Overthinking, dragons, and awards assemblies in the cold.

3rd time's a charm.

These past couple of weeks have been all over the place; it felt like I had very little time at my desk, and I'm not complaining. I got to meet some new people, and reconnect with some old (also got a behind-the-scenes tour of a brewing company which I nerdedthefuck out on).

Beyond that, I overanalyzed MLK Day, doubled down on the feeling that our dystopian attachment to social media isn’t just a fever dream, thought about some less obvious leadership skills, corporate “fun,” and how our typical public schooling doesn't serve neurodiverse kids well. Oh, and I threw in a book recommendation because you need more homework in your life, right?

• I was going to post something meaningful for MLK Day. It felt like the right thing to do—until it didn’t. The more I thought about it, the more it felt like I’d be virtue signaling. Or worse, falling into the typical corporate BS trap: paying lip service to civil rights and equality just to make yourself look good. Maybe it was like when you stare at a word too long and it doesn't look like it's spelled correctly anymore. Either way, the more I tried to make a post about it, the more I felt like having one random post about it wasn't enough; I should actually do something about it. To start, I took some time to actually read about MLK jr. and some of his speeches and letters. Maybe next year, I’ll have something meaningful and actionable to say, but this year? I'll just rant about my shortcomings here...

• Want to feel insignificant? Watch this video about the future of our universe. It’s a humbling reminder of just how small and insignificant we have been and will continue to be in the grand scheme of things. Nothing like the heat death of the universe to put your problems in perspective.

• TikTok’s recent shutdown (ban? voluntary PR stunt?) felt straight out of a dystopian novel. The cult-like messaging they pushed was wild. And then there’s the whole issue of people relying on TikTok for their businesses. It’s like farmers raising cattle to feed a dragon that will eventually burn down the town. Let's keep people suckin' down that sweet endless scroll for those tiny hits of dopamine (and cringy AF dances).

• It's funny how the most innocuous things can stick with you forever. Like hearing that you use a lot of exclamation points in your emails (apparently this is a millennial thing?), and now you are forever self-conscious about how many exclamation points you use in everything you write. I bet the person that made the observation hasn't thought about what they said one bit, but I know the email writer has (surprise, it actually wasn't me).

• I went to my kid’s awards assembly this week. After sitting in the cold for an hour, my brain juices started going to that weird place where I look like I'm paying attention but really I'm somehow subconsciously clapping and nodding while in some abstract dimension in my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about how “straight A” awards feel so unfair to neurodiverse kids. It’s like giving a “fastest runner” award to a class that includes amputees. Neurodiverse kids have to work so much harder to fit into a system that isn’t designed for them.

  P.S.: They also gave 8th graders awards for being ready to be employed... What in the child-labor is that?

• Opportunities are everywhere, but if you’re not prepared, they’ll just look like background noise. When the right opportunity comes along, you need to be ready to jump on it instead of missing it entirely.

• If you're a leader, don't have the personality of a crisp sheet of printer paper. You set the culture for everyone around you (at work), and if you're dull as hell people aren't going to be interested in collaborating and talking with you. Fun fact: It’s okay to joke at work. You’re allowed to have a personality, just don't be an asshole about it.

• Let's wrap this up with a book recommendation. Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull. It’s the story of how Pixar was built, and it dives into how they fostered creativity and innovation in the workplace. I read it early in my management career, and it shaped the way I think about leading teams. Highly recommend it, especially for anyone in tech or creative fields.

That’s it for this week—post #3 is officially in the bag.

Side note: I'm considering building a community space for leaders, techies, and tech-adjacent roles to collaborate, ask for advice and help, and just have a place to post stupid gifs (I feel like I'm aging myself with that comment). Let me know if you're interested or have some thoughts on that.

✌️ Peace,

Trevor

P.S.: If you’re curious about my consulting business or how I help build people-first workplaces with tech, check it out here: //TREVORFRY.TECH.