fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
The code of Capitalism
By: Zsolt Hermann
Tags: Socialism, Ego, Education, Communism, Capitalism

Question from the Internet:

“What is the code of capitalism?”

The original code of capitalism — best represented by the “American Dream" — is the principle of “what’s mine is mine, what’s yours is yours".

In other words in a system with infinite resources and infinite possibilities we compete with each other in a clear, fair way and each can become the maker of one’s own fate without impending on the efforts of others.

The problem — as it turns out — is that we don’t live in a world with infinite resources, infinite possibilities. Moreover we all have a nature — unknown to most, denied by others — which gains the greatest pleasure from succeeding at the expense of others.

As a result of those two above mentioned factors the “code of capitalism" evolved into “what’s mine is mine, what’s yours is mine too".

Which means that we live in societies where the peak of Human pyramid — the most egotistic, most selfish people among us — exploit, own the rest, as even what we seemingly have is bought through credit, as we are constantly urged, forced, brainwashed to consume what we actually don’t need and can’t afford.

And other — non-Capitalistic — socioeconomic systems don’t fare any better, as while the ideology, system might differ, the main driving force, our inherent Human nature is all the same.

As a result we are seemingly helplessly, inevitably marching towards a total collapse of our self-consuming, ruthlessly competitive civilization.

And as always, true solution, remedy is possible only if we diagnose and treat the root cause which Humanity has avoided, ignored so far. And since the diagnosis is unpleasant to hear — that the cancer is in us, it is our own selfish, egotistic, exploitative ego program that drives all of us — many will still dispute, reject, ignore it until only terrible, intolerable suffering will force us to look into the brutally honest mirror showing us who we are, what desires, intentions drive us.

Of course there is another, less cruel, faster, purposeful method of diagnosing and treating ourselves, but that can be done only by willing participation, without any coercion, without misleading propaganda.

https://youtu.be/HyT808anTW4
Capitalism works, but we’re ignoring much of its potential
By: Casey Winans
Tags: Wealth, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Equality, Capitalism

Capitalism works, but we’re ignoring much of its potential

There is a movement within the US to embrace socialism. Yet, it’s a symptom of how we’re failing a generation due to lopsided incentives and rewards.

I love capitalism and its ability to incentivize anyone to create value. Yet people call on our government to fix the wealth gap — tax the prosperous and give to everyone else.

That isn’t the answer. People really just want the opportunity to thrive— to make a living and to truly share in the upside of the wealth our nation creates.

That’s why I’m excited about the promise of Fairmint. It’s revolutionizing capitalism to reward all stakeholders with equity. Finally, a way for the masses to share in the upside.

While it is still in its infancy, the potential is real. I can’t wait to see how new and existing companies leverage it.
The American Health Care System is Stupid
By: Riley Lopez
Tags: America, Capitalism, Healthcare

Despite popular belief, American health care is not the best in the world. Americans spend more per person annually on health care than any developed nation. A big part of the reason is that American Hospitals overcharge patients massively. For example, a neck brace, normally, costs $20, but a hospital will charge $154. An I.V. bag costs less than a dollar, but hospitals charge $137. Unlike most issues in America, this is not the government’s fault. The problem started with something called “the chargemaster”. The chargemaster is a secret document full of insane prices that hospitals use to charge patients whatever they want.

100 years ago, hospital pricing was simple. They would take the cost of providing car and add a little on top in order to make a profit. For example, amputation would cost the hospital $5, so they would charge patients $6.50. After the rise of insurance companies, hospital billing got complicated, in part because the gigantic corporations demanded large discounts. To please the powerful insurance companies, hospitals created really high fake prices and gave the insurance companies discounts on that. And in less than a century, health care prices went from reasonable to nonsensical. They made one Tylenol $37 and three stitches $2,200. These crazy inflated prices are kept in the hospital’s chargemaster.

If someone does not have insurance, they are actually charged the fake prices. Even if someone does have insurance, they can get billed chargemaster prices if they go out-of-network, and anything can be out of network: the hospital they go to, the equipment used to treat them, even the doctors they see. Hospitals make a ton of money overcharging out-of-network patients. Even worse, every hospital has its own chargemaster. For example, a treatment that costs $7,000 at one hospital could cost $100,000 at another. One cannot comparison shop when their dying. Plus, since insurance companies face inflated costs, that could trickle down to the individual in the form of higher premiums.

Hospitals can easily get away with this. The health care industry spends more on lobbying than the oil and defense industry combined. There is nothing one can do about it. Everyone needs to go to the hospital at some point or another. Hospitals have no incentive to change how they do business. And politicians have spent decades arguing over how to pay the bill instead of asking why the bill is so high. Until they do, Americans are stuck with this system.
What makes us happy?
By: Maria Rattray
Tags: Compassion, Gift Economy, Consumerism, Giving, Capitalism

What makes us happy?

