In the spirit of New Year generosity, Jo Cribb shares the insights from sunny weeks reading buzzwords instead of bodice-rippers.
Opinion: It’s not summer without a reading pile. Books stowed away over the year "to be read’’ when there is time and brain space to do just that.
My pile was ambitious these holidays and included the obligatory "self-help” books.
I don’t know why I buy these. I know that meandering through 300 pages is unlikely to make me a better person and the genre usually involves padding out the only two interesting points over those 300 pages.
So, in the spirit of New Year generosity, dear Reader, I will share with you the insights from my summer reading, sparing you hundreds of hours.
First, I learnt that I don’t breathe properly. I thought I had this one nailed after nearly five decades trying. It seems that most of you won’t be doing it right either.
According to Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art we take about 25,000 breaths a day and most will be too shallow. Some of us breathe too much through our mouths not our noses. And that is bad.
We need to focus on breathing, taking deep breaths in, holding and releasing.
Drat. Another thing I need to put on my To Do list.
Second, with some relief I found that I am unlikely to have early stage Alzheimer's. Not remembering why I walked into the lounge or where I parked my car at the supermarket is okay, not knowing that it was my lounge or that I owned a car is not.
In Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting, there are some great tips on how to improve our memories. The main one is to focus on what you want to remember, like take a mental picture of where the car is parked.
Self-testing ourselves will work – asking ourselves, where did I put the car before you need to go find it. Mnemonics. Rehearsal. Really, like everything else, remembering something takes a bit of effort.
But my final read left me both breathless and wanting to forget. Since finishing No Rules Rules; Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention, my binge-watching days might be over.
Over their 300 pages, Netflix’s chief executive and an INSEAD business school professor outline the Netflix way. There are no holiday or expense policies (take or spend as much or as little as you need). Employees are paid over the market rate. One excellent person is deemed better than three average workers.
Everyone must give everyone constant feedback on their performance. Managers regularly do "the keepers test’’ working out who they would fight to keep on their team and handing out generous severance packages to those who don’t pass the test.
As a result, the authors claim the “talent density” at Netflix is high.
But I keep thinking of the people that create the algorithms that offer me tasty viewing morsels and wonder how many of them will fail "the keepers test.’’
Everyone works to the mantra “do what is best for Netflix” and so the company performs.
But what about what is best for you and your family, I kept asking.
So what I have learnt from my summer betterment reading? I will not make it as a Netflix employee. If I want to remember where I left my glasses / cellphone / car keys, I will need to work at it. Breathe.
And maybe a good bodice ripper is not such a bad way to while away a summer's afternoon.
- Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
- Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting by Lisa Genova
- No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Erin Meyer and Reed Hastings
