Helpful Tools and Messages
You're Doing Just Fine
A message from Debra
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"You're doing just fine". I said this over and over to someone I mentored recently. Why? Because I wanted to address the crushing pressure I felt from a young professional caught up in the competition, they can't see that they're doing just fine! And sometimes, that's enough. There are so many distractions competing for everyone's attention. Enjoying life in the moment, both personally and professionally, can be elusive. I advised that they can have it all, but not all at once. Be mindful of the impossible idea that you need to maintain a full time job, plus excel in some new skill online, *plus* have a lucrative side hustle, >plus< expect your partner to be model perfect, -plus- curate an enviable social media presence with perfectly lit selfies. Yes, set goals, of course... but include balance in life, both mentally and physically. The motto I use to remind myself to check in to what is influencing me, is that "Comparison is the Thief of Joy". Acknowledge that you are not an impostor who needs to try and fool everyone with a fake smile to the point of exhaustion. Talk with those you trust to work through difficult times. And remember, you're doing just fine. (adorable Photo by Richard Brutyo)
Where do we go from here? May 2021 A message from Debra
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We are waking up from a bitter sleep, experiencing so many undeniable truths at the same time. Within mere weeks of each other, three horrible events (that we know of) showed how systemic racism costs people their lives, AND we watched a perfect rendezvous in space. Extenuating circumstances exposed that arcane systems defining efficiency as ‘reinforcing siloed practices to perpetuate their existence’, can no longer continue under an umbrella of ignorance. We should have been here long ago, and we can’t ever go back.
1) Let’s commit to making deliberate decisions, naming actions that lead to big changes that slay wicked problems.
2) When you are recruiting, don’t write a unicorn position description for a candidate that can’t possibly exist. Think of how you can expand your knowledge base with each job opportunity to enhance your team, learning from someone’s lived experience by including diversity of thought.
3) Cultivate an environment of trust where difficult conversations celebrate that you can agree to disagree, without being disagreeable.
We are who we have been waiting for. Let’s do this. Contact me to discuss how my independent consulting and advisory services can support your strategy to do better.
During coronavirus, we need social sciences and humanities more than ever. This is why.
ABC Radio National by the ABC TOP 5 HASS researchers of 2019 - Thu 30 Apr 2020
To really understand how this pandemic is impacting all of us, and what we can do about it, we should look to social sciences, humanities and the arts.
Our weird behavior during the pandemic is messing with AI models
Machine-learning models trained on normal behavior are showing cracks forcing humans to step in to set them straight
- by Will Douglas Heaven MIT Technology Review 11 May 2020
Machine-learning models trained on normal human behavior are now finding that normal has changed, and some are no longer working as they should. Retraining a model can require expert human intervention.
Will the COVID Crisis Lead to a Digital Revolution in Government?
RBC Disruptors - 28th April 2020 S2:E2
During the COVID-19 crisis, governments in Canada have had to rapidly transition to a digital-first reality, practically overnight. In this episode, Alex Benay, Partner, Digital and Government Solutions at KPMG, and Hillary Hartley, Chief Digital and Data Officer for the province of Ontario, discuss how governments can apply lessons learned through the crisis to digitally revolutionize and build the government of the future in a post-COVID world.