called the ‘Merge’ to reveal it’s true self, and if it will be better than days of past. Regardless, this is an important moment in time for technology.” (Mitch for Alistair).  On its 25th anniversary, here’s a look at Oprah’s Book Club—by the numbers – Literary Hub . “It’s hard to believe that it has been 25 years since Oprah Winfrey launched her book club. If you believe that people no longer read books they way that they used to, I can promise you that back when Oprah launched this idea, it really felt like nobody was reading books anymore. To say that this book club was a success, would be a massive understatement. It, literally, built careers and helped the entire book publishing industry push forward and move into different directions. Oprah highlighted voices that were not being heard and covered areas of thought and history that truly reflected the kaleidoscope of life on this earth. To say that Oprah pushed diversity of thought forward in her book selections, would be another massive understatement. This is a small tribute to the magnificent way in which Oprah’s Book Club transformed the world, and helped us become better people by becoming better readers.” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Todd Henry On How To Be Creative Daily – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #844 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.

When I think about creativity, motivation, getting the work done, being prolific, and taking my thinking to the next level, I often think about the work of Todd Henry. Positioning himself as an “arms dealer for the creative revolution,” Todd teaches leaders and organizations how to establish practices that lead to everyday brilliance. He is the author of multiple bestselling books (The Accidental Creative, Die Empty, Louder Than Words, Herding Tigers, The Motivation Code) which have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and he speaks and consults across dozens of industries on creativity, leadership, and passion for work. With millions of downloads, his podcast – The Accidental Creative – offers weekly tips for how to stay prolific, brilliant, and healthy. He’s got a brand new book out called, Daily Creative – A Practical Guide For Staying Prolific, Brilliant and Healthy. In the book, we’re given a daily dose of insight with 365 exercises and insights for busy professionals, creative and beyond. The book was designed to help you gain powerful focus each and every day. Each daily reading can be completed in five minutes and includes a specific theme to break you out of your current mindsets: A challenge to reflect on and apply a new habit-building principles long with a key action as a takeaway to yield lasting results. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose):  #844 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

SPOS #844 – Todd Henry On How To Be Creative Daily

Welcome to episode #844 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #844. When I think about creativity, motivation, getting the work done, being prolific, and taking my thinking to the next level, I often think about the work of Todd Henry. Positioning himself as an “arms dealer for the creative revolution,” Todd teaches leaders and organizations how to establish practices that lead to everyday brilliance. He is the author of multiple bestselling books (The Accidental Creative, Die Empty, Louder Than Words, Herding Tigers, The Motivation Code) which have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and he speaks and consults across dozens of industries on creativity, leadership, and passion for work. With millions of downloads, his podcast – The Accidental Creative – offers weekly tips for how to stay prolific, brilliant, and healthy. He’s got a brand new book out called, Daily Creative – A Practical Guide For Staying Prolific, Brilliant and Healthy. In the book, we’re given a daily dose of insight with 365 exercises and insights for busy professionals, creative and beyond. The book was designed to help you gain powerful focus each and every day. Each daily reading can be completed in five minutes and includes a specific theme to break you out of your current mindsets: A challenge to reflect on and apply a new habit-building principles long with a key action as a takeaway to yield lasting results. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 55:30.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.or you can connect on LinkedIn.…or on Twitter.Here is my conversation with Todd Henry.Daily Creative – A Practical Guide For Staying Prolific, Brilliant and Healthy.The Accidental Creative.Die Empty.Louder Than Words.Herding Tigers.The Motivation Code.The Accidental Creative Podcast.Follow Todd on Twitter.Follow Todd on Instagram.Follow Todd on LinkedIn.

