A senior manager walks into a meeting and shows a slide filled with numbers, tables and charts.

“Customer satisfaction is down 12%. Complaints are up 18%. Repeat purchases have fallen for the third quarter in a row.”

Everyone nods. A few people take notes.

Then, he closes the slide deck and he tells them about Daniel.

Two weeks ago, Daniel bought our product for his daughter Sarah’s seventh birthday. It arrived late. Upset, he called customer service. When he called, he was transferred three times. No one took responsibility. By the time the package arrived, the birthday had passed.

Daniel did not ask for compensation.

He simply said, “I trusted you to get one small thing right.”

The room became quiet.

Suddenly, the 12% decline in satisfaction was no longer just a number. The managers can see the problem. They imagine the customer. They understand what the company had lost.

The data told them something was wrong.

The story told them why it matters.

[Start Up]

I was thinking about stories recently as I ramped up for the Fall semester.

Week 1, and especially session 1, is the precious opportunity to communicate a perspective. It is important for any course. It is especially important for the courses I am teaching this Fall as most students are just starting college.

I began my classes by jumping right in. Didn’t say “Good afternoon”. Didn’t say “Hello”. I made it emotional, I made it about them.

I started with stories.

Did they have the desired impact? Will the stories be remembered? Will they stick?

We’ll see.

[Stories]

We humans communicate through stories: plays, novels, films, manga, anime, song, poetry. Myths and legends.

Stories make us human.

Stories are relatable. We see ourselves in the people in stories. We empathize. Stories communicate feeling and meaning. Stories communicate who we are as individuals, groups, tribes, nations. Culture.

Bullet points and charts? Not so much.

Storytelling is highly effective in business communication. Stories turn abstract information into something people can understand, remember, and act on.

Storytelling is impactful. Stories convey information with structure, human meaning and causal logic.

[Get one up on AI]

Back to that “human” thing. Keep and stay one up on AI: Use stories to communicate. Make your stories, you message authentic. Genuine, authentic stories resonate with people. Connect. Give meaning. Evoke emotion.

The next time you need to get your point across, whether in a presentation or and email, tell a story.

Five reasons storytelling is effective in business

The five point quick hit

Storytelling is effective because it…

1. Makes ideas concrete - Complex information becomes understandable

2. Captures attention - People become more engaged

3. Persuades - Reduces resistance and counter-arguing

4. Creates emotion - Makes information personally meaningful

5. Creates meaning - Helps people understand strategy and change

   ---

Deeper explanations of each:

1. Makes information easier to understand and remember

Business information is often abstract: strategy, market positioning, organizational change, customer value, risk, culture. Stories place these ideas into a sequence of:

people → problem → action → outcome

making them easier to process.

Research on narrative cognition shows that stories engage cognitive, emotional and imagery processes simultaneously. This deeper engagement helps audiences integrate information into a coherent mental model rather than remembering isolated facts. There is something called: Narrative transportation. (I learned about this while preparing this posting.) Narrative transportation involves “concentrated attention, emotional involvement and mental imagery”. In English: getting immersed in and completely caught up in a story. Green and Brock’s foundational work describes this as narrative transportation. (ResearchGate)

Business implication:
Instead of saying:

“Customer complaints increased because our response process was too slow.”

Tell the story of what happened to one customer, what employees encountered, what went wrong and how the organization fixed it.

The story gives meaning.

2. Stories increase attention and engagement

People are more likely to mentally enter a story than a conventional presentation of claims and evidence. This is Narrative transportation.

Green & Brock (2000) found that people who became more transported into a narrative were more likely to adopt beliefs consistent with that narrative. Further research supports transportation as an important mechanism explaining narrative influence. (ResearchGate)

A large meta-analysis by van Laer, Feiereisen and Visconti also found significant narrative-transportation effects in commercial communication. (ScienceDirect)

Business implication: A presentation beginning with:

“Three months after we launched the product, one of our largest customers called us and said…”

is likely to generate more immediate attention than: “Customer retention declined 8.4% during Q2.”

That data can follow the story.

3. Persuasive without feeling like an argument

Traditional persuasion often says:

Here is my claim → here is my evidence → therefore you should agree.

That structure can trigger counter-arguments.

Stories work differently. The audience follows events, identifies with characters and mentally simulates what is happening. Narrative transportation can reduce counter-arguing and increase acceptance of story-consistent ideas. (ScienceDirect)

This doesn’t mean stories should replace evidence. The strongest communication combines:

story + evidence + recommendation

For example:

Story: A salesperson loses a major account because approval takes three weeks.
Evidence: 38% of deals delayed by internal approval.
Recommendation: Reduce approval to 48 hours.

The story explains why the number matters.

4. Create emotional meaning

People rarely (never) make decisions based entirely on analytical information. Stories allow audiences to understand how a situation affects customers, employees or stakeholders.

Experimental research comparing different corporate stories has found that emotionally oriented storytelling can produce faster attitude change, while more cognitively oriented narratives can sometimes generate more durable effects. (ScienceDirect)

Emotion is particularly important in communicating things such as:

• organizational purpose & culture

• leadership

• change

• innovation

• crisis

• ethical decisions

You cannot get anyone on side with data. A CEO saying: “Our strategy is to become the industry’s most customer-centric provider” is abstract. A story about an employee breaking an outdated rule to solve a customer’s problem demonstrates what customer-centric actually means.

5. Stories help people make sense of change

People resist change. It is stressful and emotional. Organizational changes often involve ambiguity:

Where are we now?
Why must we change?
Where are we going?
What will happen to me?

Stories can connect these questions into a coherent narrative:

Past → problem → turning point → future

Organizational research describes storytelling as an important mechanism through which employees and managers engage in sensemaking—constructing an understandable interpretation of organizational events.

Data tells people what happened. Stories help people understand what it means.

The most effective business communication therefore usually isn’t storytelling instead of evidence. It is storytelling used to organize and give meaning to evidence.

Useful sources

Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2000).
The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(5), 701–721.
Foundational study of narrative transportation. Greater immersion in a story was associated with stronger story-consistent beliefs and evaluations. (ResearchGate)

Boris, V. What Makes Storytelling So Effective For Learning?

[and in the end…]

Facts provide credibility.
Stories provide meaning.
Facts + stories provide persuasive business communication.

You don’t want to go to business school, but you want to learn.

All the stuff you don’t learn at school and really need to understand and thrive in the working world.

PART I - YOU - How YOU work (7 modules) - Personality, Values, Motivation and more
PART II - The World - How the (business) world works (8 modules) - Business, Government, Media, Education, Money and Finance and more
PART III - YOU in the World - How you ought to work in the world in order to improve and excel (11 modules) - Teams, Communication skills, Systems and Habits, Project Management and more

See a sample? Send a message.

Until September 30, 2026, convert your subscription to paid and get access to EmployeeONE now. 26 modules, over 300 pages. $90 for one year.

As well as EmployeeONE, with paid subscription to ONE, you can access the full library of articles over the past 3 years: over 190 ONE postings.

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[Ten Questions]

Before we get to the survey, I have assembled ten reflective, introspective questions for YOU, about YOU as you transitioned from college to working life. A brief rationale for each question follows. Aspects of these Qs show up later in the survey.

1. What is one thing you had to learn at work that college did not prepare you for?

2. What workplace skill took you the longest to learn after graduating?

3. What do you now wish someone had taught you before you started your first professional job?

4. Which communication skill is most important in your work but was barely taught in college?

5. How well did college prepare you to deal with managers, office politics, and organizational culture?

6. What did you have to learn about managing your time, priorities, and workload once you started working?

7. What financial or business knowledge would have helped you understand how your organization actually works?

8. Which people skills—such as influencing, negotiating, handling conflict, networking, or giving feedback—did you have to learn on your own?

9. What skill has become more important because of AI that your formal education did not prepare you for?

10. If you could add one compulsory course to every college degree to better prepare students for working life, what would it teach?

[Rationale]

Addressing those ten questions can improve working life because they expose the gap between academic preparation and what actually determines effectiveness at work. The value is not merely identifying what was missing; it is turning those gaps into a practical development agenda.

1. Identify what you had to learn on the job
   This reveals your biggest preparation gaps. Once identified, you can deliberately strengthen them instead of relying on trial and error.

2. Recognize the skills that took longest to develop
   These are often high-value capabilities such as judgment, communication, prioritization, or managing people. Focusing on them can accelerate career development.

3. Clarify what you wish you had known earlier
   This converts experience into usable wisdom. It can help you avoid repeating mistakes and make better decisions going forward.

4. Improve workplace communication
   Better speaking, writing, listening, presenting, and explaining ideas can improve relationships, credibility, influence, and promotion prospects.

5. Understand managers, politics, and organizational culture
   Knowing how organizations actually operate helps you read situations better, avoid unnecessary conflict, build alliances, and understand how decisions really get made.

6. Become better at managing work
   Learning how to prioritize, manage deadlines, control interruptions, and organize competing responsibilities reduces stress while increasing reliability and productivity.

7. Understand the business behind your job
   Employees who understand customers, revenue, costs, strategy, competition, and organizational priorities can make better decisions and contribute beyond their narrow job description.

8. Develop stronger people skills
   Negotiation, influence, conflict resolution, networking, feedback, and relationship management make it easier to accomplish things through other people—which becomes increasingly important as careers progress.

9. Adapt to AI and technological change
   Understanding how AI changes your job helps you identify which tasks can be automated, which skills become more valuable, and where human judgment remains essential.

10. Define what education should have taught you
    This forces you to think about the capabilities that actually matter for career success. Your answer can effectively become a personal curriculum for continued development.

[Improve YOU]

The larger benefit is that these questions encourage someone to move from “What do I know?” to “How well can I function in the real world of work?”

They address five things that strongly influence your working life:

Competence — becoming better at doing the job.
Confidence — knowing how to handle unfamiliar situations.
Relationships — working effectively with managers and colleagues.
Judgement — making better decisions when there is no textbook answer.
Agency — taking control over your career rather than simply reacting to what happens.

These ten questions form a useful workplace gap assessment:

What did college teach you? What does work require? What is still missing?

That final question—what is still missing?—is most important, because it turns reflection into a practical plan for improving your working life.

Now, on to the survey.

[ONE Reader Survey] What College Didn’t Teach You About Work

10 Questions. Anonymous.

Thank you for completing the survey.

Results and analysis in a future ONE.

Please share this! The more the merrier.

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All the stuff you don’t learn at school and really need to understand and thrive in the working world.

PART I - You - how you work (7 modules)
PART II - The World - how the (business) world works (8 modules)
PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world (11 modules)

See a sample? Send a message.

Convert your subscription to paid and get access to EmployeeONE now through September 30, 2026. 26 modules + workbook, over 300 pages. $96 for one year.

As well as EmployeeONE, with paid subscription to ONE, you can access the full library of articles over the past 3 years: over 190 ONE postings.

Make it happen.

In this ONE I’m keeping it light during the dog days of summer.

