A few very interesting articles from the world of Business in this week’s list:

The future of work after COVID-19 – Many articles have been penned on this topic over the past 10 – 12 months. But this is one of the first, detailed and data-driven articles that I have come across on this topic. It also have some (relatively) good news for India.

A Framework for Innovation in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond – Another buzzword that has been very prominent lately in the context of Covid is Innovation. While my personal opinion is that some of it is just plain opportunistic, this article by a couple of academicians in the USA aim to provide a framework for assessing innovation.

Your Environment Shapes Your Decisions – A wonderful article on why the typical modern office is a terrible place for decision making. Just one of the great lines in this article – ‘If you’re not pushing paper, firing up hundreds of emails, calling and attending meetings, and chasing something down … just what the heck are you doing?‘

Solve Problems Before They Happen by Developing an “Inner Sense of Captaincy” – The second article this week from the excellent Farnam Street Blog. ‘If we want to get away from glorifying those who run around putting out fires, we need to cultivate an organizational culture that empowers everyone to act responsibly at the first sign of smoke.‘

How boredom can be a force for good or bad – In the modern work context, ‘being bored’ is not seen as a good thing (read the third article on this list). However, this article makes the point that boredom might not necessarily be a bad thing. What’s important is that we try to understand why we are bored and find an appropriate response. The article explains this with a few examples.

Every Monday, I shortlist a few interesting articles that I have come across recently. Here is this week’s list:

The Algebra of Wealth – Regular readers of my weekly list would know that I do tend to recommend Prof. Scott Galloway’s articles quite regularly. And why not, when he makes such interesting and thought-provoking points. Please take the time to read this through.

12 Life Lessons From Mathematician and Philosopher Gian-Carlo Rota – Another regular source of articles is the Farnam Street Blog. I especially liked this one as I am also a part-time / Visiting Faculty (in Digital Marketing).

Let’s Talk About Social Media – There is no doubt that social media is a real time killer. Unfortunately, it can be quite addictive, as this short video highlights.

Why your mental map of the world is (probably) wrong – I love reading maps and I could thoroughly relate to this article. Worth a read even if you are not as fond of reading maps as I am!

More than just a bath towel: An ode to the Kerala thorth – And finally, in a lighter vein, an article about one of the most important pieces of clothing in a Malayalee (Kerala) household!

Amazon, Twitter, Design and Personal Renewal are some of the topics in this week’s set:

Life after Jeff – The news that Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO of Amazon was one of the biggest in the business world in the past few days. This article takes a look at the challenges that the next CEO, Andy Jassy, will likely face as he steps into this role.

Overhauling Twitter – Twitter is, without doubt, a useful platform. However, it has faced challenges with generating revenue corresponding to its popularity and usage, as well as with moderating the content posted by users on it’s platform. Professor Scott Galloway has written about this before, but I believe this to be the most detailed one yet.

Personal Renewal – A wonderful, if slightly long, article on the topic of ‘Self-Renewal’, by the American author, John Gardner. It’s full of beautiful one-liners, such as, ‘By midlife, most of us are accomplished fugitives from ourselves.’, ‘Life is an endless unfolding, and if we wish it to be, an endless process of self-discovery, an endless and unpredictable dialogue between our own potentialities and the life situations in which we find ourselves.’, ‘There is no perfection of techniques that will substitute for the lift of spirit and heightened performance that comes from strong motivation’.

Taste for Makers – This is another longish article on an interesting topic – Taste. Specifically, is good design subjective or objective? Read on to find out what Paul Graham thinks of this.