Love & Work
A notebook about how we work, learn, love and live.
It's easy to forget that the future is not something that happens to us, but something that we co-create. Here's some examples of creative thinking I thought worth sharing this week.
Happy Friday.
Purpose, Corporate Social Responsibility
Allan Murray believes that there has been a real shift and that CEOs are truly committed to what’s known as “stakeholder capitalism,” pursuing other interests besides investor returns.
“'Do they really mean it?' he writes. 'I believe they do, for a mix of positive reasons—a new generation of CEOs includes many who are committed to the idea, a growing army of employees are demanding it, and even some customers are beginning to value it—as well as a negative reason: the political environment continues to look very threatening to business these days.'"
"Murray concludes that they are taking it seriously, in any case. A central message of the book is that 'a new age of business' requires leaders to focus on purpose rather than putting profit first. He argues that there is a good business reason to do so. 'In the long run, there is no tradeoff between purpose and profits,' he writes. 'You can’t have a successful company in the long term if your employees can’t make a decent living; you can’t have a successful company if social turmoil is undermining the community, the society, or the political context you must operate in; you can’t have a successful company if the climate is creating chaos.'” - Kevin J. Delaney
Book Review: What Happens When A Company Puts Purpose Ahead of Profits
How We Work
The office of the future has the capacity to accelerate change and to support a totally new kind of work and workforce.
The Berlin headquarters of online retailer Zalando in 2019. Photographer: HG Esch/HENN
"The American office has changed dramatically as it evolved from the factory-like office floors of the early 20th century, to the cubicle-bound postwar corporate world, to our own era of flexible workstations and open-floor plans. But the stresses now coming to bear on the white-collar workplace are unlike anything we’ve seen before.
"Three factors, distinct yet deeply intertwined, have conspired to make the work environment a site of unprecedented contention, as well as tremendous opportunity. First, the ongoing move away from manufacturing toward a knowledge-based digital economy has made the idea of the brick-and-mortar workspace (and the hierarchical structure that comes with it) seem outdated. Second, the Covid-19 pandemic allowed a huge number of people to begin working from home — and many are not enthusiastic about resuming their former habits. Finally, there’s been a tectonic shift in the way Americans are thinking about work itself, as evidenced in the phenomenon some have called “the Great Resignation.” How can offices adapt to this new and complex condition?" - Martin Henn
Article: The Way We Work Has Changed. So Should Offices.
Culture
14 tweets that capture the stale taste of life without a counterculture
"These are the key indicators that you might be living in a society without a counterculture:
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A sense of sameness pervades the creative world
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The dominant themes feel static and repetitive, not dynamic and impactful
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Imitation of the conventional is rewarded
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Movies, music, and other creative pursuits are increasingly evaluated on financial and corporate metrics, with all other considerations having little influence
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Alternative voices exist—in fact, they are everywhere—but are rarely heard, and their cultural impact is negligible
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Every year the same stories are retold, and this sameness is considered a plus
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Creative work is increasingly embedded in genres that feel rigid, not flexible
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Even avant-garde work often feels like a rehash of 50-60 years ago
"This is a deep matter, and I won’t try to unlock all the nuances here. I will now simply share 14 tweets that capture the stale taste of life without a counterculture." - Ted Gioia
Article: 14 Warning Signs That You Are Living in a Society Without a Counterculture
Social Messaging
Barbara Kruger’s iconic 1989 poster has become even more relevant now.
"Kruger’s images inspire viewers around the world because they exist outside of the elite spaces of museums and galleries.
"Writer and poet Adam Heardman cites the importance of situating political art in the public sphere.
"Heardman writes that Kruger saw the concentration of corporate power as a direct threat to individuals, particularly women and minorities. To resist corporate America’s efforts to create a single, homogeneous consumer, she wrested advertising tactics from them to quickly and effectively communicate the hopes and fears of marginalized people, enabling the voices of those demanding justice to go viral.
"Given the battle ahead to regain the right to abortion, we expect many more artists and activists to draw from Kruger’s work for inspiration, strategy and strength." - John Corso-Esquivel and Lia Rose Newman
Article: Why a 1989 poster is Still a Fixture in the Battle Over Abortion Rights
Corporate Social Responsibility
Several global brands have now achieved B Corp certification, leading some to criticize certifier B Lab for abandoning its original mission: Making business a force for good.
Les Prés Rient Bio is one of 45 Danone brands that has achieved B-Corp certification.