We’ll get back to the progressive & productive topics soon. This time: a little whimsy.

What do you consider the greatest inventions of the 20th century, or past 150 years?:

Electricity, the light bulb, flight, radio, telephone, television, many medical advances, computers, plastics and oodles more.

Likely air conditioner would not come to mind. However, if you are in Japan in August, perhaps it would.

Imagine life (in August) without air conditioners.

This is Willis Carrier.

Perhaps you do not know Willis Carrier.

He invented the air conditioner.

Take a moment and give thanks to Willis Carrier.

How many miracles are needed for sainthood? Two?

Air conditioning is definitely one. We can let the second miracle slide.

Perhaps the new American Pope can pull a few strings?

In which year did Carrier invent the air conditioner?

1. A) 1902

2. B) 1934

3. C) 1926

4. D) 1941

The answer is here and you can learn more about why he invented air conditioning: Learn more about Willis Carrier.

Fun fact: Carrier wasn’t trying to invent it to make our lives cooler. Like many technologies, what they were original invented for and what they ended up being used for is often quite different.

The correct answer is A.

A little more messing around with AI

Summer: Time to kick back and relax a little.

Me? Still messing around with MidJourney.

MidJourney 2023: “Salvador Dali meets Albert Einstein in a clock shop” ← This was the prompt

I issued the same prompt in 2025.

MidJourney 2025: “Salvador Dali meets Albert Einstein in a clock shop”

And, the same prompt in 2026:

MidJourney 2026: “Salvador Dali meets Albert Einstein in a clock shop”

Not all AI apps are alike

Back in the early days of Dall-E (is that still around?), I asked it to create an image of Shibuya scramble:

And 2025 on MidJourney:

MidJourney July 2026

ChatGPT - July 2026

Reece Williams (left) and Frank “Chalky” Taylor (right):

Hope you are enjoying summer (and air conditioning) where you are.

Take time to reset and catch up on life.

Leave a comment

“British music in the 1980s made melancholy glamorous and uncertainty sound irresistible.”

“The decade belonged to bands that could turn synthesizers, sharp tailoring and emotional restraint into pop art.”

“British 80s music sounded futuristic, but its deepest themes were timeless: loneliness, desire, identity and change.”

“From post-punk darkness to New Wave colour, Britain transformed social anxiety into some of the era’s most memorable music.”

“The best British music of the 1980s did more than capture a decade—it created an atmosphere that still feels modern.”

For Summer 2026:

FOUR bands you (likely) never hear of. Songs you don’t know. No Autotune. No AI. No corporations, no “demographics” or big data or marketing reports. Definitely no “boy bands”. Just human and authentic.

Give ‘em a listen & enjoy.

[1] The English Beat - Best Friend (1980)

Love these guys. They went on to become Fine Young Cannibals. Definitely you know their songs. No? Ok, I’ll add one at the end.

[2] R.E.M. - These Days (1986)

“Take this joy wherever you go”

The favorite album of one of my favorite bands. All tunes on Life’s Rich Pageant are great. Even if you can understand the lyrics, it still makes no sense, but somehow it still works. Don’t explain, don’t think, just feel. Enjoy.

[3] The Cure - A Forest (1980)

In an age of now, now, now: A 1 minute intro(!) Be patient, it’s worth it.

[4] Tears for Fears - Shout (1984)

A shout out to Tears for Fears. A HUGE hit in 1984. FYI: these guys are still performing in 2026.

[5] Fine Young Cannibals - Good Thing (1985)

Don’t forget to clap clap.

Yeah… those are good.

Want more recommends? I’ve got ‘em. Ask me.

Which ONE is your favorite? Lemme know.

Leave a comment

[Discover what ONE is all about]

I began writing ONE in February 2023 with the focus of helping my present and former students (and everyone) be better at work and in life.

ONE examines the forces reshaping work, business, society and personal life.

5 of ONE’s strongest posts into a few themes:

• Work and business

• AI and social change

• Personal development

• Meaning and the human condition

This gives new readers an immediate path into the publication instead of presenting them with an undifferentiated archive.

[ADVICE] Find Your Fit [LINK]

Don’t stay where you are not valued.

Find your fit.

That’s it.

That’s the posting.

Everything else is extra.

[IMPROVE] Excel with Mental Models [LINK]

I read about Charlie Munger recently. I knew who he was - Warren Buffet’s partner, the Number 2 guy at Berkshire Hathaway - but knew nothing of his background.

It seems that Munger is all about “mental models”.

Growing up and manoeuvring through life, no one talked about “mental models”.

A framework for seeing, thinking and making decisions. Use for reasoning, for understanding the world around you.

[GUIDE]Reverse Goal Setting [LINK]

Reverse Goal Setting, also known as Backward Goal Setting, is a strategic approach where you start by identifying your ultimate objective and then work backward to outline the necessary steps to achieve it. This method contrasts with traditional goal-setting techniques that typically begin from your current position and plan forward. By envisioning the end result first, you can create a clear, structured path that delineates each milestone required to reach your goal.

The reverse goal setting method addresses the shortcomings of conventional goal setting by focusing on the ‘how‘ rather than just the ‘what‘. It involves working backward from your desired outcome to create a clear action plan.

[ADVICE] Should I stay, or should I go? [LINK]

Thinking of leaving your job?

YOU: Every day!

Why? Why do people leave their jobs?

If you work in HRM you know the answer already.

[AI] The great “thinning”: Will AI quietly erase your career? [LINK]

The disruption doesn’t arrive as replacement. It arrives as thinning.

Is it happening yet: the big AI replacement? Likely you imagine “career disruption” as something loud: layoffs, headlines, sudden collapse.

What’s actually happening is quieter.

Tasks are being shaved off roles. Judgment is being automated. Entry points are narrowing. You still have a job—but less of what made it yours. The danger isn’t replacement. It’s slow erosion. The thinning.

Are you noticing it?

[conclusion]

That is a quick snapshot of what ONE is all about.

ONE examines the forces reshaping work, business, society and personal life. Subscribe to receive one thoughtful perspective each week.

With your free subscription you will receive ONE in your email - usually once a week - and the past 12 months are available for you to read in our archive.

With your paid subscription, you can get in behind the paywall and access all 185+ postings and receive occasional members only content.

All the stuff you don’t learn at school and really need to understand and thrive in the working world.

PART I - You - how you work (7 modules)
PART II - The World - how the (business) world works (8 modules)
PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world (11 modules)

See a sample? Send a message.

Convert your subscription to paid and get access to EmployeeONE now. 26 modules, over 300 pages. $96USD for one year.

As well as EmployeeONE, with paid subscription to ONE, you can access the full library of articles over the past 3 years: over 180 ONE postings.

Make it happen.

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In this ONE:

The role university education

The workplace skills / knowledge gap

How to solve this problem

Every year in the United States, alone, about 1.2 million people graduate from universities and and enter the labor force.

Only 5% of graduates feel adequately prepared for working life.

However, in another survey, 68% of graduates believed they were job-ready, but only 9% of their employers agreed.

I have readers who are early in their careers and I have readers who are HR managers and recruiters.

How about you?

Graduates: Were you adequately prepared for working life?

and

HR Managers: How job-ready are your new hires?

Here’s a question: Is it the purpose or responsibility of a university to train or prepare students for the working world?

And here’s an answer: Nope. An unequivocal “no” from me.

Q: Should universities prepare students for a career?

A: No. That is not what universities are set up to do. Universities are centers of higher learning. Higher knowledge. Academia.

A Tale of Two Systems

I have taught at universities for many years: theories, models, critical thinking; reading, lectures, discussing, debating, essays - all that good stuff. Academia. Four years of Spanish, history, art, sociology etc. Thanks for coming.

And, I taught for many years at BCIT, a polytechnic. Skills-based. Market-focussed. When students completed their intensive, two-year, 35hr/week program they were ready for the world.

Very different.

One is not better than the other. The focus, purpose and outcomes are different.

The Gap

Quite a bit of research, surveys, and polling has been done on the gap between what graduates (especially early-career, say 2–5 years out) feel they didn’t learn in school and what they say they actually need on the job.

The general theme is that many feel underprepared in “soft” or professional skills, real-world application, and emerging technologies.

Below is a summary of key findings and representative studies, along with some gaps or cautions.

And, below, below: How to solve this dilemma and bridge the gap? We’re on it.

Representative studies & surveys

Hult - Workplace Intelligence “College Graduate Skills Study” (2025)

~800 HR leaders + ~800 full-time employees (ages 22–27) in U.S. Communication, collaboration, readiness for workplace, real-world experience, business fundamentals, tech (AI, analytics)

• 77 % of grads say they learned more in first 6 months on the job than in all of college. (workplaceintelligence.com)

• 85 % said their college should have better prepared them.

• HR leaders say that communication (98 %), willingness to learn (93 %), collaboration (92 %) are critical skills.

• Only 20 % of grads felt they had strong understanding of tech / AI even though 97% of HR leaders say that's important. (workplaceintelligence.com)

NACE - “The Gap in Perceptions of New Grads’ Competency” U.S. students vs employers

Leadership, professionalism, communication, critical thinking, self–development There is a persistent gap: students tend to rate their proficiency higher than employers do, particularly in leadership and professionalism. (NACE Web.org)

Graduate Employability Report (Cengage)

~1,600 recent grads in U.S. Business / job-ready skills; applicability of college learning

• 38 % say they “hardly use” skills learned in college. (I find this hard to believe)

• 21 % say their college did not teach them business / job-related skills.

• Many feel underqualified for entry-level roles. (Cengage Group)

Survey of U.S. college graduates

(1,700+ respondents) U.S. Real-world work experience, technical/practical skills, financial / life skills

• Only 5 % felt “adequately prepared” for life / workplace.

• Many regret their major or choice of institution.

• Biggest gaps: navigating job search, professional network, practical/technical know-how. (HR Dive)

“From student to working professional: A graduate survey” (2024, Whalley et al.) - Fair enough. Though, this is not the purpose of a college education

Employers expect skills in communication, critical thinking, quantitative literacy, intercultural competence, teamwork. But many feel graduates are underprepared in applying those in real contexts. (AAC&U).

Many workers feel a disconnect between what they studied and what their job requires. (Deloitte Insights)

At works the other way, too. A recent 2026 hiring report found that 68% of students believed they were job-ready, but only 9% of employers agreed, while just 5% of employers reported no significant skill gaps among new graduates. (The Economic Times)

Common themes - “missing” skills (as perceived by graduates) and “needed” skills

From the studies above and others in the literature, some recurring gaps are:

1. Soft / interpersonal / “human” skills

   • Communication (written, oral) - isn’t this a major part of college(!?)

   • Collaboration, teamwork - I try, students reject it

   • Leadership / influencing skills

   • Adaptability, resilience - hopefully you come by this, yourself

   • Professionalism, workplace etiquette

2. Bridging theory to practice / real-world application

   • Applying knowledge in messy, real-world contexts

   • Project-based or problem-based experiences - it’s there!