For much of my adult life I was a teacher, and when the major festive seasons approached, Christmas, or Easter, for example, I used to ask my excited students what exactly it was that made them feel good. Was it giving, or receiving, and almost all of them opted for giving…initially.

I would then ask them if they mostly got excited for themselves, about what they might receive from others, and the answer was unequivocally, yes. BUT, after drilling down further, that yes was often qualified by something like, but you always feel a bit let down afterwards because it’s never the excitement you thought it would be.

And isn’t that the truth!

The happiness we feel when we do something nice for someone, or give a friend a well-thought-out gift, hangs around for a lot longer than our receiving presents we don’t need.

If you’d like to read the rest of this article, please click on the link below.
https://wrappedforpodcasters.byspotify.com/?id=2892f280447b41fb2fa33ed626499b57b1452b1f49f1dc229c204
By: Jerry L. Rhoads
Tags: Socialism, Capitalism, Election 2020, Podcast, Free Enterprise

Retired CPA, health care consultant to the private sector. Developer of management software, licensed health care administrator and owner of nursing homes.
Capitalism is the only system that suits our inherently greedy nature
By: Zsolt Hermann
Tags: Education, Society, Communism, Capitalism, Humanity

Question from the Internet:

“What is the point of capitalism, should not capitalism support humanity, rather than being supported by humanity isnt it just greed?”

The economic, governing, social systems we use are the external expressions of our Human nature and the state of Human relationships.

Capitalism is the most suited economic and social system that fits our modern — maximally egotistic, self-serving, narcissistic - nature, that thinks only about itself and pursues excessive overconsumption, ruthless, exclusive competition.

We are all the same in this, but the hunger, the willingness to sacrifice ourselves and others to get what we want is very different in people.

This creates a pyramid structure in Human society, where the peak of the pyramid — the most selfish, egotistic in society — exploits the rest.

We don’t have to force Capitalism on people, it evolved naturally. It is true that when inequality becomes too great, intolerable, people protest and suggest different system like communism, but such a system is against Human nature and after an initial “honeymoon period" it can be sustained only through oppression, terror.

This gives the helpless swinging between the “right and left"we can observe all around the world, which helpless swinging slowly pulls us towards self-destruction.

There is no solution on the political, economic, social level since the problem is not there but it is inside is. Changes will only come when we start changing, upgrading our own greedy nature, our tendency to succeed at each other’s and Nature’s expense.

And that is possible — without any coercion, misleading, oppressive propaganda — only through the right, purposeful and practical educational method. Only when we adjusted how we relate to each other and to the world in general can we build a Human society with the right political, economic, social structure that is fair, equal and sustainable.

https://youtu.be/khzvGZMUNhA
Well-Intentioned Walking Disaster
By: Jeff Langley
Tags: Poem, World Economic Forum, Capitalism, Politically Speaking, Stakeholder Capitalism

Well-Intentioned Walking Disaster

Photo courtesy of consequenceofsound.net

Looking out upon the setting sun,

Dude’s become so overcome,

Out-gunned, and completely out of puns.

Dude musters on to the crack of dawn,

Murmuring to himself, “Are we all just pawns?”,

Strewn out upon the lawns.

After the harvest, comes the storms,

Kitchen fires, burning warm,

Without the bees, there’d be no swarms.

No Pink Floyd tunes, no parts one, two or three,

A few things in this world need fixing, on that, Mr. Waters and I agree,

So put on those anti-fog goggles, lift your heads and finally see.

Beyond the red-eyed tear-drops,

Behind the screens of super-computing laptops,

Way up high above the rooftops.

Surveillant winds blow,

Prevailing sentiments flow,

21st Century Anno Domini vox pop n’ go.

Borrowed wisdom stolen,

Fragile homes broken,

Neoliberalism’s counting chickens, thinking ‘bout choking.

Embellished, alarmist headline news,

Middle out compression blues,

Plastic bag innuendos, full of glue.

Leave that wife-beater in the middle of the night,

Grab a sweater, a jacket and hold it tight,

There’ll come a reckoning before the fight.

New dawn’s upon us, it’s gonna crack,

Voodoo economics is gone, ain’t coming back,

Klaus Schwab is on the case, he’s got the knack.

Stakeholder Capitalism — systems and measures,

After this year, it’s a case of now or never,

Desperate days, time to reset the ledgers.

If I told you free markets, trade and competition create so much wealth,

That in theory they could make everyone better off — a true commonwealth, Would you believe me? or would you question my mental health?

Longer term perspectives, shifts in missions,

Economic recovery, redefinitions,

Stakeholders acting for public good and well-being, new found coalitions.

Corporations as always — profit motives,

Sustainable fuels feed locomotives,

Shareholders, Suppliers, Customers, Employees, & Communities — all key Stakeholders to take note of.

To our boy Klaus Schwab,

Let’s open this door, turn the knob,

Great Reset dawning, do your job.

