Podcasts about thought knowledge

This episode shifts slightly from our usual intense focus on Shakespeare. Instead, we are talking about the world that he inhabited, or at least a small part of that world: the kitchen. Kitchens, and what goes on in them, come up in Shakespeare’s plays with surprising frequency, whether directly or, more often, obliquely. Our guest is Wendy Wall, an English professor at Northwestern University and director of the Kaplan Institute for the Humanities. Her 2015 book Recipes for Thought: Knowledge and Taste in the Early Modern English Kitchen explores household recipes and what they tell us about English culture when Shakespeare was writing. She is interviewed by Barbara Bogaev. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series. Published July 26, 2016. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This podcast episode, “You Will Hie You Home to Dinner,” was produced by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster and Esther Ferington. Esther French is the web producer. We had help from Allyssa Kaitlyn Pollard in the Northwestern University Media Relations Department and Jeff Peters at the studios of Marketplace in Los Angeles. http://www.folger.edu/shakespeare-unlimited/food-wendy-wall

Trav and Los host an entire episode dedicated to answering listener questions. Music: https://soundcloud.com/syntheticepiphany/bob-marley-no-woman-no-cry Referenced article around Job Fulfillment: https://medium.com/@mags/the-four-dimensions-of-job-fulfillment-and-a-map-to-find-them-81198b50cd79#.9gnl4j6pu

Los walks us through The Experience Canvas: a framework for project teams of any size to ensure that the end result – whether it’s a minimum viable product (MVP), a new feature roll-out, even a process or other business initiative – is thorough, considered, user-centred and lean, without compromising on flexibility. The emphasis is on the experience to be achieved by that result; a minimum viable experience (MVE), if you will. Blog: http://blogs.atlassian.com/2013/10/fight-the-dark-side-of-lean-ux-with-the-experience-canvas/ Song: https://soundcloud.com/skeewiff/sesame-street-twelve-skeewiffs

Los writes one sentence down and then we podcast about it. We talk about the gap between taste and skill as a response to one of our Twitter followers. Always a great reminder :) Travis makes a reference to a quote and it's by the great Ira Glass. The quote is below for your reading pleasure! “Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

Today I want to talk about trust. Trust is a super broad topic, so the focus for this episode, is about trust in the workplace. And to be even more specific. I want to talk about trust as it pertains to it being a soft-skill you must have and subsequently develop as a designer. This is something you can focus on building anywhere. You can build this skill at an in-house design team, a design agency, or as a freelance designer. I will talk you through how to develop and focus on this soft-skill. The key take-aways that will be synthesised for you will come from my own experiences, Travis’s insights, and some research I have done for you on the glorious internet. So Travis, what does trust look like when it’s done right? What does trust look like when it’s done wrong? What do you do to build trust in the workplace? or better yet, what have you done in the past and what are you actively doing now? The key-word here, is that building trust, is an active experience. Ok, awesome answers. If I can give you only one take-away, it is that I want you all to positively influence trust in your teams. And since I mentioned previously that trust is an active experience, here is how you can actively start a conversation with your team before a project, during a project, or even after a project. Eight things you can do to be a positive influence for trust in your teams. These eight things can all be a conversation starter with your team, however, before you use each one of these topics as a conversation piece with your team, you must first lead by example. So here they are. Clarity - Your goal is to be as transparent and open as possible with your team. You want to avoid uncertainty or vagueness as it pertains to you. Remember, as I have said before, every interaction is a brand-interaction. So what does this look like? In a simple example I have experienced myself, if I am about to miss a deadline, I’ll make sure my team knows that as soon as I know it. I’ll let them know that I need help. I have also had times when a project has been assigned to me and it’s the first time I am doing a task, this for example can be, managing an outside agency to help design something. I’ll let the team know that I haven’t done this before and I’m excited to learn and that I will lean on those that know what they are doing if I run into any problems. Connection - It is natural for people to follow others and build relationships. What can you do to connect and engage with your team? What can you do to improve relationships and reduce conflicts? For example, you can set up a team outing and get to know the people you are working with outside work, or set up a time to play a board game, or set up what I have taken for myself, a “cuddle session” where you meet for 30 minutes and talk about each others weekends. Compassion - We need to care about each other. How are you showing concern for your team? What are you doing to be compassionate and empathetic to your team? For example, when you can tell someone is frustrated with something, don’t wait for them to ask for help. Walk over, look over their shoulder and see if you can help. Even if you can’t the mere fact of you walking over will give them some encouragement and solidarity in the problem or frustration they are experienceing. Value - People love to support and be around people that have the same values. What are you doing to help each other align on values. These values don’t need to be moral values, they can be workplace values, or project specific values. So before you start a project, you can create Rules of Engagement. A list of values you all create together. For example, one can be this, if you need help, ask for it! Competency - We have confidence in those who stay fresh, innovative and competent. What are you doing to grow your competency? In a previous episode, I spoke about building self-confidence and how it’s a by product of two other skills. The first is, understanding where your strengths and weaknesses are and compare that to what your peers think. The second is focusing, on narrowing the delta between the two. Have you spent time being introspective? Integrity - We trust those who demonstrate a commitment to action. How can you take responsibility and fulfil it? When you raise your hand to get something done, are you committed to see it through? Contribution - We are all motivated and engaged when we deliver results. People trust results. Are you consistently getting things done? Consistency - We love consistency. We are creatures of habit. Are you consistently delivering on what you set out to do? Is your teams trust and confidence rising or falling in your ability to consistently get things done? What else is important to you? Now after you have gone through all of these you will have an accurate picture of where you stand in providing and increasing trust within your team. Once you have an accurate picture you can switch these questions towards your team. For example, you would set up a meeting for an hour with your team before a project or during a project and let everyone know that you are going to run a

Los tackles part two of a two-part series around brainstorming. In this episode we dive into New Rivers.

Los tells Trav about the benefits of creativity. Also, our 50th Episode :) Thank you for listening and we are grateful to have you as a part of our Late Nights podcast ;) Enjoy this episode and tweet us if you want to chat, or facebook us!

#The loss of thought Most of us have problems or ideas that we want to solve or elaborate on and one of the hardest parts of these problems and ideas is finding the time to think about them. Have you noticed that most of the time when you are taking a shower or a bath, you somehow come up with something brilliant or insightful? Something actionable? There are many things in our lives that require our attention some are important and some aren’t, either way, our time to think is lost and taken away from us. So what is unique about the shower or bath that allows us to think? It is one of the only moments that is built into our routine where we don’t have gadgets, internet, family, peers, or pets fighting for our attention. In the shower, you are still, contemplative, with yourself. You have, by accident, built in time to think. Imagine if you had more time to think and reflect? How many more problems could you find solutions to? How many different and brilliant ideas could you uncover? So for the next few minutes, Travis and I are going to get out of your way and give you the time you need to think. Reflect on how you are going to start your school or workday. Reflect on how your day ended. Reflect on what you can start doing, continue doing, and stop doing immediately. Thank you for listening and enjoy the next few thoughtful minutes.