   • Internships, co-ops, work placements

   • Capstone projects with industry relevance

3. Technical / digital / emerging skills

   • Data analytics, statistical literacy - it’s there!

   • Use of relevant software tools in industry

   • Understanding AI, machine learning, automation

   • Digital literacy, coding (in applicable fields)

4. Self-management / career skills

   • Self-directed learning, growth mindset

   • Career planning, networking

   • Mentorship, professional development

   • Time management, project management

5. Life / “adulting” skills

   • Financial literacy (personal finance, taxes, budgeting)

   • Negotiation (salary, contracts)

   • Navigating workplace politics or culture

   • Knowing how to “hit the ground running”—how to onboard, ask questions, adapt

6. Global / cultural competency

   • Working across cultures, diversity, inclusion

   • Communication across different backgrounds

   • Understanding global context for business decisions

The solution to the problem:

All the stuff you don’t learn at school and really need to understand and thrive in the working world.

PART I - You - how you work (7 modules)
PART II - The World - how the (business) world works (8 modules)
PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world (11 modules)

The Problem

Gaps in your Knowledge & You are Missing Out

After years of work you realize that there are gaps in your knowledge: how it all works, how to get things done and your overall place in it all. This is affecting your work and your ability to move forward.

Stressed & Losing Out

Your productivity is flat, you are struggling to get things done. You are working longer with little or no benefit. Perhaps you have changed jobs, but the problem continues.

You are struggling are challenged by managers and co-workers: conflicts and miscommunication are impacting your work and mental health.

Checking Out

You are feeling left behind. It seems like whatever you do, nothing changes. Your energy, motivation and engagement are waning. You are “checked out” from your job. This makes you sad and disappointed because you know it shouldn’t be this way.

The Solution

First Principles

Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know.

First, take a step back and reset. Let’s identify and fill in some gaps in your knowledge. You are here because you seek knowledge, change, have more control and be better. Sure you can Google your Qs as they arise. Or you can be deliberate and focussed in the knowledge you need.

The EmployeeONE course is a culmination of topics, knowledge, tools and models I have identified through many courses I have taught over the years, through discussion, feedback and observation and from my own experiences.

In EmployeeONE we break it down into three parts:

• YOU: re-examining and gaining a clearer understanding of who you are.

• WORLD: filling in the gaps in your knowledge about how the world works.

• WORK: models, methods, perspectives, skills & tools on how to work more effectively

EmployeeONE provides a framework and a trajectory. It will heighten your self-awareness, the world and work.

A reset, a re-launching pad. Get (back) on track. You’re smart. With the knowledge and trajectory of EmployeeONE, you’ll figure it out.

PART I - YOU
How you work

1. Personality - understand yourself - personality

2. Values

3. VIA Character Strengths

4. Motivation - What drives you (and others)?

5. Perspective – A Growth Mentality

6. Meditation – The critical importance of focus

7. Know yourself - Manager: manage yourself

PART II - THE WORLD
How the (business) world works

1. Economic Cycles

2. Money and Debt

3. How School Works

4. The Cultural Difference

5. How Business Works

6. How the Media Works

7. How Government Works

8. The Meaning of Life

PART III - YOU IN THE WORLD
How you ought to work in the world

1. Managing Projects

2. Communicating Effectively

3. Being Productive

4. Thinking Creatively

5. Thinking Critically

6. Teamworking

7. Leadership & Leading

8. Health and Nutrition

9. Planning: goals, systems & habits

10. Mental Models

11. Meaning in your Life

See a sample? Send a message.

EARLY BIRD RATE: Convert your subscription to paid before September 30, 2026, and get access to EmployeeONE now. 26 modules, 300+ page self-study plus workbook. $96USD for one year.

After September 30, 2026: $149USD

As well, with paid subscription to ONE, you gain access the full library of articles over the past 3 years: over 185 ONE postings.

Make it happen.

Invest a few hours each week and you will be a new person by Spring 2027: more confident, knowledgeable, skilled.

If you read this far: thank you. (Please like)

A quick, light ONE for Summer. A topic examined in greater detail in EmployeeONE

Transactional versus Transformational

Do this, get that.

Versus

Do something for the greater good. Do something that transcends your own transactional effort. Transform into something greater.

Cambridge dictionary:

TransACT (verb)

to do and complete a business activity

TransFORM (verb)

to change completely the appearance or character of something or someone, especially so that that thing or person is improved

Transcend (verb)

to go further, rise above, or be more important or better than something, especially a limit

Work styles

Complete a project, make a sale: transactional

Change yourself and others: transformational

Change the world: transcendent

Leadership styles

Transactional: Do this, get that. Contract, salary, bonus, promotion

Versus

Transformational: Do something for the greater good. Do something that transcends your own transactional effort.

College: transactional or transformational?

Transactional: do this, get that.

College: what’s the assignment & when is it due? Question / Answer. Fill in the blanks. Move on the the next grade, the next level.

Question: But, really, what of college? Is college transactional or transformational?

Answer: yes.

Who you are when you go in at 18 and who you are when you come out four years later is (hopefully quite) different. There is growth and transformation.

However, the transformation is not baked into the curriculum.

YOU do it. YOU do the transformation. YOU are transformed.

It is your journey

Your hero’s journey. A rite of passage.

Can tranformation be taught?

Ought it be taught?

Or, ought we (as educators and as society) create (more) situation for personal transformation?

College: Here is the task, here is the method. Now, go figure it out for yourself.

It is here that you find YOU.

Anywhere & Everywhere

We transform when we are pushed. When there are external forces acting on us and we need to do, achieve, get something then we must act.

This comes from parents, teachers, bosses, coaches, nature.

ONE final question: (When) Does transformation come from within?

: : Need help with your personal growth? : :

Ask me. I mentor and coach to identify issues and challenges, educate, set goals and coach for success. Clarity, focus and direction: I will help you to discover it within you. I have time in my schedule through Summer 2026. Drop me a line:

YOU: 1-3 years out of school. Work is “ok” but you realize there are a lot of gaps in your knowledge.

I know what you are going through.

Here’s the course you need and the one I wish I had when I was starting out.

EmployeeONE is all the stuff you don’t learn at school but what you really need to understand and thrive in the working world.

PART I - You - how you work
PART II - The World - how the (business) world works
PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world

To see a sample of the course, send a message:

Convert your subscription to paid and get access to EmployeeONE now. $90 for one year through September 30, 2026. The self-study course price will be reset later in 2026, so you will want to act now.

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“Self-trust is the first secret of success.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
— Muhammad Ali

“Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems.” — Epictetus

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
— attributed to Confucius

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right.”
— attributed to Henry Ford

How to Build Confidence

Confidence is misunderstood. People think it means feeling certain, fearless, or naturally self-assured.

It does not.

Confidence is the belief that you can act, learn, recover, and improve. It is not the absence of fear. It is the decision to move while fear is present.

Most confidence is built after action, not before it.

You do not become confident and then speak up in a meeting. You speak up, survive the discomfort, learn from the moment, and become slightly more confident. You do not become confident and then start exercising. You exercise badly at first, repeat it, improve, and slowly become someone who trusts yourself.

This is why confidence is less like a personality trait and more like a bank account. Each kept promise is a deposit. Each avoided responsibility is a withdrawal.

Confidence is in the doing.

[Bandura]

Psychologist Albert Bandura called this self-efficacy: the belief that you can produce desired outcomes through your own actions. His research suggested that the strongest source of self-efficacy is something called: mastery experience — doing something difficult and discovering that you can handle it.

Confidence is built through evidence.

That evidence does not need to be dramatic.

Send the email
Ask the question
Finish the posting
Go to the gym for twenty minutes
Make the appointment
Apologize
Say no
Say yes
Try again

Small actions matter because they change your self-image. You stop being someone who “wants to change” and become someone who takes action.

The doing.

Bandura is quite the rock star in this area. His social learning theory and self-efficacy theory are well known for some time. FYI - a good Canadian kid and a UBC grad (like me)

[Dweck]

Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset (highly recommend this book) adds another layer. If you believe ability is fixed, difficulty feels like proof that you are not good enough. If you believe ability develops, difficulty becomes information. You are not failing. You are practicing.

This is a crucial shift. Confidence grows when you stop interpreting struggle as identity. This is backed by much research. It’s an interesting read. A hard conversation does not mean you are weak. A poor first attempt does not mean you lack talent. Nervousness does not mean you are unprepared. It may simply mean the task matters.

Dweck’s work is contemporary. Her non-academic book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success was published in 2006

[Neff]

Confidence also requires self-compassion. This is not being soft. It is emotional recovery. Kristin Neff’s research on self-compassion shows that people who respond to mistakes with fairness rather than cruelty are often better able to persist. Shame freezes people. Self-respect helps them continue. [TBH - I don’t know much about Neff’s work. I came across it while assembling this posting.]

There is a practical formula:

Confidence = repeated action + honest feedback + self-respect

自信 ＝ 繰り返しの行動 ＋ 正直なフィードバック ＋ 自尊心

自信 = 重复行动 + 诚实反馈 + 自尊

Repeated action gives you evidence. Honest feedback gives you direction. Self-respect gives you the courage to continue.

Now, go back up and look at those handful of quotes at the top.
Are they backed by science? :-D

[Examples]

Juliana Thunderbolt, a young employee, lacks confidence presenting. The solution is not to wait until she feels ready. The solution is to present in small settings first, ask for feedback, improve one thing each time, and keep going.

Alfonso Tanaka lacks confidence writing. The solution is to write 300 words - good or bad, revise them, show them to someone, and learn.

Myron Fishwater lacks confidence socially. The solution is not to become charismatic overnight. The solution is to initiate one conversation, ask better questions, listen carefully, and notice that connection can be practiced. Tough to do, but it pays big dividends.

Confidence is built by becoming more trustworthy to yourself.

Start with small promises and keep them. Make repeatable ones.

• “I will run for ten minutes.”

• “I will ask for feedback.”

• “I will ask one question in class.”

• “I will speak once in the meeting.”

Keep the promise. The brain learns from proof. Give it proof.

Be good to your future self.

[A Task]

For the next seven days, choose one area where you want more confidence.

Pick one small action you can repeat daily.

Use this format:

Area: Public speaking
Small action: Record a two-minute explanation of an idea every day
Feedback: Watch once and identify one improvement
Proof: Track five completed attempts

At the end of the week, answer three questions:

1. What became easier?

2. What did I learn from repetition?

3. What evidence do I now have that I can improve?

Do not measure confidence by how you feel before acting. Measure it by whether you acted.

Confidence is not a mood.

It is a record of kept promises.

There, made you think.

But, don’t just think… do.

All the stuff you don’t learn at school but what you really need to understand and thrive in the working world.

PART I - You - how you work
PART II - The World - how the (business) world works
PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world

Convert your subscription to paid and get access to EmployeeONE now. $5/mo or $50 for one year. The self-study course price will be reset later in Fall 2026, so you will want to act now.

