Intro
Happy New Year!
I hope you are all safe and doing well. It's my pleasure to send you the third edition of my restyled monthly Nainyte newsletter. I've handpicked a selection of resources, articles and stories which I believe are worth your valuable time.
Let's get straight into it and be sure to let me know what you think by replying to this email!
My Monthly Fail Story
Fined For Recycling
Every year I like to start with a new habit which I believe will help me to improve myself, especially mentally. In 2021 I decided to commit sharing more failure stories on social media and less of “Look, my dear network how well I am doing!”
So here is my first story: Right before Christmas I have received a letter from Rotterdam municipality with a fine to pay. This would be all OK, but the reason of the fine really made me upset. Why?
Because it was for recycling, which I have been doing for many years! My neighbors are all so much into recycling too that after 1-2 days of an emptied paper bin, it gets full immediately.
So there were times when I left my paper near a bin which earned me a fine. Shame on me!
Lesson learnt - never leave your waste outside a bin! Not only to avoid a fine, but also ensure your street looks neat and clean. Continue asking your municipality to increase paper bin removal service.
I would love to hear your failure stories too! Please share it by replying to this email.
Find Your Purpose
3 steps for surviving your imaginary obstacles
I like people who can 'walk their talk.' Instead of giving advices, they show you how it's done by themselves. This makes it so authentic!
When I think of such a person in the area of women empowerment, I immediately say - Mira Vasic from InTouch!
So, it is a big pleasure to share with you a new guest blog post written by Mira. She shares with us her touching story on how Mira has tackled various obstacles while pursuing her dreams.
I find this article so inspiring and motivating!
Feel free to get in touch with Mira if you need career advice and follow her purposeful work - helping women to get more influence on their own career and on the world.
Personal Growth
The Instant reboot of our busy mind
Our busy minds are getting even busier, especially when this year almost everyone moved to even more digitally connected lifestyles.
It is my pleasure to share with you a new guest article on my blog written by a former colleague Victor Kas!
Victor talks about the importance of rebooting your busy mind and inviting us to analyze how we came to this point.
On top of that, recently Victor and his partner from EchtWilt started to organize extremely interesting trips in wild Swedish nature. Feel free to connect with him if you are interested to join the next trip in June. It’s a great idea to recharge and for team building!
The dangers of leaders falling asleep in their success and how to avoid it
How does it happen that some very successful people suddenly become ‘outdated?’
How can we avoid it in this vastly changing world where learning can never end?
These are the questions I am analyzing in my blog post which also includes a couple of pragmatic advises to avoid getting ‘outdated’ which come from my personal experience.
Business
What an inspiring story of a male boss supporting his female colleague
What an inspiring story of a male boss supporting his female colleague Recently I read an article with the headline "When a female employee asked her boss if she could move to 80% time, he refused."
I immediately had negative thoughts about that boss! But it’s a story with a wholesome twist. I encourage you to read the whole story first before misjudging the headline like I initially did.
Kudos to Aaron Genest who is carrying here a very important and powerful message to all leaders!
Books
The tyranny of metrics by Jerry Z. Muller
Professionally I grew-up with a mindset 'what gets measured, gets managed.' So I am a strong advocate for quantifying things to make #data driven decisions.
But there is always 'the other side of the coin' and the same holds true for measurements.
After reading the book 'The tyranny of metrics' by Jerry Z. Muller, I was very intrigued to get another perspective on this topic:
- Anything that can be measured and rewarded will be gamed.
For example, when surgeons are rated according to their success rate, some respond by refusing to operate on patients with more complex conditions.
There is a tendency to simplify problems by focusing on easily measurable elements, but this is rarely the most important thing.
When people are judged by performance metrics, they are incentivised to do what the metrics measure. This often negatively affects risk taking, impedes innovation and degrades purpose of work.
Although metrics have unintended negative consequences, they can be useful when those measured buy into its purposes and validity. This means that developing the measurement system bottom up helps to increase its effectiveness.
Make An Impact
Bracelets with a story is helping women in rural Uganda thanks to you!
I'm so happy and grateful for the support on the Bracelets with a story initiative! A big thank you to all of you who have purchased a Bracelet, as it is making an impact for the woman in rural Uganda.
With the money raised along with my other avenues of raising funds, we've been able to hand out micro credits, which enables the women to start their own business. One example is Mary. A single mother living in rural #Uganda 🇺🇬 who was recently given a micro credit to start her business.
Mary is planning to sell matoke 🍌 in a local Masaka market. Her dream is to earn a stable income, so that Mary’s children will be able to get good secondary school education.
That's however just one example, I'll keep you updated on what's to come. If you'd like to support the woman, head over to Bracelets with a story shop.