Author: Fast Company South Africa

01.18.21

Apple planning possible subscription service

BY Fast Company South Africa < 1 MINUTE READ

Apple is reportedly planning to launch a new subscription service that focuses on podcasts.

The tech giant is currently in talks with production companies about the service which would charge people to listen to podcasts, reports The Information.

By charging for individual podcasts, Apple could give creators a new way to make more money, which may convince them to leave rival services.

The service could be bundled with other services like Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and Apple News+ as part of the Apple One bundles that the company offers.

Currently, it is not clear what sort of content would be made available behind the subscription paywall.

Spotify is also planning to create a separate service for exclusive podcasts which became popular in the pandemic as people stayed home.

The streaming giant has invested heavily into podcasts over the last few years. It has spent over $800 million on snapping up podcast companies.

Amazon is also looking to disrupt the podcasting industry with its recent acquisition of the Wondery network.

Apple is said to be working on original podcasts since July 2019. It has been reported that the original podcasts would boost its original Apple TV+ content.

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– IANS

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7 tips for creating a successful side hustle

BY Fast Company South Africa 6 MINUTE READ

If you’ve ever thought about starting a side hustle, you’re probably motivated by one of three reasons:

  1. It’s a hobby, and you’re feeding your interest during your free time.
  2. You’re supplementing your primary income. Maybe you have financial goals you want to reach, and having an extra income source will help get you there quicker.
  3. You plan to transition into entrepreneurship full time, so you’re testing the waters with a side hustle before taking the big leap and quitting your full-time job.

Regardless of your motivations, you’re about to start a business. And the moment you expect people to start paying you money in exchange for the value that you provide, you can no longer treat it as a passive endeavor. But when you have a full-time job—in addition to a life that you’d really like to enjoy—that’s easier said than done.

There’s a reason it’s called a side hustle: you need to work hard to make it a success. Here are some tips to get you started.

TELL YOUR EMPLOYER
Every employer will have different rules about and attitudes toward side hustles. Take a look at your employee handbook to understand what is and isn’t permitted. Here are some things you might find:

  • Conflict of interest clause. This restricts an employee from doing anything that will harm the employer’s business and requires you to tell the employer if this changes at any point during your employment.
  • Non-compete or restraint of trade clause: This protects an employer’s interests by preventing employees from performing similar work that might be in competition with the current employer.

The point of these clauses is to protect the employer’s proprietary information, including things like client and vendor relationships, as well as any confidential information you may be privy to during your employment. Engaging in a side hustle that’s in direct competition with your employer or where you poach clients from your employer or use proprietary information to get ahead could put you on the firing line—or even subject you to lawsuits. Not to mention it’s just a nasty thing to do.

With all that said, most companies won’t have a problem with you having a side hustle, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your work. My advice: tell your employer what you’re up to. Even if your contract allows for you to have a side hustle and makes no mention of the above clauses, it’s better to be proactive and disclose your side hustle in good faith. This creates transparency and trust, and it’s much better than waiting for your employer to find out from other sources and having to be reactive about the situation.

Reassure your employer that you won’t use any company resources (including your work computer) or company time to work on your side hustle. It has to be a completely separate thing, and making that clear from the outset will show your employer that you understand the importance of it.

I have a friend who’s a medical research specialist. When she negotiated her contract with her employer, one of the non-salary items she requested was a four-day workweek. She uses the one day off a week (in addition to weekends) to focus on her event planning and gifting business. This was possible because she had disclosed her intentions beforehand to her employer, and she remained disciplined and focused in her primary job.

And that brings me to one last thing: It’s not enough to tell your employer—you need to also show them that you can still perform.

Your full-time job is going to be the main source of funding for your side hustle (and the rest of your life), at least for now. You may start seeing traction in your side hustle, but you can’t use that as an excuse to disregard your responsibilities in your primary job. You’ll still need your primary source of income to pay the bills until you can focus on your side hustle full time—if that’s your end goal. Until then, don’t give your employer a reason to fault you for poor performance.

ESTABLISH A ROUTINE AND SET GOALS
Having a routine will help keep you on track. If you start working on your side hustle every evening after dinner, you’ll train your mind that after dinner, it’s time for work—not time to scroll yourself down another rabbit hole. When your side hustle is part of your routine, it will feel less like a drain on your resources.

In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear talks about habit stacking, where you can use the connectedness of behavior to your advantage. The formula for habit stacking is “After [current habit], I will [new habit].” So, for example, “after washing the dishes in the evenings, I will sketch designs for my swimwear line.” Washing the dishes becomes the cue that triggers the next behavior (in this case, something to do with your side hustle).

Of course, you’ll need to be sure your routine is based on solid goals. Sketching designs after dinner could go on forever—what’s the goal? When time is a limited resource, you need to be specific and realistic about your goals (try using SMART goals to get started). Remember: you are now your own employer, and no one else is holding you accountable.