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Or subscribe for free

ONE more thing:

Note to self: I need to work on ( ______ ) ← I can do it. Just… I need to do it.

Leave a comment

[noise]

Musk is a trillionaire. Who cares?

Mythos is redacted. Who cares?

Data centers making headlines. Yes, it’s an issue, but there are grander issues in AI

Gemini vs. Claude vs. ChatGPT vs. the next one. Who cares?

All that is noise.

[signal]

Artificial Intelligence is not going away.

Artificial Intelligence is advancing exponentially.

If you were a whaler, a candlemaker, a wagon wheel maker you could wish away oil, electricity and the automobile or you could come to the realization that those are not going away. They didn’t. Or, they did eventually. These technologies all re-shaped economies and society. Now, it is AI.

That’s the signal.

[conclusion]

Think critically everyday about AI’s coming growth and impact.

Learn all you can: about AI, how to use it, how it is being used, new products coming. how you can benefit from it.

[learn]

Establish a weekly AI learning habit. Start with 60+ minutes a week. Every week. Set a reminder in your calendar: every Monday at 9:00pm (60 minutes).

Use AI to learn AI. Ask AI how to learn AI. Check for videos on YT. Lots out there. Play and explore ← a great way to learn. Seek structure later, as needed.

• Test one AI use case

• Improve one recurring task in your working life

• Ask AI to critique your writing

• Use it to explain a difficult concept

• Use AI to prepare for a meeting

• Explore the variety of platforms and apps

Consider starting a user group with friends or co-workers

The goal is not to become an AI expert, rather it is to become a better professional with AI.

All the stuff you don’t learn at school but what you really need to understand and thrive in the working world.

PART I - You - how you work (7 modules)
PART II - The World - how the (business) world works (8 modules)
PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world (11 modules)

Convert your subscription to paid and get access to EmployeeONE now. 26 modules, over 300 pages. $5/mo or $50 for one year. The self-study course price will be reset later in 2026, so you will want to act now.

As well as EmployeeONE, with your paid subscription get access the full library of articles over the past 3 years: over 180 ONE postings.

Or subscribe for free.

ONE more thing

“The map is not the territory.” — Alfred Korzybski

Leave a comment

NOTE: This topic is cross-posted with my new SubStack: The Human Layer.
The Human Layer focusses entirely on HRM and AI

For new hires and early-career knowledge workers, this may be the most uncomfortable career question of the decade:

Is my job safe?

The honest answer is:

Probably not in its current form.

But that does not mean your career is doomed. It means the rules are changing.

We take a close look and offer critical conclusions & guidance: FIVE important thing you can do to make your job safer. This ONE is a longer ONE, but an important ONE.

AI is not just another software tool. It is not like learning Excel, Slack, PowerPoint, or the new project management app.

As you well know, AI can write, summarize, analyze, compare, brainstorm, translate, code, organize information, draft presentations, generate reports, and increasingly act as a semi-independent assistant.

It matters because many entry-level knowledge worker jobs are built around exactly those tasks. They are often tasked to do the early layers of professional work:

• Research this, summarize that

• Draft the first version

• Clean up data

• Prepare slides

• Write the meeting notes

• Compile and compare options

• Create the outlines

These tasks are not meaningless. This is how young professionals learn: The apprenticeship layer of knowledge work.

But AI is very good at these tasks.

So the danger is not simply that AI will “take your job.” The more immediate danger is that AI will take away the tasks that helped you learn how to become good at your job.

That is the real issue.

The First Question Is Not “Will AI Replace Me?”

A better question is:

What parts of my work can AI already do?

Once you ask that, things become clearer.

AI helps with:

Drafting emails
Summarizing meetings
Writing reports
Creating first drafts
Generating ideas
Analyzing documents
Preparing presentations
Researching background information
Organizing notes
Creating simple plans
Explaining unfamiliar concepts

If your job is mainly to produce basic outputs from existing information, then yes, yes, your job is vulnerable.

But if your job involves judgment, trust, relationship-building, decision-making, ethical responsibility, leadership, persuasion, context, taste, accountability, and understanding people, then AI is less likely to replace you directly.

The future does not belong to people who ignore AI.

It also does not belong to people who simply use AI to do less thinking.

The future belongs to people who use AI to think better.

The New Career Divide

A new divide is emerging. It is between people who know how to work with AI and people who do not. More specifically, it is between:

People who use AI to produce shallow work faster

and

People who use AI to produce better work, better judgment, and better decisions.

And, this distinction matters.

Anyone can ask AI to write a paragraph. That is not a career advantage for much longer.

The real advantage comes from: knowing how to ask better questions, evaluate the answer, improve the output, connect it to a real business problem, and explain why it matters.

AI can generate options —>You need to know which option is good.

AI can summarize an article —>You need to know whether the summary is accurate and how to apply it.

AI can write a proposal —> You need to know whether the proposal makes sense.

AI can create a strategy —> You need to understand your organization, the people, the politics, the risks, and the consequences.

Take away:

AI raises the value of judgment

*Early-Career Workers Are Especially Exposed

It’s a difficult truth.

Why? Because many junior roles are task-heavy.

Senior people do work that depends on experience, relationships, negotiation, credibility, institutional knowledge, and decision-making under uncertainty. They’ve been around.

Junior people often do work that depends on information processing. That does not make junior work unimportant. But it does make it more automatable.

This creates a problem.

If AI does the entry-level work, how do new professionals gain experience?

If AI writes the first draft, how do you learn to write?

If AI summarizes the research, how do you learn to read deeply?

If AI builds the slide deck, how do you learn to structure an argument?

If AI analyzes the data, how do you learn what the numbers mean?

This is why early-career workers cannot afford to become passive AI users. Embrace it. Use AI as a tutor, coach, critic, and thinking partner, not as a shortcut.

And, here’s some guidance:

Your job is safer if you do these five things:

1. Define the real problem

2. Ask real questions

3. Evaluate AI output critically

4. Understand people and setting

5. Keep learning faster than your job changes

1.Define the real problem

Many junior knowledge workers are given tasks. Few consider and understand the problem behind the task. Your manager may ask for a report, but the real problem may be uncertainty, risk, cost, confusion, poor communication, or a decision that needs support.

AI can help complete a task. But you become more valuable when you understand why the task matters.

Do not just ask, “What do I need to produce?”

Ask:

• What decision will this support?

• Who will use this?

• What problem are we trying to solve?

• What would a good outcome look like?

• What are the risks if we get this wrong?

ADVICE: Think. Go second level. Tune in and think.

2. Ask better questions

AI (and professors and managers) rewards people who can ask precise, useful, thoughtful questions.

Weak prompt: “Write something about marketing.”

Better prompt: “Create a one-page briefing for a senior manager explaining three possible reasons our campaign underperformed among first-time customers, using a professional tone and including recommended next steps.”

The quality of your question shapes the quality of the answer. But this is not just about prompting. It is about thinking. A good prompt is usually the result of a clear mind.

ADVICE: Think.

3. Evaluate AI output critically

AI can sound confident even when it is wrong.

Now, one of the most important workplace skills is now verification.

Do not simply accept AI output because it is polished.

Ask yourself these Qs:

1. Is this accurate? (What sources are used?)

2. What is missing? - required critical thinking and judgement

3. What assumptions is it making?

4. Does this fit the audience? Is the tone appropriate?

5. Is this too general? Is it specific and rigorous enough?

6. *Would I be willing to put my name on this?

That last question matters most. If you submit AI-generated work, you are still responsible for it.

There is nothing different between using AI and relying on a Google search or stitching together an academic essay citing polished papers.

ADVICE: Analysis and critical thinking matter.

4. Understand people and setting

AI can process information. It does not truly understand your workplace.

It does not know that your manager dislikes long emails.

It does not know that the finance team is cautious because of last year’s failed project.

It does not know that one department distrusts another.

It does not know who needs to be consulted before a decision becomes politically possible.

Organizations are human systems.

If you understand people, incentives, emotions, power, trust, status, fear, and communication, you become harder to replace.

In an AI world, human understanding becomes more valuable, not less.

5. Keep learning faster than your job changes

Your job description may not change (immediately), but the work inside your job will.

The person who says, “That is not part of my role,” will become vulnerable.

The person who says, “I need to understand how this changes my role,” will grow.

Early-career knowledge workers must establish a weekly AI learning habit.

Start with 60+ minutes a week. Every week.

• Test one AI use case.

• Improve one recurring task.

• Ask AI to critique your writing.

• Use it to explain a difficult concept.

• Ask it to create practice questions, discussion Qs, scenarios.

• Use it to prepare for a meeting.

• Compare your work with its work.

The goal is not to become an AI expert. The goal is to become a better professional with AI.

So, Is Your Job Safe?

Your current job may not be safe. Your current way of working may not be safe. But your career can be safer if you develop the skills AI does not automatically provide. These are all human:

• Judgment & Curiosity

• Imagination & Creativity

• Context & Ethics

• Taste & Trust

• Adaptability

• Influence & Persuasion

• Negotiation & Politicking

• Identifying Problems & Human understanding

The safest worker in an AI world is the person who can combine AI capability with human judgment. That is the new standard.

A Practical Test

Look at your job and list 10 tasks you do regularly. Divide them into 3 categories:

• Tasks AI can do now

• Tasks AI can help with

• Tasks that still require human judgment

Now decide, am I:

• Spending most of my time on tasks AI can already do?

• Using AI to improve the tasks it can help with?

• Actively developing the judgment needed for the tasks only humans can own?

Your answers will tell you a lot about your future.

Final Thought

AI will eliminate jobs in organizations. 100%. AI will not eliminate all jobs. But it will change almost every knowledge job.

For new hires and early-career professionals, the challenge is not simply to survive AI disruption. The challenge is to grow through it.

Your job is safest when you start thinking of yourself as the one who solves problems, learns quickly, communicates clearly, and uses AI intelligently.

In an AI world, the question is not only:

Is your job safe?

The better question is:

Are you becoming the kind of professional whose value grows as the tools get better?

There, made you think.

All the stuff you don’t learn at school but what you really need to understand and thrive in the working world.

PART I - You - how you work (7 modules)
PART II - The World - how the (business) world works (8 modules)
PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world (11 modules)

Hey, want to see a sample of the course? Send a message and get it.

Convert your subscription to paid and get access to EmployeeONE now. 26 modules, over 300 pages. $5/mo or $50 for one year. The self-study course price will be reset later in 2026, so you will want to act now.

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ONE more thing:

• Whole organizations will be redesigned.

• How we work and the work we do will change.

Leave a comment

[intro]

Sometimes you have to sit back, reflect and take a look at what’s going on.

Summer is a good time to do it.

So-o-o what’s going on out there? the media is so fragmented today. it is harder and harder to get a read on things. even if they could, it is unlikely the media gets it right. we get wrapped up in our own “thing”, unaware of what’s really going on: the mood, the spirit of our society today. in Japan, in Canada, in America and in China.

[zeitgeist]

from the German: the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era.