“'Certification is a means to achieve something that is much bigger than [certification alone], which is to drive systemic change,' said Gian Maria Bruno, Global B Corp Director at Danone— which to date has had 45 of its brands (accounting for over 60 percent of its global sales) achieve B Corp certification; the company is aiming to become one of the first completely certified multinationals by 2025. 'It’s a no-brainer that if you want to achieve this systemic change, we need to have big players.'
"Certified Danone brands including Danone North America (which itself became the largest B Corp in 2018) join Nespresso, Ben & Jerry’s (owned by Unilever), Natura &Co, Tom’s of Maine (Colgate Palmolive), Athleta (Gap Inc), and other multinational brands in B Corp certification.” - Christian Yonkers
Article: Behemoths and B Corps: Multinationals’ Role in the Stakeholder Economy
Brand Identity
Tiffany blue is now (for a limited time) available to any artist.
Tiffany just licensed their most valuable asset, their trademark blue, to KRINK, a brand founded to develop a 'superior silver paint marker that would be both versatile and long-lasting on the streets.'
"Known the world over for their own signature color, the two brands have joined forces on a limited-edition K-60 Box Set including three K-60 Paint Markers in white, silver, and Tiffany Blue®. The collaboration coincides with Tiffany’s ongoing Vision & Virtuosity exhibition at Saatchi Gallery in London — a visual chronicle of the brand’s history, featuring over 400 unique objects that have defined the iconic house since 1837." - Hype Art
Article: Tiffany & Co. Partnered With KRINK on a Collaborative K-60 Box Set
Color, Innovation
How a teenage chemistry student inadvertently discovered aniline dyes
"Artificially obtained rainbows owe a lot to William Henry Perkin, a teenage student of German chemist August Wilhelm von Hofmann, who spent Easter vacation of 1856 experimenting with aniline, an organic base his teacher had earlier discovered in coal tar. Hoping to hit on a synthetic form of quinine, he accidentally hit on a solution that colored silk a lovely purple shade – an inadvertent eureka moment that ranks right up there with penicillin and the pretzel."
"...Cue an explosion of dye manufacturers across Great Britain and Europe, including Bayer, producer of the feather sample book. The survival of this artifact is somewhat miraculous given how vulnerable antique feathers are to environmental factors, pests, and improper storage." - Open Culture
Article: Behold a Book of Color Shades Depicted with Feathers (Circa 1915)
One-liners
Article: Will Artificial Intelligence get high?
Article: The audacious PR plot that seeded doubt about climate change
Article: Boxville and beyond: Shipping container marketplaces are revitalizing city centers and BIPOC businesses.
Article: Seaweed Inc.: As climate threatens lobster, Maine eyes new cash crop
Playlist
Pinch me. Soon there will be a new tribute album to Leonard Cohen with every artist backed by a band that includes guitarist Bill Frisell. This recording by James Taylor is sublime.
"Blue Note Records—the storied jazz label behind landmark releases from Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, and more—has announced a new album of Leonard Cohen songs performed by other musicians. Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen is out October 14. It includes covers from Iggy Pop, Peter Gabriel, Mavis Staples, Norah Jones, Sara McLachlan, James Taylor, David Gray, and Nathaniel Rateliff. The musicians were each joined by a backing band that includes Bill Frisell, Immanuel Wilkins, and Kevin Hayes, among others. The album was produced by Larry Klein.
"Ahead of the album’s release, Blue Note has shared a new version of 'Coming Back to You,' recorded by James Taylor. The song, which appeared on Cohen’s 1984 album Various Positions, was re-recorded by Taylor at the Barn in Washington, Massachusetts, and features musical contributions from Frisell, Wilkins, and Hayes, alongside Scott Colley on bass, Gregory Leisz on pedal steel, and Larry Goldings on organ. - Rob Arcand
Article: James Taylor Covers Leonard Cohen’s “Coming Back to You”: Listen
Image of the Week
Claes Oldenberg on a London street in 1966. Photograph by Hans Hammarskiöld
As you know, Claes Oldenberg died earlier this month. Mason Currey, emphasizing his creative process and willingness to work without a net, wrote a fitting tribute.
Article: Claes Oldenburg Was Always Starting from Scratch
What's Love & Work?
Love & Work is the weekly newsletter by me, Mitch Anthony. I help people use their brand - their purpose, values, and stories - as a pedagogy and toolbox for transformation.
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