Let’s reboot this well-intentioned walking disaster,

Uninvited, unintended wedding crasher,

And finally put the neoliberalist economic ideologue out to pasture.
Air per Capita
By: Enne Baker
Tags: Money, America, Finance, Poetry, Capitalism

Air per Capita

Photo by Tim Hüfner on Unsplash

One deep breath costs one lung,

And an exhale, costs another,

I have two of my hands to sell to

Repurchase it again,

As the cycle goes on, so does

My spiraling ethic,

It moves as fast as

My heart and mind could function,

It’s pulsating through overtime,

More breath is being taken

In,

It breathes in and out

Like it’s being

Transplanted,

In and out,

In and out,

In a faster rate,

It breaks down through the long hours,

The warm body is the embodiment of

Hot comfortable air,

Until leaving the door to go home,

As the cold air released night winds

That blew fast,

A tsunami of icicles

Stabbing

The baggy lungs,

Heavy with impenetrable

Coinage.
Solving Wealth Inequality: A Billionaire’s Plan
By: Adrian Eaton
Tags: Inequality, Billionaires, People, Capitalism, Wealth Inequality

Nick Hanauer is a billionaire. With a net worth of $1.5 Billion, he’s not just in the top 1% of all earners — he’s in the top 0.01%. And he himself argues that our current economic systems are completely unfair — lopsided in favor of the rich, and no longer in service of the people.

In a neoliberal world, profits are king.

As a result: we assume growth is always good. We worship GDP. To be “productive” means, by definition, to be making money or spending money. Public spaces are not profitable, and therefore an inefficient use of real estate. Good business decisions are those that prioritize growth above all else. Healthcare plans are optimized for nothing other than profitability, and individuals are screened extensively to determine their most profitable rates.

Neoliberalism is based on a lot of dangerous, flawed assumptions about people. And it’s spawned a long list of anti-social, unhealthy consequences.

But it’s not too late to change!

In the grand scheme, 40 years is not that long…

Neoliberalism has caused a lot of damage, but we’re not doomed to this fate for all eternity. We can still course-correct and build a better future for ourselves to enjoy 40 years from now.

The first step is admitting that the problem exists. Neoliberalism has been hiding in the shadows for a while, but it’s finally being exposed and its assumptions being put under a microscope.

Now we can look towards solutions — better systems that are based on better assumptions about human nature. Instead of focusing on profits, focusing on people.

As Nick says in his TED Talk:

“It isn’t capital that creates economic growth,

it’s people.

It isn’t self-interest that promotes the public good,

it’s reciprocity.

It isn’t competition that produces our prosperity,

it’s cooperation.”

— “The dirty secret of capitalism and a new way forward.”
Wall Street Begins Trading Water Futures as a Commodity
Tags: Water, Capitalism, Water Rights

Wall Street has begun trading water as a commodity, like gold or oil. The country's first water market launched on the…

Wall Street has begun trading water as a commodity, like gold or oil.

The market allows farmers, hedge funds, and municipalities to hedge bets on the future price of water and water availability in the American West.

some experts say treating water as a tradable commodity puts a basic human right into the hands of financial institutions and investors, a dangerous arrangement as climate change alters precipitation patterns and increases water scarcity.

“What this represents is a cynical attempt at setting up what’s almost like a betting casino so some people can make money from others suffering,” Basav Sen, climate justice project director at the Institute for Policy Studies,
Jeff Bezos bought the most expensive property in LA with an eighth of a percent of his net worth
Tags: Amazon, Capitalism, Income Inequality, Wealth Inequality

Amazon paid zero dollars in federal income tax on $11 billion in before-tax profit in 2018; this year, it will pay out $162 million on $13.3 billion in profit — a whopping 1.2 percent effective tax rate.

The difference between their bank accounts and yours — yes, you, the person reading this — is that they can spend the monthly interest on their holdings and buy things like airplanes and islands.
True Love is Stupid
By: Riley Lopez
Tags: True Love, Capitalism

Weddings are supposed to be a couple declaring their eternal love for each other, and today’s society is obsessed with eternal love and is marketed as the most important thing in life. Many movies and T.V. shows have their central theme around love. The word “love” is also the most popular word in song lyrics and titles (Idibon). However, for most of human history, however, love was considered a temporary emotion that had nothing to do with marriage. Loving ones spouse was even considered weird and irresponsible. In the second century, a Roman politician was expelled from the Senate for kissing his wife in public. Benjamin Franklin once said, “love, considered as a passion, will naturally have but a short duration”.

For thousands of years marriage was about making economic and political deals, military treaties, or expanding the family labor force, but about 200 years ago, some people began to insist that young people should make their own decisions on the basis of love (Coontz). The only problem with this is that the modern concept of love is just. It’s taken way too seriously.