時代精神 jidai seishin - literally: "spirit of the times"

[japan]

The Japanese zeitgeist in 2026 is best described as quiet pressure under a polished surface.

The Japanese zeitgeist today is not collapse, and it is not renewal yet. It is managed unease.

The deepest word for Japan’s current mood may be maintenance.

2026年の日本の時代精神は、洗練された表層の下に潜む静かなる圧力、と表現するのが最も適切だろう。

今日の日本を支配する時代精神は、崩壊でもなければ、かといって再生でもない。それは「管理された不安」である。

日本の現在の気分を最も深く言い表す言葉は、おそらく「維持」であろう。

[canada]

The Canadian zeitgeist in 2026 is best described as affordability anxiety wrapped in competence-seeking nationalism.

Canada in 2026 feels stable but strained.

2026年のカナダの時代精神は、「生活費の高さへの不安」と「有能さを求めるナショナリズム」が入り混じったものと表現するのが最も適切だろう。

2026年のカナダは、安定してはいるものの、緊張を孕んでいるように感じられる。

[united states]

The American zeitgeist in 2026 is best described as restless power under internal strain.

The American zeitgeist in 2026 is powerful but unsettled.

2026年におけるアメリカの時代精神は、内部的な緊張を抱えながらも抑えがたい力を秘めた、落ち着きのない状態にあると表現するのが最も適切だろう。

2026年におけるアメリカの時代精神は、力強くありながらも、不安定な状態にある。

[china]

The Chinese zeitgeist today is best described as disciplined unease

The Chinese zeitgeist today is not despair. It is controlled pressure.

The deeper theme is compressed ambition

当今中国的时代精神，最恰当的描述是“克制的不安”。

当今中国的时代精神并非绝望，而是一种受控的压力。

更深层的主题是受到压抑的野心。

今日の中国の時代精神は、「規律ある不安」と表現するのが最も適切だろう。

今日の中国の時代精神は、絶望ではない。それは「制御された圧力」である。

より深いテーマは、抑圧された野心である。

[conclusion]

i asked AI these questions. the results were much more in depth than i am providing here.

so what do you think? is AI getting the zeitgeist?

All the stuff you don’t learn at school but what you really need to understand and thrive in the working world.

PART I - You - how you work (8 modules)
PART II - The World - how the (business) world works (7 modules)
PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world (11 modules)

Hey, want to see a sample of the course? Send a message and get it.

Convert your subscription to paid and get access to EmployeeONE now. 26 modules, over 300 pages. $5/mo or $50 for one year. The self-study course price will be reset later in 2026, so you will want to act now.

As well as EmployeeONE, with paid subscription to ONE, you can access the full library of articles over the past 3 years: over 180 ONE postings.

ONE more thing:

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” — Anaïs Nin

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“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” — Mark Twain

“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” — John F. Kennedy

“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky

Mission.

Your organization has a mission statement. Do you know it? If not, go look…I’ll wait.

Got it? Good.

Missions are important. They drive strategy and action. They are the foundation for organizational culture and behavior.

[Disney’s mission? My former Management, HR and OB students know what I’m talking about.]

You may not think of them in your daily work (though in organizations with strong culture, you will) but they are there, just like the lights, electricity and the air.

Now…

What is your mission statement? Now I am talking about YOUR personal mission statement.

Have one? No?

Advice: get one.

Why?

A personal mission statement is a short statement that defines who you want to be, what matters most to you, and how you intend to live, work, and contribute. Aspirational.

The main benefit is that it gives your life a clear organizing principle.

Benefits of having a personal mission statement

1. It clarifies what matters

A mission statement forces you to identify your core values, priorities, and purpose. Instead of drifting through decisions, you begin to ask: Does this fit who I want to become?

2. It improves your decision-making

When you know your mission, choices become easier. You can better decide which opportunities fit and which distractions to avoid, and which relationships, jobs, or projects are aligned with your values.

3. It gives you direction during uncertainty

Life and work can be confusing. A personal mission statement becomes a compass. Even when circumstances change, it helps you stay oriented.

4. It strengthens your discipline

Discipline is easier when it is connected to meaning. A mission statement reminds you why your habits, sacrifices, and commitments matter.

5. It reduces distraction

Without a mission, it is easy to be pulled by other people’s expectations, social media, money, status, urgency, or fear. A mission statement helps you focus on what is actually important.

6. A mission helps you define success for yourself

Many people inherit definitions of success from parents, employers, culture, or peers. A mission statement helps you answer: What does a good life mean for me?

7. It supports personal growth

A good mission statement points toward the person you are trying to become. It guides your development in areas such as character, work, relationships, health, learning, and contribution.

8. It improves resilience

When you face setbacks, criticism, failure, or uncertainty, a mission statement can remind you of the larger purpose behind your effort.

9. It creates coherence

A mission statement helps connect different parts of your life: career, relationships, health, learning, finances, creativity, community. Instead of living in fragments, live with integration. Bring it all together.

10. A mission makes you more intentional

The deepest benefit is intentionality. Stop asking: What do I have to do today?

Start asking: What kind of person am I becoming?

In simple terms

A personal mission statement helps you know yourself, guide your choices, focus your energy, resist distraction, and live with greater purpose.

A useful personal mission statement does not need to be long. It only needs to be honest, clear, and meaningful enough to guide action.

Here is a clear, practical way to craft a personal mission statement, written for people who think deeply, dislike clichés, and want something they can actually use.

What a personal mission statement is (and isn’t)

A personal mission statement is not a slogan, affirmation, or aspiration list.

It is a decision filter.

Its purpose is to help you choose what to say yes to, what to say no to, and what kind of life you are intentionally building.

If it doesn’t guide your action, it’s just decoration.

Start with function, not identity
Most people start with “Who am I?” That leads to vague traits. Instead, start with what you are here to do.

Ask:

• What problems do I feel compelled to work on?

• Where do my skills actually make a difference?

• What kinds of situations bring out my best judgment?

Write answers in plain language. No virtues yet.

Clarify your non-negotiables

Your mission is shaped more by what you refuse to compromise than what you want. Your values. Identify:

• Values you will not trade for money, status, or comfort

• Lines you will not cross, even under pressure

• Conditions under which you would walk away

This keeps your mission from collapsing when life gets tough. —> This is when you need it most.

Decide what a “good life” means to you

This is the ethical core. Ask:

• How should my life affect others?

• What responsibility do I carry for consequences?

• What would I regret (not) having contributed to?

This is where ethics enters without being abstract.

Draft in one sentence, then refine

Your first version should be simple and testable, not poetic. Pressure-test it against real decisions. Your mission should survive contact with reality. Test it against:

• A job offer you’re unsure about

• A tempting opportunity that pays well but feels off

• A conflict you’re avoiding

• A long-term commitment

If it doesn’t clarify the decision, revise it.

Keep it short and revisable

A personal mission statement is not permanent. It evolves as your responsibilities, insight, and constraints change. What matters is that it remains honest and usable.

One sentence is ideal. Two at most.

Mission Statement Examples

Here are some examples. They can be short and focussed (usually the best kind) or more descriptive. Either way, ONE thing is vitally important…

• Live with purpose, integrity, and discipline

• To grow daily and serve others well

• To do meaningful work with honesty and care

• Build a life of health, wisdom, and contribution

• Act with courage, kindness, and responsibility

• Growth over comfort

• Live intentionally, not reactively

• Live with integrity, discipline, and curiosity, make decisions that improve my life while contributing positively to the people around me

• Build a meaningful career while continuously developing my judgment, skills, and character

• Pursue growth with humility, ambition without losing kindness, and success without sacrificing health, relationships, or integrity

• Create a life defined by: useful work, strong relationships, financial responsibility, physical health, and service to something larger than myself

—> VITALLY IMPORTANT

It’s got to come from YOU. Authentic and genuine. YOUR mission cannot be generated by AI. So, go and sit on a rock and meditate.

Live with it

Place your mission statement where you can see it easily. Look at it everyday. Speak it aloud. Meditate on it.

Live with it. Give it time. Is it working? Good. Keep it. And keep going.

Not working for you? Ok, re-examine and revise it. Organizations do this from time to time.

A course that is a collection of all the stuff you don’t learn at school but what you really need to understand and thrive in the working world.

PART I - You - how you work
PART II - The World - how the (business) world works
PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world

To see a sample of the course, send a message:

Convert your subscription to paid and get access to EmployeeONE now. $5/mo or $50 for one year. The self-study course price will be reset later in 2026, so you will want to act now.

As well as EmployeeONE, with paid subscription to ONE, you can access the full library of articles over the past 3 years: over 175 ONE postings.

ONE more thing:

• “Enjoy every sandwich” - Warren Zevon

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That knowledge is now commoditized because of AI, your knowledge has less value in the workplace.

Judgement and wisdom are highly valued now.

Good judgment is difficult to measure because it only becomes visible through decisions and their consequences over time. Intelligence, education, and experience help, but they do not automatically produce good judgment.

In this ONE we offer are several signs that suggest you have developed good judgment, and a practical test.

(For all my Japanese subscribers, a Japanese language version follows: scroll down.)

1. Your Predictions Are Often (Reasonably) Accurate

People with good judgment do not need to be right all the time. Instead, they are more often directionally correct than those around them.

Ask yourself:

• Did I anticipate this outcome?

• Am I frequently surprised by predictable events?

• Have my major decisions generally improved my life?

Warren Buffett said:

“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”

Good judgment often means recognizing consequences before they become obvious.

2. Your Decisions Produce Positive Long-Term Results

Good outcomes do not always mean good judgment, and bad outcomes do not always mean poor judgment. However, over many decisions, patterns emerge.

Look at your:

• Relationships

• Health

• Finances

• Education / Career

• Reputation (hard to assess)

These are often the accumulated results of thousands of judgments.

3. You Can Change Your Mind

People with poor judgment often defend their opinions. People with good judgment defend reality.

Jeff Bezos has said:

“People who are right a lot change their minds a lot.”

Ask:

• When was the last time I admitted I was wrong?

• Do I seek evidence that contradicts my beliefs?

4. You Separate Facts from Feelings

Emotions matter, but they are not always reliable guides.

Good judgment asks:

1. What do I know?

2. What do I merely believe?

3. What evidence supports this?

5. You Think in Second-Order Consequences

Poor judgment asks:

“What happens next?”

Good judgment asks:

“And then what?”

For example:

First-order effect: “AI saves time.”

Second-order effect: “Will employees lose skills if they rely on AI too heavily?”

Think beyond. Think of 2nd order consequences before making decisions.

Question: do you think AI does this?

6. People Seek Your Advice

Over time, others naturally begin asking people with sound judgment for guidance.

Not because they know everything, but because they are:

1. Calm

2. Balanced

3. Practical

4. Trustworthy

Anyone seeking your advice?

7. You Rarely Make the Same Mistake Twice

Mistakes are unavoidable.

Poor judgment repeats them.

Good judgment extracts lessons from them.