CREATE BOUNDARIES
A side hustle doesn’t mean working during all your free time. But if you’re not careful, it’s easy to fall into that trap.

Set boundaries to ensure that you don’t end up taking time from other priorities in your life, like family time and engaging in relationships that enrich you. There are plenty of ways to set boundaries for yourself:

  • Try time blocking. Decide ahead of time when you’ll work on your side hustle, and stop working on it when that time is up.
  • Use focus apps. If you’re totally focused while working on your side hustle, you’ll make more of your time and be less likely to need to work outside of your planned hours. Focus apps can block distractions on all your devices, allowing you to use your motivation and energy on meaningful work.

SET UP PROCESSES AND AUTOMATE
It can be tempting to do everything yourself: We sometimes make the mistake of valuing money over time. But time is also a limited commodity. And a side hustle in particular means limited time. Your focus should be on the activities that fulfill you and generate revenue.

Take stock of all your processes to figure out what you might be able to automate. If you’re not sure when to automate, start here, and then take a look at these five things you should automate today. Once you’ve automated your tedious tasks, you’ll have a better understanding of your actual capacity. You’ll be able to more clearly set expectations for clients—and for yourself.

ASK FOR FEEDBACK
A side hustle is a great opportunity for you to do something you love. But, as with any skill, it will take time before you’ve mastered your craft.

From the start, make sure to get feedback from your customers and clients to find out where you can improve. Whether it’s the quality of your offering, the efficiency of your processes, or the ease with which your customers can find you and do business with you, everything should be reviewed for potential improvements.

Learn as much as you can from others who are doing what you want to do—and ask questions. Remember: you’re testing an idea and working your way to product-market fit on your terms. Your biggest advantage with a side hustle is that you have time to test your business model and validate your ideas over time without the stress of wondering how you’re going to pay the bills. Use that time to make sure your business is the best it can be.

THINK LONG-TERM
Side hustles don’t turn into income-generating businesses overnight.

With this in mind, you need to play the long game. Ask yourself if your current habits and routine can be sustained for several years—or more. As with any business, your actions have to be guided by a long-term strategy that should motivate you to keep going even when faced with adversity.

If you do decide to pursue your side hustle full time, your confidence after having experimented and learned everything on your own terms will be more than someone diving into full-time entrepreneurship with no prior experience. Even if you don’t decide to go full time into your side hustle, the skills you develop from running one can help you excel at your full-time job and life in general. Your side hustle doesn’t have to overrun your life. What’s important is that you lay the right foundations in order to draw the most value from your experience.

REST
Yes, telling you to sleep seems obvious, but you’d be surprised. Hustle culture tells us that sleep is for the lazy, and it’s easy to believe it—less sleep means more hours to work, right?

But taking time to rest will not delay your progress: it may actually accelerate it. You’ll be more efficient with the time you do have, you’ll make sounder decisions, and you’ll be happier. It’s just science.

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Article originally published on fastcompany.com Author: Judith Meyer-Zapier. 

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01.13.21

YouTube nurtures African talent through #YouTubeBlackVoices fund

BY Fast Company South Africa 2 MINUTE READ

This week, YouTube released its inaugural class of African content creators set to receive a grant for the development of their channels from the global #YouTubeBlackVoices Fund.

In addition to the grant earmarked for content development, the 23 YouTubers (from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa) will also take part in an intensive three-week incubator programme followed by bespoke training, workshops and networking programmes. These creators are part of 132 creators from across the world who are participating in the Class of 2021.

YouTube also announced that top African artistes; Fireboy DML, Sauti Sol and Sho Madjozi have been selected as part of 21 artists to join the #YouTubeBlack Voices Class of 2021. The artists join others selected from the United States, Brazil, and Australia, whose music spans generations, and locations. The Artist Class of 2021 will receive dedicated partner support from YouTube, seed funding invested into the development of their channels, and participate in training and networking programs focused on production, fan engagement, and wellbeing.

“We’re excited to spotlight Black creatives from the African continent and amplify their voices as they create original content on our platform,” says Alex Okosi, MD, Emerging Markets, YouTube EMEA.

“African creators on YouTube are reshaping the power of our platform by providing a unique perspective on all manner of topics from fashion and comedy to politics, learning and wellness. Through their content, these creators continue to raise the bar for how others engage with their audiences and build community on our platform,” Okosi concludes.

This announcement comes after the October 2020 call for African creators to apply for #YouTubeBlackVoices funding as part of YouTube’s global, multi-year commitment aimed at nurturing Black creators and artists on YouTube. Over the next few years, YouTube plans to invest directly in more than 500 creators and artists from across the world in order to fulfil this commitment.