Beginning with the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge who said, “to be happy in married life, you must have a soul mate” (Coleridge). Today, the dominant cultural narrative of love is that somewhere out there everyone has their missing other half, a single perfect partner, “the one”, and romance movies have constantly ran with this, but the whole idea is complete nonsense. About half the world’s population is male, so there are roughly 3.5 billion potential soulmates alive on Earth today. According to movies, soul mates are detected vie eye contact, so assuming a woman makes eye contact with 12 new people every day, multiply that by three hundred day a year, and it will take eight hundred thousand years to find a soul mate. Even if the concept of a soul mat is a metaphor, it’s making relationships harder. One study found that couples that believe in “destiny” and “soulmates” break up sooner than those who don’t.

A common misconception of the feeling of true love is just limerence, which is an intense, involuntary infatuated love. Research has suggested that limerence lasts, on average, just eighteen months to three years (Sack). The biggest mistake society makes about love is when a temporary feeling is connected to a permanent union. The strongest relationships are between two people who understand that love, like all emotions can grow and change and sometimes even fade.
GIFTS TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE
Tags: Friendship, Baseball, Workplace, Classical Music

GIFTS TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE

When I first joined the CSO, I sought out role models among the veteran musicians. I had never played in a major orchestra and I needed to learn how to fit in. One man I found myself gravitating towards was a fellow violist, Don Evans. Don had joined the orchestra in 1948. Don’s father Clarence had been Principal Viola back in the 1920s and 30s, and his wife Margie was in the cello section. Don and Margie had been childhood sweethearts and they lived in the Winnetka house where Margie had grown up.



I was drawn to Don by his combination of professionalism, calm, and a marvelous dry-as-dust sense of humor. It must be said, though, that I fell a bit short of my model from time to time. Early on, I said or did something that struck Don as a bit out of line. I can’t recall my infraction, but there is no denying that I was something of a young punk back then. Don looked at me in his serene, cool, affectionate way and told me, “You’re lucky I like you so much or else I would tell you what I think of you.”



We had one other significant bond — baseball. I was born in Detroit and am still a passionate fan of the Detroit Tigers. Don’s ties to the Chicago Cubs were at least as deep. He had grown up near Wrigley Field and spent innumerable afternoons there throughout his life. His father had taken him to the third game of the 1932 World Series, when, legend has it, Babe Ruth pointed his bat at the center field bleachers and, on the next pitch, hit his famous “called shot” home run there, an iconic moment in baseball history.



A few years later, Don attended another World Series game, another debacle for the Cubs. It was 1935, and the Cubs were up against my Detroit Tigers. It was fated to be the first Series the Tigers ever won. Don attended the third game, a typically heartbreaking Cubs loss — they succumbed in the 11th inning on an error by their third baseman. Like any real fan, Don bought a scorecard and kept score, notating how every batter fared over the course of the game. More than half a century later, shortly before leaving the orchestra, he gave this scorecard to me.

I cherish it to this day. The now 85-year-old document is a fascinating time capsule, featuring the old four-color printing technique depicting Wrigley Field at the time. There was no ivy and no left field stands, but trees lined the perimeter beyond the outfield. Several pages show photos of the players on both teams, and it is remarkable to see how much older these young athletes looked at the height of the Depression than men of the same age today. I love the notices for items like Prima Pilsner, Green River, and Edelweiss Orange Soda “For Sale in this Park”.



Most of all, I pore over Don’s penciled notations, batter by batter, right up to the 11th inning denouement. Yet as much as I treasure this relic, it is by no means the most important thing Don gave me. I may not live up to my mentor, but I strive to be as good a colleague as I can, and hope that I may in some small way offer something for my younger colleagues to emulate.
Career: Start Doing these 4 Things in 2021 to Strengthen Relationships
By: Emily Fang
Tags: Work Relationships, Career Advice, Personal Relationships, Upskilling, Workplace

Photo by Vlada Karpovich from Pexels

Show up on time because punctuality is key.

You’ll think this is straightforward, but it’s quite difficult for many. Because punctuality is the bare minimum, if you fail to even meet that standard, it’ll be noticed after the second time — it becomes an irritant to others if you are disrupting the meeting and it deems you unreliable. Though we are humans and being late happens due to external factors, it’s best to not make it a reoccurring habit. People will remember you forever as the “late person.”

Create google calendar invites and reminders for yourself, and then offer to send one to the person you’re meeting as well.

This is an initiative I picked up from another friend; her schedule is wildly insane, so she manages her own time by sending calendar invites to people. For work, for coffee chats, for general chitchats, etc. This helps her stay organized and top of her meetings — she always offers to send one as a nicety and it helps serve as a reminder to those she’s meeting on what they’re talking about or what they’ll be doing. This has effectively helped me maintain my own social and work calendars.

When you’re impressed or intrigued by something someone has said, let them know.