“Fool me once, shame on you…”

8. You Are Comfortable Saying “I Don’t Know”

Overconfidence is one of the strongest predictors of poor judgment. ← 100%

Good judgment often sounds like:

• “I’m uncertain.”

• “I need more information.”

• “There are trade-offs.”

9. You Understand Incentives

Charlie Munger frequently emphasized:

“Show me the incentive, and I’ll show you the outcome.”

People often act according to incentives rather than stated intentions.

Also 100%. Such a great quote.

10. You Deliberately Slow Down Important Decisions

Good judgment takes time, thought, reflection. It is rarely impulsive. For important choices, people with good judgment often:

• “Sleep on it”.

• Seek opposing viewpoints and consider alternatives.

• Avoid making decisions when angry, exhausted, or euphoric.

• Slow, deliberate, critical thinking.

A Practical Test

Ask yourself:

1. Have my major decisions over the past ten years generally made my life better?

2. Do trusted people seek my advice?

3. Can I clearly explain why I believe what I believe?

4. How often have I changed my mind when presented with evidence?

5. Do I learn from mistakes or merely justify them?

Peter Drucker’s Observation

Peter Drucker argued that effective executives are not distinguished by superior intelligence but by consistently making a small number of important decisions well.

In other words, good judgment is less about brilliance and more about:

• Seeing reality clearly.

• Understanding consequences.

• Learning continuously.

• Being humble enough to revise your views.

Because life always involves uncertainty, good judgment may ultimately be one of the most valuable skills a person can develop.

More importantly, as a knowledge worker in an AI world your judgement and decision making are paramount.

And, this takes time and practice. Good judgement is a practice.

All the stuff you don’t learn at school but what you really need to understand and thrive in the working world.

PART I - You - how you work
PART II - The World - how the (business) world works
PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world

To see a sample of the course, send a message.

Convert your subscription to paid and get access to EmployeeONE now. $5/mo or $50 for one year. The self-study course price will be reset later in 2026, so you will want to act now.

As well as EmployeeONE, with paid subscription to ONE, you can access the full library of articles over the past 3 years: over 175 ONE postings.

ONE is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

[I hope the AI translation is ok]

AIによって知識は商品化されつつあります。そのため、職場におけるあなたの知識そのものの価値は以前より低くなっています。

今、高く評価されるのは判断力と知恵です。

優れた判断力を測定することは簡単ではありません。なぜなら、それは意思決定と、その結果を通じて時間をかけて初めて見えてくるものだからです。知性、教育、経験は役に立ちます。しかし、それらが自動的に優れた判断力を生み出すわけではありません。

このONEでは、あなたが優れた判断力を身につけていることを示すいくつかの兆候と、実践的なテストを紹介します。

1. あなたの予測は、多くの場合、ある程度正確である

判断力のある人は、常に正しくある必要はありません。むしろ、周囲の人よりも「方向性として正しい」ことが多いのです。

自分に問いかけてみてください。

・私はこの結果を予測していただろうか。
・予測可能な出来事に、頻繁に驚かされていないだろうか。
・これまでの大きな決断は、全体として自分の人生を良くしてきただろうか。

ウォーレン・バフェットはこう言っています。

「習慣の鎖は、重くなりすぎて壊せなくなるまでは、軽すぎて感じることができない。」

優れた判断力とは、多くの場合、結果が明らかになる前に、その影響を認識する力です。

2. あなたの決断は、長期的に良い結果を生んでいる

良い結果が出たからといって、必ずしも良い判断だったとは限りません。また、悪い結果が出たからといって、必ずしも悪い判断だったとも限りません。しかし、多くの決断を長期的に見れば、そこにはパターンが現れます。

次の分野を見てみてください。

・人間関係
・健康
・お金
・教育・キャリア
・評判。ただし、これは評価が難しいものです。

これらは多くの場合、何千もの判断の積み重ねによって生まれた結果です。

3. あなたは考えを変えることができる

判断力の弱い人は、自分の意見を守ろうとします。判断力のある人は、現実を守ろうとします。

ジェフ・ベゾスはこう言っています。

「よく正しい判断をする人は、よく考えを変える。」

次のように問いかけてみてください。

・最後に自分が間違っていたと認めたのはいつだろうか。
・自分の信念に反する証拠を探しているだろうか。

4. あなたは事実と感情を分けて考えられる

感情は大切です。しかし、感情が常に信頼できる案内役であるとは限りません。

優れた判断力は、次のように問いかけます。

1. 私は何を知っているのか。

2. 私は何を単に信じているだけなのか。

3. それを支える証拠は何か。

5. あなたは二次的な結果まで考える

判断力の弱い人はこう問いかけます。

「次に何が起こるのか。」

判断力のある人はこう問いかけます。

「そして、その次に何が起こるのか。」

例えば、

一次的な効果：「AIは時間を節約する。」
二次的な効果：「従業員がAIに頼りすぎると、スキルを失うのではないか。」

さらに先を考えることです。意思決定をする前に、二次的な結果を考えることです。

問い：AIはこれをしていると思いますか。

6. 人々があなたに助言を求める

時間が経つにつれて、他の人々は自然と、判断力のある人に助言を求めるようになります。

それは、その人がすべてを知っているからではありません。むしろ、その人が次のような存在だからです。

1. 冷静である。

2. バランスが取れている。

3. 実践的である。

4. 信頼できる。

あなたに助言を求める人はいますか。

7. あなたは同じ間違いをめったに繰り返さない

間違いは避けられません。

判断力の弱い人は、同じ間違いを繰り返します。

判断力のある人は、そこから教訓を引き出します。

「一度だまされたなら、相手の恥……」

8. あなたは「わかりません」と言うことに抵抗がない

過信は、判断力の弱さを示す最も強い兆候の一つです。

これは100％その通りです。

優れた判断力は、しばしば次のような言葉として表れます。

・「確信はありません。」
・「もっと情報が必要です。」
・「そこにはトレードオフがあります。」

9. あなたはインセンティブを理解している

チャーリー・マンガーは、インセンティブの重要性を繰り返し強調しました。

「インセンティブを見せてくれれば、結果を見せてあげよう。」

人はしばしば、表明された意図ではなく、インセンティブに従って行動します。

これも100％その通りです。本当に素晴らしい言葉です。

10. あなたは重要な決断を意識的に遅らせる

優れた判断力には、時間、思考、内省が必要です。それはめったに衝動的なものではありません。重要な選択をするとき、判断力のある人はよく次のことをします。

・一晩寝かせる。
・反対意見を求め、別の選択肢を検討する。
・怒っているとき、疲れ切っているとき、有頂天になっているときには決断しない。
・ゆっくりと、意識的に、批判的に考える。

実践的なテスト

自分に問いかけてみてください。

1. 過去10年間の自分の大きな決断は、全体として人生を良くしてきただろうか。

2. 信頼できる人々は、私に助言を求めるだろうか。

3. 私は、自分がなぜそう信じているのかを明確に説明できるだろうか。

4. 証拠を示されたとき、私はどのくらいの頻度で考えを変えてきただろうか。

5. 私は失敗から学んでいるのか。それとも、ただ正当化しているだけなのか。

ピーター・ドラッカーの観察

ピーター・ドラッカーは、有能な経営者を際立たせるものは、卓越した知性ではなく、少数の重要な決定を一貫してうまく行う能力である、と論じました。

つまり、優れた判断力とは、天才的であることよりも、次のような力に関係しています。

・現実を明確に見ること。
・結果を理解すること。
・継続的に学ぶこと。
・自分の見方を修正できるだけの謙虚さを持つこと。

優れた判断力とは、不確実な状況の中で、望ましい結果を繰り返し生み出す決断を下す能力です。

人生には常に不確実性が伴います。だからこそ、優れた判断力は、人が身につけることのできる最も価値ある能力の一つなのかもしれません。

さらに重要なのは、AI時代の知識労働者にとって、あなたの判断力と意思決定力が決定的に重要になるということです。

そして、それには時間と練習が必要です。

優れた判断力とは、一つの実践なのです。

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Welcome to new subscribers in May & June ‘26

AI and the College Graduate

In mid-May 2026 when I started writing this post, social media was floating strings of college commencement speeches wherein graduates were opening booing the mention of Artificial Intelligence.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt got a taste of that feeling Friday when he was delivering a graduation speech at the University of Arizona.

Wearing a black academic gown and a tassel-topped cap, Schmidt urged students not to fear the AI-fueled technological transformation that he said will “touch every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory, every person and every relationship you have.”

Instead of clapping, his speech prompted loud boos.

Read the story: From graduation boos to voter unease: AI anxiety grows in U.S.

You have used AI: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and the like. Quickly it is becoming embedded into applications. AI is there whether or not you have chosen to use it.

Likely you embraced aspects of AI as a student. But now, as a recent graduate, there is push back. Will AI replace you in the labor force?

As a long-time educator and observer of technology adoption and its impact, believe me when I tell you: we are in a very different place now.

Once in a generation

The steam engine, electricity, oil, the automobile - and more - all had tremendous impacts on economies and society.

Personal computers, networks, the Internet, e-commerce, smartphones, social media and now AI. All have been transformational. All have been beneficial. All have been disruptive, too.

These disruptive technological events come along once in a generation and when they do, they transform.

Artificial Intelligence must be examined and ranked along with all of these disruptors.

Shunning and resisting AI is the wrong approach.

Don’t be a Luddite

It’s early, but it’s coming

Distance yourself from all the fracas over the platforms and talk of data centers. That’s all noise.

Remember AltaVista? How about Lycos, Infoseek, Excite and Hotbot? All were early Internet query search engines. There were many before Google wiped them out. (AltaVista was great). It’s early. The players and even the technologies and platforms may change. The first to market are rarely the ones that endure. Before Facebook, there was SixDegrees.

The key point: It may seem like a lot has already happened in the AI realm, but it is just beginning. And it is not going away.

From Tulips to .com to AI

As well, we have yet to see a solid business model for AI. How are the current flock (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and the like) intending to monetize AI?

This was the challenge in the early days of e-commerce. “Dot Coms” were springing up everywhere and raising hundreds of millions of dollars in IPOs. And what happened? Ask Pets.com. They blew through $80 million and…nothing.

Speculative bubbles happen. There are bubbles, as with the tulip mania in the Netherlands and the dot-com bubble at the turn of the century. Will we see another with AI?

The key point: the names and players and technologies will change. AI will remain.

Exponential growth

Not exponential adoption of AI. I am talking about exponential improvement to AI. Humans think in linear terms but info tech improvements are exponential. AI will be 8…16…32…64…128 times improved. No one considers this.

Couple these improvements with corporate adoption and business is going to be operating radically different in the next years.

The key point: changes and improvements and much more powerful AI will come fast. It’s speeding up.

So, how about the adoption of AI?

Perception versus reality. AI is all the rage these days. As a technology it is in an early adoption and growth phase. There is experimentations and adoption. This will continue for years. While you may dabble with AI here and there, business is taking AI quite seriously.

