⫹⫺ Clear Thinking
Hello my friends,
If you read last week’s edition you’ll be aware that I’ve minted CMMN WLTH on Twitter.
A huge thanks to the 15 of you who hit that follow button. I’ll be dropping some questions on how I can make this whole project more valuable for you, so please share your thoughts with me on the feed or via DM.
I read a quote this week that really resonated:
“Clear writing means clear thinking.”
Writing this newsletter and trying to distill topics into 280 characters on Twitter is constantly challenging me but I’m learning; the first three months of this year already feel more productive than the whole of 2020. I hope you feel the same way.
Short and sweet this week, I’ll let the snippets do the talking.
Let’s get into it,
— Andy
Last Week’s Numbers
Continuing to build in public:
Weekly subscribers: +2.5% (83 —> 85)
Open rate: 52%
Twitter followers: 15
Your support doesn’t go unnoticed. Please hit the share button if you think someone you know would enjoy these notes.
Product
The International Olympic Committee recently approved a recommendation to “Encourage the development of virtual sports and further engage with video gaming communities”.
This guide on sustainability outlines Nike’s design principles and contains a downloadable workbook.
As we get ready to go back to work, Whoop is going beyond the basic temperature check and using their technology to make recommendations on whether employees should come to work or not. It’s only a matter of time before they enter corporate health and wellness.
People
This design process workbook from The James Dyson Foundation is aimed at budding engineers and designers but could be useful as an outline for a team-building activity.
A great paper on how NASA embraced open innovation and the role professional identity plays.
You always hear about the ‘success stories’, very rarely hear about the failures. General Magic is the Silicon Valley company that, although a massive failure, birthed the digital revolution we live in today.
Methods
The past week I’ve struggled to string even a few hours of reading or research together. I gave this a try and as weird as it is, it really works. Take a look at the comments, it sounds like it’s helping a lot of people who are lonely, stuck at home studying.
I used to try and read as many books a year as I could. I guess it was a sort of vanity metric more than anything. As with most things, I’ve realized that quality is better than quantity. This post on “How to Read a Book” provides a comprehensive framework to elevate the former.
And if you’re looking for something new to read check out this repository of books for free, no registration required.
Out of Office
I remember messing around on Google Earth as a kid and I absolutely love anything to do with the world and nature. Here are some mind-blowing visualizations of our weather, ocean currents, and the aurora.