If someone writes a fantastic article, releases a great podcast, or says something that really resonates with you, don’t be shy and let them know. Expressing gratitude is a muscle that we don’t utilize enough. There is only good in expressing positive thoughts on something that touched or impressed you —it’s great to validate people.

Thank anyone who has taken the time to help you, and see how you can also help them in the future. If not, pay it forward.

I have a philosophy of taking care of people who have taken care of you. Often time, we get caught up in our own business and life, but we can take the time to reflect and think about the people who have really made a difference in our lives. These can be parents, mentors, friends, strangers, etc. This can be done simply, through dropping a short note to check up on them, inviting them for a coffee, or hopping on a call to catch up.

These four small initiatives can deepen the relationship and bond people together. Intentionality is important; though it doesn’t need to be constant, it’s important to continue these small touch points to make impact.
5 Tricks to Explain ‘Your Side of the Story’ to Your Boss
By: Sujona Chatterjee
Tags: Corporate Culture, Jobs, Worklife, Boss, Workplace

5 Tricks to Explain ‘Your Side of the Story’ to Your Boss

I am sure there have been times when your boss just went on and accused you of something that you had nothing to do with. Or, instead of giving you credit for your hard work, someone else completely stole the show. It bothers you so much that you look for ways to communicate with your boss for him/her to see the truth. However, we all face the dilemma of how or when to strike that much-awaited conversation stuck like a leech in your head.

You have to speak about it soon or once the moment has passed it really won’t matter. Here are a few things you could try.

1. Use the Old School Method — Send an Email

You may wonder, will my boss even have the time to read what I have to say. But honestly, this shouldn’t matter to you. Pick an attention-worthy subject line and display it in a few crisp sentences about what you have to say about what transpired. If you want to sound confident, maybe edit the text using Grammarly or type it in Gmail. Gmail gives you automated suggestions that will help you write better emails.

“Be bold. Be fast. Get to the point right away. The best email communication is simple and clear.” — Constance Hale

2. Write it Down

When you have a lot to say, you often forget to mention the main points you wanted to say to clear your image. Write down a few moments that you wish to convey. This way, you sort out things in your head and know exactly what to begin with when you get a chance to speak.

3. Wait Back After a Meeting

Often the only time we get to see our boss is during a meeting. Wait back after the session is over and spill. Maybe start with a strong opening sentence that is hard to overlook. It gets their attention, and if you have written down your thoughts, you can convey everything you want within a few minutes.

4. Find Out When Your Boss Is Free

Get in touch with your boss’s best friend or right hand. Ask when your boss can sneak in five minutes with you. Be persistent and explain your needs clearly. If they have a heart, you’ll manage to find out the best time to speak with your boss.

5. Just Barge-in

If nothing of the above works, do hell with everything and just barge in. If it’s something that your boss needs to know and your job is on the line for the same, just barge in. You have nothing to lose anyway. Just go in and demand your much deserved time.

I hope these tricks work for you. There may be many more, but these have worked for me. If you can think of anything else, feel free to share in the comments section. Together we can help anyone out there who needs to get their side of the story explained to their boss before hell breaks loose.
Inhale Ideas ; Exhale Actions. You could be an introvert who spells…
Tags: Statement, Ideas, Execution, Views, Workplace

You could be an introvert who spends a lot in the mind but you could still be the one who speaks at the right time. On the other hand, you could be an extrovert having an ‘anytime engaging content’ speaking out your mind with no intention of judging your own views.The former and the latter can execute ideas well; but the one who is stuck in this race is, the ambivert who could jot down a lot of things in mind but says/executes only a few of them everytime.

Needless to say, humans are intended to make mistakes and they can’t be accurate all the time. But, a workplace or an educational institution expects an individual to give its best all the time, which is quite unusual. Our heart could easily break down, while at the same time can motivate us too. Unfortunately, our mind could not behave as we have expected it to and consequently errors pile up, also due to circumstances around us.

The best we could do is : to absorb, plan out and execute our ideas; to be not tensed about expressing our views and most importantly to think about other alternatives which could help you sustain the environment around you, if there is a problem which prevents from pulling us down. So, it is also necessary to have a good thinking capability, so that we could make the least mistakes when we express our views , regardless of the type of person we are — introvert/extrovert/ambivert. Also, over exaggeration of a view or statement can make matters worse which could be avoided by speaking up to the point, unless there arises a need to do so. In these ways, we can eventually maintain a good standard in our social environment.

But, what if our colleagues/friends cheat behind our back?
How Workplace Leadership Has Changed
By: Bryan Ziegenfuse
Tags: Leadership, Office Culture, Workplace, Management

As technology evolves, businesses need to adapt to the disruptive changes, and leadership is no exception. For companies to survive in the highly competitive business world, leaders have to model the change.

Leadership has transformed in the last decade. So much has changed, and the only way to remain relevant as a leader is to adapt to these changes.

