Restarting The High Five

Taking another stab with Edition #38

This newsletter took a long pause that was unintentional. What was supposed to be a month-long pause eventually stretched into years. And in the mean time, the world changed a lot, especially with AI and all suddenly getting into our phones. At my end, inertia, laziness, disinterest, disillusionment - every reason of such kind could be attributed for this long pause. And eventually, the pause also got boring. While it gave me an opportunity to reassess why I started this newsletter in first place, repetitive ruminations allowed me to think about what I want it to be going forward. I looked at many other newsletters in this time period, to compare and contrast, to understand how different can my newsletter be, to seek some new ideas, and even to copy a few approaches. It all led to analysis paralysis and I simply threw it all away. Eventually, I realized that I do not need to over-craft something which, at the very core, had/has a very simple purpose - to share things I find interesting. The purpose is not to stand out or look different. To put it simply, I felt the need to get back to enjoying the process rather than engineering pre-determined outcomes. So here I go!

1. Julie Zhou on reimagining our exploration dimensions as AI takes over

   Julie Zhou was a Product Manager in Meta previously. She wrote an excellent book called “The Making of a Manager” (I highly recommend it, if you manage a team). She writes great posts on her substack The Looking Glass. This post is one insightful read that delves into the unexpected pitfalls of relying solely on one's area of expertise. It offers a thought-provoking perspective on how what you're best at might not always be the most profitable or adaptable skill in a rapidly changing world, particularly with the rise of AI. Julie makes a compelling case for the need to stay curious, open to new ideas, and perhaps even embrace areas outside of your established comfort zone to thrive.

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2. The Job Isn’t Just The Job by Anu Atluru

   One of the best writers I have come across recently is Anu Atluru. The intellectual clarity and the articulation comes across very sharply in her essays. In "The Job Isn't Just The Job", she emphasizes the growing importance of relational labor as automation and AI become more prevalent. It argues that while machines excel at manual and cognitive tasks, the value of human connection, presence, and trust will increase. She anchors her argument on what she calls as Relational Labor, which she describes as:

   “Relational labor is an essential layer embedded alongside manual and cognitive labor — rooted in presence, context, commitment, and care. It’s the kind of work that doesn’t always show up in metrics, but you feel it in morale, momentum, and trust. And it lives in so many modern roles: cofounders, assistants, coaches, therapists, creative producers, teachers, social workers, doulas, chiefs of staff. Relational labor aligns, animates, and amplifies the other two kinds of labor.”

   I’d recommend her other essays too.

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3. A quote that got me thinking:

   Any system with too strong an ideology, whether it is the idea of a perfect nation or perfect belief, leads to exclusion of facts.

   - Stellan Skarsgard who played Boris in the TV series ‘Chernobyl’.

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4. Last week, I took my camera out for a spin, after a long time. A few pictures from the short photowalk were encouraging enough to keep trying more.

   

   

   And here’s Mojo, our dog:

   

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