This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #844.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #637

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

Capitol Records “Severs Ties” With AI Rapper FN Meka, Issues Apology After Facing Criticism for “Gross Stereotypes” – Pitchfork . “Last week, I gave a talk in Berlin on the Civilization Stack. I used an AI to generate all the art on my slides. I definitely stood on the shoulders of uncredited, unpaid artists, whose work was grist for the algorithmic mill. Algorithms aren’t people (yet!) and don’t have rights. So what are we to make of an AI Rapper, trained on the lyrics and music of artists? How does it identify? Is it allowed to use words that are racial slurs? Oh, what a tangled web we weave.” (Alistair for Hugh). “The fog of war”*…. – (Roughly) Daily . “New to me: The Battle of Karánsebes is one of the dumbest fights in history. Two parts of the same army attack one another. This seems like an excellent metaphor for all sorts of things, from political infighting to humans shelling nuclear reactors when they should be worried about teaming up to survive a planet that’s increasingly both on fire and underwater.” (Alistair for Mitch). The Big [Censored] Theory – The Pudding . “The weird world of Chinese censorship of American sitcoms.” (Hugh for Alistair). As Colorado River Dries, the U.S. Teeters on the Brink of Larger Water Crisis – ProPublica . “What’s your preferred existential crisis? Lack of water is a pretty fundamental one.” (Hugh for Mitch). What if you could sing in your favorite musician’s voice? – Holly Herndon – TED2022 . “One of the things that I most look forward to at the annual TED event is the technology that gets previewed (usually before too many others have seen it). This isn’t exactly that, but it did open my eyes (and ears) to a new world of creativity, opportunity, art, music, and – most importantly – legal questions. What if technology allowed you to sing like any other musician in the world? What if that musician wasn’t one individual, but an AI algorithm tuned to a voice that is pleasant or recognizable? As a tag-along to Alistair’s link above, this TED Talk will only create a million more questions in a music business world that sees a constant barrage of lawsuits based on music that was created in tribute to music that came before it. While you’re at it, please do check out Holly Herndon (and Holly Plus). Get ready… this is jaw-dropping…” (Mitch for Alistair). Can the American Mall Survive? – The New Republic . “I’m a sucker for a massive American shopping mall. I’m a Mall Rat. I love the smell of commerce in the morning. The crazy thing is, that I don’t buy much. I just love the feeling of wandering malls (weird, I know). And so, prior to Covid there was so much conversation around the ability for shopping malls to survive in an Amazon/eCommerce world. That got magnified and multiplied when the world got shut down. So, how are malls doing? Well, as you might expect, it depends on a lot of things… like where you live, the stores that are inside, what else is happening there (besides shopping), and much more. Here’s an in-depth look at the future of the shopping mall. I’m rooting for them!” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Susie Wise On How We Design For Belonging – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #843 of Six Pixels of Separation is now live and ready for you to listen to.

Dr. Susie Wise is a design leader with experience in the education, tech, and the social sectors. She coaches leaders in equity design and innovation practices. She teaches at the d.school at Stanford and coaches with the Mira Fellowship. Previously, she founded and directed the K12 Lab at the d.school and co-created Liberatory Design. Her latest book, Design for Belonging, is part of a Stanford d.school series of designer guides, but is filled with insights for all business professionals. The book features a pantheon of smart insights to inspire your design for belonging endeavors and tools and exercises for framing your work. It’s also filled with stunning illustrations by DC-based muralist Rose Jaffe. In a world of remote and hybrid work, it’s important that everyone has both a sense of belonging and an understanding how to foster belonging in every organization. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose):  #843 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

SPOS #843 – Susie Wise On How We Design For Belonging

Welcome to episode #843 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #843. Dr. Susie Wise is a design leader with experience in the education, tech, and the social sectors. She coaches leaders in equity design and innovation practices. She teaches at the d.school at Stanford and coaches with the Mira Fellowship. Previously, she founded and directed the K12 Lab at the d.school and co-created Liberatory Design. Her latest book, Design for Belonging, is part of a Stanford d.school series of designer guides, but is filled with insights for all business professionals. The book features a pantheon of smart insights to inspire your design for belonging endeavors and tools and exercises for framing your work. It’s also filled with stunning illustrations by DC-based muralist Rose Jaffe. In a world of remote and hybrid work, it’s important that everyone has both a sense of belonging and an understanding how to foster belonging in every organization. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 46:32.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.or you can connect on LinkedIn.…or on Twitter.Here is my conversation with Dr. Susie Wise.Design for Belonging.d.school.Rose Jaffe.Follow Susie on LinkedIn.Follow Susie on Twitter.

This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #843.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.