Characteristics of a Good Leader

Workplaces have experienced a change from autocratic leadership to inclusive leadership. In the recent past, leaders used to make decisions based on their personal views without engaging other employees. Today, an effective leader considers the views and opinions of other employees when making a decision.

In addition, today’s effective leaders lead by example. They inspire, serve, and motivate their team to pursue loftier goals. Good leaders model integrity, empathy, creativity, and trust. Their purpose is not to seek recognition or praise but to help their team become better. They develop a sense of gratification from the success of others.

Why Bossing is Not Leadership

In the past ten years, numerous leaders were bosses in the workplace. They showcased their power by ordering people to do things and disciplining their juniors whenever they were wrong. Bossing is an ineffective style of leadership in today’s workplace. Here are the characteristics of the bosses.

Ridicules or criticizes

They are know it all kind of people

Talks more and listens less

Orders or directs

They are egocentric and self-absorbed

They blame others for their mistakes

Effective Styles of Leadership

Leadership is evolving, so do the workplace. The millennials view leadership from a different perspective than the previous regime. Millennials do not agree with the notion of people from “high rise offices wearing suits” bossing people around.

Those kinds of leaders are no longer accepted in the workplace. Leaders who direct, blame others for their mistakes, and magnify their weaknesses are becoming instinct.

Good leaders are replacing bossy leaders with the following attributes:

Take responsibility for their mistakes

Good listeners

They are team-oriented

They coach, build, train and encourage

They are ready to learn new things

The evolving workplaces need a more effective leadership style. Therefore, companies need to nurture and train their new generation of leaders to meet their goals.
This week’s ‘Start Where You Are’ Challenge: Speak Words of Kindness to Everyone You Encounter
By: Jessica Bantom
Tags: Diversity And Inclusion, Workplace, Belonging, Diversity

This week’s ‘Start Where You Are’ Challenge: Speak Words of Kindness to Everyone You Encounter Jessica Bantom ·Dec 23, 2020

For the remainder of this year, make a conscious effort to speak words of kindness. Not just to the people you usually interact with but the ones you usually look past, or the ones you’ve made up stories about in your mind, or the people you tell yourself you can’t relate to. Sow good will. More often than not, you’ll find that it is well-received AND returned to you. Happy holidays!
Are We Still Savage Children?
By: Bogdan Tiganov
Tags: Bullying At Work, Growing Up, Bullying, Workplace, Tribalism

Not enough people look closely at their early years. When we’re in school what matters is our height, how confident we sound, our physical strength, who we hang out with, our looks, whether we’re quiet or loud, how our rhythm matches the rhythm of the status quo.

Then the hormones kick in and magically, just like that, we’ve entered the realm of adulthood. We move into little cubicles. We ride the train. We put on a suit. And we uphold the laws of the corporate world. We stand for things. We respect people. And, apparently, we’re just looking to earn our crust.

The early years have been forgotten. The bullying. The intense struggle for survival. It was another life. Another universe. The tribalism. The preference for beauty. The belittling of intelligence. The hardest, the toughest, the beautiful. It’s all gone. No longer relevant. Because we have evolved from brutish, savage little creatures to magnificent adult superbeings.

I worked in a company, a very well known company, where all the marketing people happened to be attractive women. Really? Nothing to do with the preference for beauty and image then, I guess. My bad.

I’ve been bullied by the strongman type in several jobs. The ruler of the roost. The big fish in the small pond. It’s the same sense of superiority as in the playground. The same assured face of the bully. Piercing eyes. In charge. I’m bigger than you. I’ll punch you if you don’t do what I say.

Let’s not even start on “my dad is bigger than yours”. The amount of nepotism that goes on, openly, is staggering. Friends, family, who happen to bypass interviews, training, knowledge, and land in the best jobs where they can, in turn, bully those less fortunate than they are.

It’s all there — the savage nature of the early years has never left us — the only difference is instead of getting pushed around in the changing room you might not get that pay rise. Tribalism. No matter how hard we try to bury it under PowerPoint presentations or company policies. Give most people an opportunity to insult, to hurt, and they’ll take it. Where does that anger come from? Where is it learned?

I’m no better than the rest; I’ve just started to reflect more. But really, I’m just another kid in the playground, ducking and diving, trying to make it to home time in one piece.
Why cross-compensation in workplace doesn’t work
Tags: Success, Workplace, Psychology

Cross-compensation is when you try to compensate for loss in one area, with a gain in another. Since I am not a psychologist, I used the term that I know from risk management, which describes the situation.

I don’t know how others deal with it, but for a long time I have been cross-compensating and not noticing it. When I knew something is going wrong, I was focusing more on the next topic, and trying to bring more value there.

At first glance, to me it seemed like there is no problem. I even saw a proactivity in it. But in fact it is a problem, with multiple aspects.
Fixing stuff around yourself
By: Anas Abdullah
Tags: Work From Home, Amal Fellowship, Workplace, Amal Academy, Fixing Stuff Around You

I saw a few papers, a charger, data cables, my headphones, a box, and literally an iron, charging board along with my laptop on my table.

