vacation Archives - The Source

June 27, 2020June 27, 2020

Taking A Vacation

Readers, I wanted to put an announcement on the blog in case you are looking for new content… I decided to take the summer off.

This is not some ominous statement, I have been doing some version of this blog for over 8 years and have almost never missed a week. The technology news that I try focus on has been rightfully stagnant the last few months and in light of all of the other things going on, I thought it would be a good time to take a little break.

Thank you all for reading and subscribing.

I will be back in September.

October 2, 2019September 21, 2019

News You Can Use: 10/2/2019

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Team Productivity: Striking a Balance Between Being a Boss and Friend

“All strong relationships are built on honesty,” writes Tamara Luzajic for Humanity. “And just like a good friend would tell you when you are doing something wrong no matter how much it hurts, a good manager will use open communication to help employees become better at what they do.”

“Honesty is one of the best principles you can use to establish a healthy balance between caring your employees and leading them professionally,” adds Luzajic. “The closer you get to someone on a personal level, the harder it becomes to give them honest feedback as employees.”

Additionally, build trust with each of your employees. For example, grant them autonomy and flexible schedules. Trust in your employee builds resilience — shows you rely on them enough to work where, when, and however they prefer. As a result, this will create a more positive and productive culture.

And, if someone needs to take a day off because they’re attending to a sick family member, don’t freak out on them. Give them the day off without penalizing them.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/338651
The hackable technology that worries even a legendary con man
How is Meritocracy Damaging Our Economy?

Interesting podcast about how high-achieving workers are stuck on a treadmill that they can’t get off of. If you are reading this blog, this probably hits home. Not a bad way to spend 30 minutes.

https://beta.prx.org/stories/291960
Thanks LJP!
For millennials, unlimited vacation isn’t always a perk

But unlimited vacation policies can be a Trojan horse, particularly for young people who are newer to the workforce and less likely to take time off in the first place. On the surface, the offer seems generous, even altruistic; it implies employers trust their employees and encourage work-life balance. In practice, however, “unlimited vacation” is a misnomer. Employees often take fewer vacation days if their company has an unlimited policy, since there’s no framework for how many days they can—or should—take off.

Managers can decline to approve time off, especially if there’s an implicit assumption that nobody can take more than two to three weeks of vacation per year. And when they leave the company, employees can’t cash out on the paid time off that they have accrued (which is required by law in a number of states). For workers in their twenties who are more likely to job hop and let vacation time go unused, that can mean foregoing a sizable chunk of cash.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90398810/for-millennials-unlimited-vacation-isnt-always-a-perk

May 17, 2017May 13, 2017

News You Can Use: 5/17/2017

LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman: To Scale, Do Things That Don’t Scale

“Over the last 20 years, I’ve worked on or invested in many companies that scaled to 100 million users or more,” says Hoffman. “But here’s the thing: You don’t start with 100 million users. You start with a few. So, stop thinking big, and start thinking small.”

Adds Chesky, “It’s really hard to get even 10 people to love anything but it’s not hard if you spend a ton of time with them.”

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293393
Why ‘Vacation-Shaming’ Hurts You More Than Your Employees

Gary Beckstrand, vice president of O.C. Tanner Institute, in Salt Lake City, described an acquaintance who worked for a smaller company where long hours and lots of work travel were common. “While she was very passionate about her work — in fact, she says she loved it — after three years and only one very short vacation mixed in, she was completely burned out and she left the company,” Beckstrand told me.

“You lose great experience and talent with employees who leave, and it costs the company money to bring in and train a new person.”

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293711
Irrational Thinking Is a Virtue, Not a Vice
DHS ‘likely’ to expand laptop ban on flights

Expanding the ban to and from other countries, including European countries, is being weighed by DHS, according to various reports. There is also an internal debate at DHS about what to do about lithium batteries inside devices stored in the baggage hold of a plane that could overheat and catch fire, causing a catastrophic explosion, according to Reuters and others.

Expanding the DHS ban would require a herculean adjustment for many business travelers, some accustomed to writing and editing reports and presentations for hours on long flights. Suggested workarounds include the ability to check out a lightweight laptop or Chromebook near an airport gate to use just for that flight. It would then be checked in after all data was erased at the end of the flight.