The last line is misleading: companies seeing strong measurable financial returns. This is not the key metric, not the key driver of AI or any technological adoption.

There are pressures acting on (legacy) systems: education, corporations & organizational structure are likely going to change.

On corporations and organizations

All organizations seek efficiency and effectiveness. (←Where my management students at?!) Where they can re-structure and re-organize to reduce costs and / or improve efficiency, they will.

AI as a utility

There are two ways to look at the adoption of any technology. First, as a utility: AI as an add-on, a tool to help improve employee productivity. It’s an app, like a spreadsheet, accounting software and the like. It supports us.

Result: a boost to productivity; small impact on employee headcount. Over time, with attrition, a reduction in new hires.

In information technology adoption by organizations these are the rationale:

1. reduce operating costs

2. increase productivity

3. increase revenue

4. do all (always nice)

AI as a replacement

Second, as a substitute, a replacement. AI is the keeper of the knowledge and has impressive ability to perform “knowledge worker” tasks very quickly.

Accounting, info tech, marketing, HR and others. The tax code, CPA body of knowledge, legal cases, contract law, HR policy and international standards, write computer code and on. Maybe you cannot get all the way there, but maybe you can get 80 or 90% there with AI.

It can easily take the place of lower status knowledge workers who lack experience, wisdom and judgement. AI will enable organizations to do as much or more with less people.

The Result: Re-organize and reduce head count. It replaces.

So, which is correct?

It depends on the industry and many other factors.

AI will be used to reduce costs. If AI can be used to improve operation and efficiency, it will be adopted. If this requires re-designing systems and re-defining positions this may (likely) result in reduction of personnel.

Historically, technology is labor displacing. It causes unemployment in one area (no more wagon wheel makers) and creates new jobs: factory workers, mechanics etc.

Under Pressure

Honestly, in a free market capitalist system, if you operated a company with 3,000 employees and you could achieve the same or better productivity, revenue growth and achieve higher profit margins and to be able to do this with AI and just 300 employees, you would do it. CEO’s face great pressure to continue to improve profit and increase shareholder value. As a CEO, if you DON’T do it, you are not going to have a job for much longer. The shareholders and the board will get rid of you are hire some else to do the job.

I’d bet on AI being a major disruptor to business and us knowledge workers. It is impacting and disrupting now (June 2026)

Advice

1. Change your perspective. Realize that AI is a real force and it is not going away. Have an open mind.

2. Work to improve your judgement and decision making. AI has the knowledge but lacks these. Read more and think more.

3. Think like a business owner. Think like a capitalist not an employee. This will improve your perspective to better understand the coming changes.

4. Be proactive. You can no longer be passive; must be (pro)active – students are passive, salaried employees are passive: sit here, do this ← these days are over.

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EmployeeONE: The course for everyone with a job

All the stuff you don’t learn at school but what you really need to understand and thrive in the working world.

PART I - You - how you work: understand personality, values, motivators
PART II - The World - how the (business) world works: strategy, structure, decisions
PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work: guidance, focus and meaning

Hey, want to see a sample of the course? Send a message and get it.

Convert your subscription to paid and get access to EmployeeONE now. $5/mo or $50 for one year. The self-study course price will be reset later in 2026, so you will want to act now.

As well as EmployeeONE, with paid subscription to ONE, you can access the full library of articles over the past 3 years: over 160 ONE postings.

ONE is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

If you have been a subscriber for a while you may recall a posting about doing 12,000 push-ups. And later, 24,000 push-ups (Aug ‘24). And on to 30,000, and then 48,000. Well, here’s an update.

On December 8, 2022 I started.

On that day I did 3 push-ups. I wrote it down. The next day, more. Soon I got into a rhythm: 3 sets of twenty. 60 pushups a day, Monday to Friday.

Wrote it down everyday. Weekends and holidays (and sick days): off.

At my birthday back in June ‘24 I decided I’d had enough of doing 60 pushups a day. It had become monotonous and uninspired.

So, after my birthday I stopping doing 60 pushups a day.

The next day I started doing 75 pushups — 3 sets of 25 — a day. 75 is no more difficult than 60.

That, eventually moved up to 3 sets of 30. 90 a day, Monday to Friday.

From 12,000, I made it to 24,000. From 24,000 it just continued…

and then, 30,000. In September 2025 I made it to 48,000

I do other things in the daily routine: stretches, breathing, some yoga poses, some weights. But, it is the push-ups that I record.

The update?

Yep. Made it to 60,000.

December 8, 2022 to June 4, 2026

Some days I don’t feel like doing them.

So, you know what I do?

I do them anyway.

I am accountable only to me. I record daily progress with pen and paper. I’d be so disappointed in myself if I upset the habit. That’s really what it’s about: Get into the habit and keep it going. The act of writing it down and seeing it is self-reinforcing. Forget the smart phone and smart watch - they capture data - but when you capture it and write it, yourself, it’s kinesthetic, it’s part of the routine and makes it much more rewarding.

The Takeaway

Biceps, triceps, pectorals: all bigger, more solid. Shoulders, too…whatever muscles those are. Posture is improved: a more angular frame.

What have I learned?

1. Starting a habit is a choice.

2. That early period is hard: painful, slow, easy to just quit. Don’t.

3. Doing 75 pushups is as easy as doing 60. Doing 90 is as easy as doing 75.

4. When motivation wanes, remind yourself why you are doing it.

5. Do not upset the routine: don’t break the chain. I can’t not do it.

6. Systems and habits are much more important than goals. I had zero goal to achieve 12,000 or 24,000 or 48,000 or 60,000. My habit and system is 3 sets of 30 every weekday.

The Message:

I share this, not to self-promote, but to encourage. In this, it is my hope that you are inspired to start and continue a positive habit in your life.

So, what good habit will you start today?

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ONE more thing:

• choose a good habit and start.

• make it a habit.

• the only one stopping you is you.

• just keep going

From many, ONE

• Made it into college - check

• Performed well in college - check

• Graduated from college - check

• Chose a progressive career direction - check

• Got recruited and hired - check

• Are doing well at work - check

• Not happy - check

Wait! Not happy? Why? Here you are: You’ve arrived. You’ve done all the things you are supposed to do.

But you are feeling empty, lonely and unfulfilled.

This is not what you expected. You invested far too much time, effort, energy to get “here” and not thinking or visualizing what life will be like once you arrived.

Well, you have “arrived” and you have no “next”. This is likely the source of your unfulfillment.

(Let me let you in on a little secret: It’s the journey and not the destination, and you need a new journey)

It’s not only you.

It’s common. Your life has been: high school —> college —> job —> career. A-a-a-nd that’s as far as you’d planned. For most, it stops there.

It’s cold and unfulfilling. No awards, no ceremonies, no benchmarks.

We don’t plan farther out. And, “arriving” turns out to be not all that exciting.

I see you.

I experienced this back in the day. I see it all the time in graduates who are early on in their working lives.

Illusion

We live in a mental prison of our own making, says British philosopher Alan Watts:

We work jobs we hate, to buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t like, all while chasing an illusion called “success”.

Illusion: money

Money isn’t real wealth. Real wealth is health, relationships, peace of mind.

Illusion: time

We divide time into “now” (boring) and later (when happiness arrives). But later never comes — there is only NOW.

You have less time than you think.

Illusion: the ego trap

Ego convinces us we are separate from everything else. It creates artificial competition and scarcity. Ego ties self-worth to achievements: “you need more money”, “you need more status”.

Change your relationship

Change your relationship with society, with time, with money, with achievement.

Guidance

So, you have jumped through a lot of hoops to get to where you are. That is no small feat. However, now it is a new game and you need a new playbook.

Recalibrate

The Hero’s Journey - My students will recall the Joseph Campbell schematic of the hero’s journey. Working life is a new journey. You start again.

This takes time. It is a re-orientation. New objectives, goals, purpose and mission are needed now. Not goals, systems are needed. Purpose. This is examined in some detail in my course: EmployeeONE.

With a reset, a re-orientation, a re-calibration of your life and journey you will recharge and regain your drive. Do this and fulfillment and happiness can be restored.

A lot of “RE-” words up there.

Don’t live the same year over again

Keep going. Keep moving forward. Don’t live the same year over and over again. You used to follow a preset path: years, levels, hoops to jump through. That’s over now. Now it is up to you to create the path, the plan. Keep learning and growing. Chart a new path. It’s on you now. It’s not hard but takes some effort. Also examined in some detail in EmployeeONE (see below).

It’s the journey and not the destination.

EmployeeONE: The course for everyone with a job

Press the button: When you’re ready

EmployeeONE: The course for everyone with a job

All the stuff you don’t learn at school but what you really need to understand and thrive in the working world.

PART I - You - how you work
PART II - The World - how the (business) world works
PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world

Hey, want to see a sample of the course? Send a message and get it.

Convert your subscription to paid and get access to EmployeeONE now. $5/mo or $50 for one year. The self-study course price will be reset later in 2026, so you will want to act now.

As well as EmployeeONE, with paid subscription to ONE, you can access the full library of articles over the past 3 years: over 160 ONE postings.

ONE is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

ONE more thing:

• Keep going

Now, a bit of fun.

Everyone likes a quiz.

A 12-question multiple choice quiz grounded in research on focus, sleep, communication, and habits. Answers at the end. No peeking.

New to ONE? Subscribe here:

1. What is the primary cognitive cost of multitasking?

A) Increased creativity
B) Faster completion of tasks
C) Reduced accuracy and efficiency
D) Improved memory retention

2. Research suggests that deep focus (often called “deep work”) is best achieved by:

A) Constantly switching between tasks
B) Working in long, uninterrupted blocks
C) Keeping notifications on for responsiveness
D) Working only when motivated

3. Which of the following most negatively affects sleep quality?

A) Reading before bed
B) Consistent sleep schedule
C) Moderate exercise
D) Exposure to screens before sleep

4. What is the approximate amount of sleep most adults need for optimal functioning?

A) 4–5 hours
B) 5–6 hours
C) 7–9 hours
D) 10–12 hours

5. Sleep primarily supports which of the following cognitive processes?

A) Immediate reaction speed only
B) Memory consolidation and learning
C) Muscle strength
D) Visual acuity

6. In communication, what is the biggest barrier to understanding?

A) Lack of vocabulary
B) Speaking too slowly
C) Assumptions and misinterpretation
D) Overuse of visuals

7. Effective communication is best described as:

A) Saying more to ensure clarity
B) Persuading others to agree
C) Transmitting and confirming understanding
D) Speaking confidently

8. According to habit research, what is the most effective way to build a new habit?

A) Attach it to an existing routine
B) Make drastic changes immediately
C) Rely on motivation
D) Focus on long-term outcomes only

9. The “habit loop” consists of:

A) Motivation, action, reward
B) Cue, routine, reward
C) Goal, effort, result
D) Trigger, distraction, outcome

10. What is the most effective way to break a bad habit?

A) Eliminate willpower dependence
B) Replace the routine while keeping the cue
C) Avoid thinking about it
D) Punish yourself after failure

11. Which factor most improves sustained focus over time?

A) Working longer hours
B) Frequent breaks and recovery
C) Constant stimulation
D) Eliminating all stress

12. What is the key connection between sleep, focus, communication, and habits?

A) They are all trainable systems that reinforce each other
B) They are primarily genetic
C) They operate independently
D) They only matter in academic settings

Now, some answers…

(1) C (2) B (3) D (4) C (5) B (6) C

(7) C (8) A (9) B (10) B (11) B (12) A

How’d you do?