I was constantly distracted by these things as randomly looking at iron I remembered How I use to iron my clothes? what is the most irritating thing about ironing clothes? how many times did I scorch my shirts? how many shirts I do weekly and it went ON! I was completely lost in it, I was getting distracted again and again and was losing interest in my work.

I decided to clear my table from all the extra things to create a working environment. I removed extra papers, iron, charging board, wires, etc, and made up for it by having my laptop, earphones, and speaker around.
บันทึกของวิน (7): Exploitationware ขั้วตรงข้ามของ gamification ที่หว่านล้อมคนทำตามสิ่งที่ต้องการ
By: Kemchanin Pornpipatsakul
Tags: Exploitation, Exploitationware, Business, Gamification, Workplace

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
Being Beautiful in Nigeria : Asset or Mere Compliment?
By: Chiamaka Dike
Tags: Women, Beauty, Lifestyle, Nigeria, Workplace

Photo Credit : thementedcosmetics. com

"Fine Girl!" "Beautiful Angel!" "My Colour!"

If you live in Nigeria and you're a girl with likeable facial or bodily features, you should be familiar with these catcalls and many more as you walk along busy streets.

Many Nigerians unconsciously put beautiful women in a higher pedestal than many of their counter parts. It could be in matters as small as entering queues undeserved, as said by Doyin , a budding real estate agent or discounted prices on transport, an experience Timi, a young entrepreneur, had with a bike or okada man.

It could also be in matters of more substance, as regards to the workplace. Doyin made mention of certain companies having a unique preference of recruiting beautiful women for their front desk or customer services, as their looks serve as a great boost towards promoting the company. Esther M., a budding entrepreneur is of the opinion that being beautiful could even give you a voice, as you could basically not make any sense and people would still listen to you!

Being beautiful in Nigeria can also be a full time job as well, as one has opportunities of being a face model or a brand ambassador for beauty products, as said by Timi

So with all these being said, being beautiful is definitely an asset right? Maybe, but it is extremely limited as well.

Esther U., a natural hair enthusiast and entrepreneur, and Hadassah, a perfume oil connoisseur, both speak highly of having beauty in character as well, as it tends to speak more volumes for a lady than her physical characteristics. For instance, if you're beautiful but dubious, you are certainly not going to be retained for long.

Lastly, there is also the opinion that being beautiful is not a prerogative at all. Tutu, a Microbiology graduate, says that in Nigeria,connections are more of what would help a woman boost her career than beauty.

So, conclusion? Well, I would say that being beautiful is more of a stepping stone here in Nigeria than anything else. It can take you to the beginning of the racing track, but having a marketable skill set, with the proper virtues, can make you cross the finish line.
Working From Home- New Normal In The Vocational World
By: Gaurav Aggarwal
Tags: Work From Home, Work Life Balance, Workforce, Employees, Workplace

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
Work from home survey: 66% employees feel their work productivity has gone up considerably
By: Sunil Kumar
Tags: Work From Home, Work, Work Life Balance, Covid 19, Workplace

Work from home survey: 66% employees feel their work productivity has gone up considerably Sunil Kumar ·Dec 18, 2020

Wasn’t it just exciting and refreshing when, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us were expected to work from home. It was surely a delight, wasn’t it? While most of us were happy to avoid the long and exhausting commutes to office, some of us were exhilarated at the thought of working from the comforts of our homes.

However, it’s almost five months now since the first announcement of a lockdown was made and although some have resumed back to their day to day lives, many of us are still working from home. That being said, it is only reasonable to ask if Work from Home still feels as refreshing and thrilling as before or is it beginning to take a toll on you? Read more…
Fixing stuff around yourself
By: Muhammad Faizan Mirza
Tags: Office Culture, Cleaning, Clutter Clearing, Workplace, Organizing

The work desk area was created around 1200 CE, and keeping in mind that the innovation upon it has developed, the work area itself has continued as before: a level surfaced work zone joined by drawers and cubbies for capacity.

After a busy Thursday at work place, I was sitting on my chair at the office and staring at the computer screen unintentionally and all in my mind was about the project work assigned by Amal Academy. All of sudden something clicks in mind and I start seeing my office table from a different perspective. I found my office desk very messy and found it cluttered. Then google about cluttered desks and find quotes about cluttered and messy work desks.

Awww moment for myself, that even famous physicist who developed the special and general theories of relativity and won the Nobel Prize for Physics quote about a cluttered desk. In fact I felt proud.

Back in the day, a clean desk was considered a sign of slothful laziness. Busy people, and smart people didn’t have time to straighten up.

But as I dug more about my work desk I realized that I faced lots of problems in routine office work in finding important documents in a piled up building of papers on my desk. My messy desk causes loss of productivity and I am facing problems and feel less confident whenever I need to find any paper.

