We have family in Nashville and visit two or three times a year. We often go to the Frist Art Museum, in an old Art Deco post office. It’s a beautiful container for interesting work. I’ve never seen it generate quite the interest I saw last week. LeXander Bryant is a Nashville-based artist. His exhibition shares the same space that …
Podcast 94: The Workplace Book Club — Clothes make the man
Should looks matter? Do they? What about criticism? What’s the appropriate response to getting it? Shakespeare gives his 2 cents via Hamlet, and Mike and Mark are #guyswithoutlookswithbooks. The excerpt and study guide for this episode, “Clothes make the man,” is available for free download. We would love your questions and comments (and book ideas!) for future episodes: Email …
The death that comes with growth
My first boss, when I would complain about being busy, would say, “Mark … that’s a high-class problem.” He was right, of course. Better than the alternative. … There is another high-class problem that all successful organizations face: growth. If all growth meant were more clients, more sales, more profits, wonderful. But with the sales come more processes to execute. …
Coming soon: The Workplace Book Club
We’re doing something weird on the podcast next week, so I want to give an introduction: A recent series on this blog discussed the immersive technologies that may lead to a metaverse. (If this viral video from Walmart is any judge, we aren’t quite there yet. … Elon Musk isn’t impressed either.) It also discussed how cyberpunk authors predicted such …
Podcast 89: Listener request: Leading emotionally charged team members
At the request of a listener, we’re addressing a specific situation that many of us have experienced. How do you lead a team where some members are prone to outbursts or other signs of disrespect? To further complicate the subject: It’s a manager recently promoted from that team! If you have additional suggestions for the manager, please comment below. And …
AR and VR: What to do about it
As mentioned in the second post in this series on AR, VR and the metaverse, cyberpunk predicted a world where technology would so immerse us that we would be seduced and swayed by it without hardly thinking. “The disease of images” We looked at, of all things, Saved by the Bell. The show and its type, for teens and kids, …
AR and VR: How bad it could be
As mentioned in the first post in this series on AR, VR and the metaverse, young Mark Ramsay loved cyberpunk novels. Introduction to cyberpunk Perhaps your thoughts range from, “Really, Ramsay? Who cares?” to, “Why study cyberpunk novels and films?” Here’s why. They are entertaining. The genre’s greatest voice, William Gibson, has novels that read like modern-day Raymond Chandler, thrilling …
AR and VR: What you need to know
Everybody is now talking about VR, AR and the metaverse. I’ve been thinking about them since reading cyberpunk novels in my teens. If that sounds silly, stay tuned. VR/AR are here. They are helpful. And those novels paint a dire warning about what’s to come for your work and family. Introduction to AR You’ve probably been experiencing AR—augmented reality—for some …
Podcast 86: Lessons from the Lockpicking Lawyer: messages to your tribe
An anonymous attorney who picks locks on YouTube has a valuable lesson for anybody trying to attract employees or customers who really “get you.” Three lessons, to be exact. (Note to audience: Mark managed to make it through this entire episode without once mentioning Mitchell and Webb’s classic Padlockigami. But watch and enjoy.) We would love your questions and comments …
Podcast 85: Our special holiday episode
This is a quick recording to alert you to the video version of this week’s podcast. We hope it’s a blessing to you. Happy Thanksgiving and season’s greetings!