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3196146/it-industry/dhs-likely-to-expand-laptop-ban-on-flights.html
Why your mom is the best CPO you know

By the time my son was 5, I had learned a valuable lesson: the $30 double-reinforced-knee pants from the catalog were a smarter purchase than the $9 pants from the big-box store. Why? Because my son, God bless him, can wear holes in the knees of his pants in no time flat. The $9 pants seemed like a bargain, but I had to replace them often. After two winters of trying to find long pants in his size when the stores had transitioned to Spring duds, I realized that the better quality, more expensive pants saved me time, gas, frustration in the long run.

https://www.jaggaer.com/mother-procurement-posts-mom-best-cpo-know/

Photo: Eva Darron

July 20, 2016July 9, 2016

News You Can Use: 7/20/2016

How To Use A Mass Exodus At Your Company To Advance Your Career

Taking on new or more challenging work. “If there are projects you would like to pitch in on because it would be rewarding or enhance your skill set, this could be a time to do that,” she says. And now you can make a strong case for why you’re up for the task.

After all, you may have some more leverage than you did beforehand—at least of a certain sort. “If people are leaving,” Crawford says, “they kind of need all hands on deck. That would be one more positive way to get your fingers in more areas you may not have otherwise.”

http://www.fastcompany.com/3061287/hit-the-ground-running/how-to-use-a-mass-exodus-at-your-company-to-advance-your-career
How To Stop Checking Email On Vacation

If you’re finding it hard to refrain from email, set “unplugging goals,” suggests Gabby Burlacu, human capital management researcher at the software company SAP SuccessFactors. “Learning to completely unplug from work takes time and focus,” she says. “Finding hobbies or activities while you’re on vacation and making a commitment to solely focus on those while you are engaged in them can go a long way.”

It can also be helpful if you sort email, says Webb. He takes 10 minutes a day, while he’s waiting at the airport or riding in a cab, to filter email into the folders he set up before he left: “Action Required,” “File,” and “Read Later.”

“I don’t respond to messages while on vacation, unless I feel it’s imperative,” he says. “I simply process the emails for action upon my return.”

http://www.fastcompany.com/3061451/how-to-stop-checking-email-on-vacation
Creative Office Design Won’t Make You Better At Your Job, But This Might

Del Toro found this reassuring. The employee hadn’t asked permission to move the furniture, but the fact that she had done so anyway pointed to a feature of ViaSat’s work environment that no designer can account for directly—its culture, which prizes curiosity and the freedom to find alternative ways of doing things on your own initiative. That couch still sits by the window. It’s already the most popular space for people to meet. But del Toro won’t be surprised or perturbed if somebody six or 12 months from now moves it someplace else.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3061170/the-future-of-work/creative-office-design-wont-make-you-better-at-your-job-but-this-might
Tensions rise over LTE using Wi-Fi channels

Unlicensed LTE is designed to give mobile operators more spectrum to work with as they try to serve subscribers in crowded places. Verizon, T-Mobile USA and other carriers have talked about rolling it out as soon as the end of this year.

But some backers of Wi-Fi, including the Alliance, have said LTE-U could make it hard for wireless LAN users to get a packet in edgewise. Fans of the new technology, including Qualcomm, say it won’t add any more interference than a new Wi-Fi access point would.

http://www.cio.com/article/3088987/tensions-rise-over-lte-using-wi-fi-channels.html
The Skills It Takes To Get Hired At Google, Facebook, Amazon, And More

Four things: General cognitive ability . . . Not just raw [intelligence] but the ability to absorb information. Emergent leadership: The idea there being that when you see a problem, you step in and try to address it. Then you step out when you’re no longer needed. That willingness to give up power is really important. Cultural fit: We call it Googleyness, but it boils down to intellectual humility. You don’t have to be warm or fuzzy. You just have to be somebody who, when the facts show you’re wrong, can say that. Expertise in the job we’re gonna hire you for.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3061237/the-skills-it-takes-to-get-hired-at-google-facebook-amazon-and-more

Photo: Martina Misar-Tummeltshammer