Reading, Listening, and Watching—Closing Out 2020

We’ve packed so much into this final quarter of 2020 that sometimes it doesn’t feel real. But before I head off to rest and enjoy the holidays, I wanted to close out the year with some of what has been massaging my brain and a lot of what I’m planning to catch up on in the coming weeks.

Reading

Honestly, I’ve had a hard time doing much reading lately. I have a lot of stuff queued up on my Kindle, in my Pocket (loving this new tool!), and in (way too many) open browser tabs. So I’m sharing a bit of what I have actually read and more about what I hope to read.

FutureCast

“10 Lessons form CEOs on How to Manage Corporate Reputation in a New Era of Activism”

This is a fascinating read. The overarching themes are all about action, taking control, and shaping your message before someone else does. Also, I love this line: “reputation is today’s employee pension.”

• The article is based on: https://www.futurecasting.purplestrategies.com/

And if you want a good listen, I had the opportunity to engage in a LinkedIn LIVE conversation about all things reputation and communications with the author of the article, Denise Brien. Denise is the managing director of research operations for Purple Strategies—a corporate reputation strategy firm and Courtenay Shipley, President of Retirement Planology.

Professor Galloway

“The Great Dispersion”

Professor Scott Galloway is the author of the recent NYT bestseller, Post Corona. In this article, he discusses how the pandemic has accelerated trends that were already changing how we think about the future of work. There’s a lot to unpack here. As we work toward the next normal, we will have to grapple with the structural issues that are reshaping our culture, reducing empathy and reshaping our concepts of community.

• Note: Prof. G’s take on higher education is well worth the read too. https://www.profgalloway.com/higher-ed-enough-already

Making Holiday Memories

The Christmas Parade! 

We read this book a lot at our house. The girls love a good read-aloud and I fall asleep with the cadence of the toddler board book stuck in my head: “BOOM biddy BOOM biddy BOOM BOOM BOOM! What is that noise filling the room?”

Planning to Read

From Wired

“A Mission to Make Virtual Parties Actually Fun”

Because we’re going to be social distancing for a while yet and Zoom happy hours just aren’t cutting it anymore and I’m not ready for virtual reality happy hours just yet.

From the Library of Congress

“More About the Business of Scrooge and Marley: An Ethnographic Approach”

Growing up, my family watched A Christmas Carol (always the George C. Scott version – the best!) during the holidays every year. We can (and do) quote it. I can’t wait to geek out over this article.

Listening

I’ve listened to a lot of business and productivity-type podcasts this year—that’s a separate topic in and of itself. But I’ve needed a little more inspiration lately and find myself turning to interviews and memoir-type podcasts.

I’ve never hopped on a Peloton, but I loved this inspiring interview with Peloton Instructor, Tunde Oyeneyin. In addition to her incredible life story, Tunde’s ability to share her message is a masterclass for anyone who needs to communicate, motivate, or inspire others (all of us!).

Code Switch. Every episode of this podcast teaches me something, expands my perspective, and draws me into their reporting and storytelling. The hosts do a fabulous job of weaving the macro-level (big issues) through the individual stories. It’s Apple’s podcast of the year for a reason.

I’m not running as often as I would like these days, but I’m looking forward to pounding some pavement while listening to this interview with Dr. Mark Hyman about the impact nutrition has on our minds and food as a social justice issue.

Watching

I’ve been terrible, utterly terrible about watching television. I just want escapism in my T.V. viewing these days and there is much too much reality on T.V. I’m open to recommendations but at the risk of sounding Grinch-y, no Hallmark Holiday movies please!

I do hope to watch The Social Dilemma and I’m definitely looking forward to the new Wonder Woman movie!

I hope you get a chance to do some reading, listening, and watching during the holidays. And from all of us at Audacia Strategies to you and yours cheers to a very Happy New Year!

Photo credit: Jacob Lund from Noun Project