Now, some explanations

1. Multitasking reduces accuracy and efficiency → C

• Research shows task-switching creates “switch costs,” reducing speed and increasing errors.

• Source: Rubinstein, Meyer & Evans (2001), Journal of Experimental Psychology; also summarized by Clifford Nass showing heavy multitaskers perform worse.

• Multitasking switching costs (APA)

2. Deep focus requires uninterrupted blocks → B

• Sustained attention improves performance on cognitively demanding tasks. Interruptions degrade output quality.

• Source: Cal Newport synthesizing cognitive science; supported by attention research on flow and sustained concentration.

3. Screens before sleep harm sleep quality → D

• Blue light suppresses melatonin, delaying sleep onset.

• Source: Harvard Medical School studies on blue light and circadian rhythm disruption.

4. Adults need ~7–9 hours of sleep → C

• Consensus recommendation for optimal health and cognition.

• Source: National Sleep Foundation

5. Sleep supports memory consolidation → B

• Sleep strengthens neural connections and consolidates learning.

• Source: Matthew Walker; Walker (2017), Why We Sleep

6. Biggest communication barrier is misinterpretation → C

• Communication breakdowns occur mainly due to assumptions and interpretation gaps, not vocabulary limits.

• Source: Paul Watzlawick – “One cannot not communicate,” highlighting interpretation as central.

7. Communication = transmitting + confirming understanding → C

• Effective communication requires feedback loops to ensure meaning is received as intended.

• Source: Shannon–Weaver communication model; widely used in communication theory.

8. Best way to build habits: attach to existing routines → A

• “Habit stacking” increases success by linking new behaviors to existing cues.

• Source: James Clear (based on behavioral psychology research)

9. Habit loop = cue, routine, reward → B

• Core model explaining how habits form and persist.

• Source: Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit

10. Break habits by replacing the routine → B

• You can’t eliminate the cue easily; you change the behavior tied to it.

• Source: Duhigg; supported by behavioral substitution research.

11. Focus improves with breaks and recovery → B

• Cognitive performance declines without rest; breaks restore attention.

• Source: Anders Ericsson – deliberate practice research shows structured breaks are essential.

12. These systems reinforce each other → A

• Sleep affects focus; focus affects habits; habits shape communication and behavior—these are interconnected systems.

• Source: Integrated findings across cognitive science and behavioral psychology (e.g., Walker on sleep, Clear on habits, attention research).

Now, the take aways:

sleep, focus, listen, breathe, form habits, put the screen away.

(But, you knew this already.)

There, made you think.

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PART I - You - how you work
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PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world

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ONE more thing

• “Enjoy every sandwich” - Warren Zevon

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This post is based on a suggestion from a faithful recently graduated subscriber who asked about how to stay motivated during internship and job search.

The set up

NOTE: This is not (necessarily) about Gen Z versus Gen X. But it is, kind of. We “X’ers” grew up in a different time compared to Gen Z. And this does not matter to Gen Z until you graduate college and begin working.

“Kind and accommodating professors” ← As a GenX’er, I never had this.

Today, as a professor, the following messages are common. Know that this was never my experience as a college student:

“Hi Professor, I know it is past the due date but…” (In my day, late assignments were not accepted.)

“My WIFI wasn’t working” (this is the digital equivalent of: “the dog ate my homework”)

“I fell asleep and missed the submission deadline” - Surprisingly, I get this one often(!)

“I know I had many weeks, but I got really busy so I need more time…” (ME: “You had 480 hours to do this…”)

Late in week 2 of the semester, when students have had months to register: “Is it too late to register? I am really interested in: _(insert course topic)_ I really need this course, I will do what ever it takes to catch up” (ME: “No.”)

Upon receiving a failing grade on an assignment, after much explanation and many reminders from me: “Sorry, I got confused. Can I re-do it? Can I do a make-up assignment?” (ME: “no”)

We never did this in university and never thought to ask. The due date was the due date. That was that.

That was college. It seems to be a different experience and expectation for Gen Z.

Regardless of generation, we all graduate and then: life gets real.

Reset, Restart & “Do Over”

Reset & restart: in the world of console and online gaming. In the real world, once the quarter is in the machine and the (pin) ball is in motion, the game is on. Miss the ball? Insert another quarter.

Question: When did the word “do-over” come into the lexicon? It was never a word in my school life.

So, now you are graduating soon...

life gets real.

Mass Rejection

Welcome to the world of mass rejection.

Applying for jobs. All the work to read, research, apply does not garner a letter grade or credit. the result is a YES or a NO. A pass or a fail. And, it is a whole lot of “NOs”

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

Miss an application deadline? Too bad.

It is tough on GenZ. You guys grew up with “participation awards” and “participation trophies”, and “everyone is a winner”. Yeah, everyone is a winner till you graduate.

Perhaps this is a reason why “mental health” is the highest priority for Gen Z in the workplace while for fully ignored Gen X’ers (me), it’s independence. See below.

Gen X values in the workplace: Independence and an entrepreneurial spirit: are valued.

Gen Z values in the workplace: They prioritize mental health awareness, diversity, and inclusion.

Definitely all the older generations: “Mental health awareness? What’s that?”

Generation Z (born 1996-2010):

• Meaningful work, a healthy work-life balance, and growth and advancement opportunities: are key priorities. - good.

• They are digital natives and value technology and digital tools. - sure, i get it.

• They seek real-time recognition and feedback. - wut?! they might get it but don’t respond to it. seek real-time recognition = “good job!”?

• They are global, entrepreneurial, and progressive. - ?…mmm… is it true? if it is: good!

• They prioritize mental health awareness, diversity, and inclusion.

• They value clear opportunities for progression and clear goals and expectations. - but, they don’t follow or aspire to reach the clear goals and expectations …in my experience :-D

Graduating. Congratulations. Welcome to the next level.
: : Here is some tough, direct advice : :

Job hunting after college is not optional — it’s work, and you need to treat it that way. No one is coming to rescue you. If you want a job, get serious. This what what you are graduating to.

FIVE chunks of advice

First, stop wasting time scrolling through job boards without applying. Set a daily target. Apply to five jobs every day, no excuses. Customize each application. Sloppy, generic submissions get ignored. (You need to show you know, understand and care about each company you are applying to. These companies receive A LOT of applications)

Second, fix your resume. Cut the fluff. Focus on results and measurable achievements. Employers (algorithms) skim — make them stop and read. Your cover letter should be direct, not a recap of your resume. Show them why hiring you is a solution to their problem.

Third, interview prep is non-negotiable. Study common questions (google ‘em). Practice out loud. Record yourself and critique. If you bomb an interview, figure out why. Improve. [SECRET: Recruiters and HR departments have been using AI for years to assess you in interviews. Way before you ever heard of ChatGPT. Cameras read and analyze your facial expressions. The science is there.]

Fourth, network like your future depends on it — because it does. Send emails to alumni. Ask for advice, not jobs. Follow up. Stay on their radar. Be professional and brief. [SECRET: People want to help you]

Fifth, stop feeling sorry for yourself. Rejection is normal. Use it as fuel, not an excuse. No one cares how many times you get knocked down; they care if you stand back up.

Next, some motivational quotes:

+ ONE

EXTRA: Don’t accept a bad fit out of desperation. Trust your gut. One wrong job can kill momentum and motivation. Hold out for what makes sense. [SECRET: This is ridiculously important. My undergrad students don’t believe me. You readers who have worked for a while, you know what I am talking about.]

This process is not supposed to be easy. It’s supposed to test you. Get disciplined. Be relentless. The ones who stick with it win. You want a job? Act like it.

You will get through it. And, you will be stronger (and learn some valuable things about yourself and about the world) as a result.

[TRUE STORY] Out by ¥2

Want to know how scary the real world is?

She missed her annual sales goal by ¥2. TWO YEN!

Because she was under the goal by ¥2, she did not receive her annual bonus.

True story.

This is not someone I knew directly. It was a story I was told many years ago by a credible source.

No: “do-over”. No: “I was close.”. No: “It’s only two yen, come on!”. No: “So, you’re going to give me the bonus, right?”

No. No bonus. Cold.

Life gets real.

Only ONE

You don’t need 100 yeses, you only need ONE.

Every NO brings you closer to YES.

Look around you. Walking the streets. All those (working) people. They went through the same experience. We all went through it. MOST of us: more than ONCE.

And finally

Just as with graduation and moving on to the next, so too with: “You’re hired”.

Thoughts? Bring them:

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When you are ready:
EmployeeONE: The course for everyone with a job

EmployeeONE is all the stuff you don’t learn at school but what you really need to understand and thrive in the working world. A course in three parts:

• PART I - You - how you work

• PART II - The World - how the (business) world works

• PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world

Convert your subscription to paid and get access to EmployeeONE.

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ONE more thing

• Life is always hard. Expect it. Figure out how to do “hard” better.

• Every NO brings you closer to YES.

• Remember to breathe

From many, ONE

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A Canadian professor teaching cross-cultural skills at a Swiss university to students from Europe and America…in English… in Japan.

We looked at some theories, of course. We identified the issues and challenges in managing cross-cultural settings, as you would expect. We examined some best-practice solutions for managing, leading, motivating, negotiating in a cross-cultural setting.

But, we spent most of the time in this short course just talking. Telling stories.

Students talking about their own experiences and perspectives on cultural difference. This, in the context of theory and frameworks: it was a highly effective way to learn.

Each 3-hour session flew by. I had to tell them to take breaks.

Students learned. Definitely. And, here is what I learned:

1. About perspectives of students: their knowledge and how they relate to different cultures in their geographic regions, and their experiences in Japan.

2. What is important for people from the stories they share.

#1 and #2 would never come out in a large class with short, focussed discussion Qs. Over time, stories and the true self emerges.

1. About myself, from the stories and perspectives that I chose to share with the class - it helped me to see how I see my own culture. (Yes, Canadians have culture.)

2. Attitudes toward some cultural differences remain fixed and unwavering

3. Regardless of cultural differences have a lot in common. I knew this already, and it is reinforced.

4. Give people time, space & freedom and the stories & knowledge transfer will be rich and valuable. (I knew this already.) The luxury of time, space in a small group, face-to-face, allowed the conversations to thrive. Less is more. (I knew this already.)

If you want to learn, listen.

ONE more thing:

• You aren't learning anything when you're talking. — Lyndon B. Johnson

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