Our desk management and the way we organize our table shows how organized we are about our tasks and work. I lose lots of precious time in finding papers from messy desks and whenever during my busy work day I look at my table I get depressed and worried that so many tasks are left to complete.

So I decided to do the totally opposite of what Albert Einstein famously pointed out.

I decided to take action right at that moment and start cleaning my desk by allocating every piece of paper in the relevant file and keeping them in proper manners.

In the process of desk cleaning found many disadvantages of messy desks, few of them are below mentioned.

Messy workplace / Desk Affects Your Brain and Your Work

Less Productivity

Wastage of time in finding important documents

Give bad image to visitors

It took me an hour or more to arrange my table in the proper way but during the course found so many important lost papers and documents. Also learned different lessons during the desk cleaning process.

Here are a few pictures of my office desk after the completion of years awaited important tasks.

It was really an amazing experience.

Following key learning lessons from my this activity that I would like to share with my fellows.

Increase productivity

Increase Confidence

Organized Workplace

Organized time and space management

Increased Focus

Less time waste

Less Stress

Greater profitability

Less Absenteeism

Improved morale

I would suggest to every working professional to keep their desks cleans and organized.
Get your boss to give you a raise in pay!
By: Shiloh Cyrus
Tags: Work, Spells, Magic, Employment, Workplace

A little magic can go along way. Get that raise today!

Get a Raise or Job Promotion at Work

Whatever you do, don’t compromise your present supervisor with stopping with the expectation that the individual in question will toss more cash at you. You would prefer not to demolish connections and danger losing one employment without having another arranged.

magic help is but a click away.

In this intense economy, everybody could utilize a raise at work. In any case, getting your manager to add additional cash to your check is anything but a simple accomplishment — you need to situate yourself as a priceless resource for the organization for the raise to bode well for the board. This is business all things considered, and the speculation should pay off.

It is safe to say that you are considering requesting a raise? Provided that this is true, you may be inclination pretty anxious. Yet, appropriately planning before you create your proposition for a raise can tremendously expand your odds of achievement.

Discussing cash at all is untouchable in our way of life. Therefore, a large number of us feel uncomfortable with compensation exchange. Examination shows that one of the most well-known explanations behind not arranging compensation is feeling awkward requesting more cash

You may need help from the big Boss ( a higher power )

Just appearing on time every day and managing your responsibility isn’t in every case enough, nonetheless. You need to exceed all expectations, and display the characteristics that make the raise beneficial from the organization’s perspective.

Make your manager consider you to be a significant item, and you’ll be one bit nearer to that raise you’ve been longing for.

magic help is but a click away

#tbt #teambeachbodycoach #teamblessed #teammystic #texting #thailandismagic #thankful #thankfulandblessed #thankfulandgrateful #thankfulgratefulblessed #the_gallery_of_magic #theartofbujo #theartofchildhood #theartofslowliving #theartshed #thebodyshopindo #thebodyshopsale #thedivinefury #thegratefuldead #thehappinessproject #themagicineveryday #thepursuitofhappiness #thereisalwayshope #thewitchery #thingswelove #thisishappiness #thursdaythoughts #tiktok #together #tompettyandtheheartbreakers
This week’s ‘Start Where You Are’ Challenge: Think about what it means to be anti-racist and what, if anything, you’re doing to live that way
By: Jessica Bantom
Tags: Diversity And Inclusion, Workplace, Belonging, Diversity

Being anti-racist isn’t just about condemning racism. It’s not just about drawing a line in the sand with racists on one side and you on the other. Anti-racism is about consciously acting to combat the inequities and injustices that racism creates and perpetuates. Does this sound like a mission you are ready to undertake? If so, the first act is to decide if this way of being is meaningful enough to you to take on. The next step is to commit — because it will require sustained effort. And then, as the slogan says, just do it. ‘Start Where You Are’ provides some pointers to begin making changes but you’ll find that there’s more within the realm of your control than you realize if you take the time to evaluate. YOU may just be the changemaker in your family, social circles, workplace, organizations, or teams you’re already a part of.
We’re making a difference this Christmas, one hour at a time, one person at a time, and it’s 2020.
By: K Ann
Tags: Christmas, Moms, 2020, Christmas 2020, Workplace

We’re making a difference this Christmas, one hour at a time, one person at a time, and it’s 2020.

At work today, someone mentioned that this year, we should just accept that we’re having a “Blue Christmas,” and accept it at that. We will miss our family and cry, then plan for a better Christmas next year.

We’re not all willing to accept that.

2019 brought my first Christmas without my mom and I wanted nothing to do with it. I didn’t want my birthday, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, or Christmas without her around to tease me about never wearing a coat (I hate coats as much as I hate being cold).

This year we are doing our very best to make Christmas bright for families with children of all ages. We are putting together a light display that sounded “easy” at first before it turned into an insanely huge endeavor.