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This is how to always win an argument, according to science

BY Fast Company South Africa 3 MINUTE READ

You’re in the middle of a heated discussion–or fine, let’s just call it an argument–and the person whom you’re trying convince seems unable or unwilling to grasp your point of view. What should you do?

For starters, you should realize that your odds aren’t exactly superb. Belief change, as psychologist and fellow Fast Company contributor Art Markman put it, is frequently “a war of attrition. There’s usually no one argument that can suddenly get someone to see the light.” Still, some fascinating research suggests that reframing your ideas can boost your opponent’s receptiveness to them. Here’s how it works.

BUT FIRST, “FRAMES”
Before you can reframe an argument, you need to understand what “frames” are in the first places. They’re simply the term psychologists give to the theoretical filters or categories our minds use to help us store, manage, and interpret the meaning of information.

Our brains deploy frames out of necessity. Though the brain is an incredibly powerful organ, it’s limited in its ability to process information. As a result, it instinctively creates these categories for understanding its experience of the world. The type of frame a person may be using determines how they’ll perceive and respond to what you say and do. For instance, imagine you’re in the market for a new car. Here are three different frames (though there can be many more) that might describe the exact same car:

  • Frame #1: The car is blue.
  • Frame #2: The car is for sale and priced at $30,000.
  • Frame #3: The car is two years old.

The first frame is aesthetic (the car’s colour), the next is economic (the car’s price and market value), and the third is historical (the car’s age). While all this information can be held in mind simultaneously, it’s possible to rearrange the frames that organize it by order of preference; your preferred frame will alter your perception of the car’s value and influence whether or not you’ll purchase it.

CHANGING FRAMES
So how can you coax someone who’s stuck in a certain frame to try on another one–and to consider the validity of your argument? The answer is counterintuitive: You change their frame by reframing your own position.

Behavioral scientists Matthew Feinburg and Robb Willer conducted six experiments with a total of 1,322 participants, seeking to identify how to make the most effective political arguments to those people with opposing political beliefs. They found that “compliance rates” with a given political message increased if that message was reframed to leverage the existing beliefs of the listener.

In one of their experiments, which dealt with the topic of same-sex marriage, politically liberal participants were more persuaded when the argument was reframed to focus on fairness (treating everyone equally), while conservative-leaning participants found the argument more compelling when it was framed to emphasize how same-sex couples were loyal, patriotic Americans.

Feinburg and Willer concluded that to win someone to your position, it’s best not to challenge their beliefs but to instead connect your own position to those beliefs (which, obviously, means empathizing with values you may not share–often the tricky part). Doing this can help others see the legitimacy of your position and reduce the perceptual gap between your viewpoint and theirs.

USE THESE FRAME-CHANGING SCRIPTS
So if you’re in a disagreement with a coworker who’s feeling anxious about moving ahead with a new project, you could say:

I respect your commitment to doing what’s best for the company [existing belief]. Can I share with you the two reasons why this new project will strengthen the company?

Suddenly you’ve reframed the dispute around a shared belief: the health of the company.

Or perhaps you’re sharing your plan to improve production rates and your manager tells you that what you’re recommending is too costly. Instead of trying to justify the cost, reframe your position by connecting it with her existing beliefs:

I know you want to improve our production capabilities to make sure we’re able to meet the new objectives for the year [existing belief]. My concern is that if we under-invest in these upgrades, we’ll limit our ability to grow our output, which will cost us a lot in lost production. The plan I’ve put together is priced to grow production so that we’ll meet our objectives.

What the research on reframing shows is that the key to winning any argument is to understand your opponents’ perspective first, and then to link the beliefs supporting their perspective to your argument. The point is to influence them by finding enough common ground to win them to your side–not running to opposite corners and shouting across the divide.

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Article originally published on fastcompany.com.  About the author: David Hoffeld is the author of The Science of Selling: Proven Strategies to Make Your Pitch, Influence Decisions, and Close the Deal and the CEO and chief sales trainer at Hoffeld Group, a research-based sales training, coaching, and consulting firm. He is a respected authority on sales strategy backed by behavioral science. 
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01.12.21

3 rules for building a strong remote company

BY Fast Company South Africa 4 MINUTE READ

Over the holidays I asked a family member, who runs a 500-person organization, “How’s business?” The clarity and intensity of his response surprised me. “I’m done managing offices—we’re going 100% remote in 2021.”

After decades of owning or renting well-manicured, three-story buildings with 200-plus-person parking lots, he was determined to go virtual. I couldn’t help but wonder whether those 500 employees were equally as eager for this abrupt change.

Although it might be in the long-term best interest of organizations, managing a remote workforce is no simple task. There’s more to it than saving on overhead. Yes, the technology is ready and waiting. But I fear that organizations are failing to plan for the organizational culture implications of going remote.

Many organizations are likely to deal with this in 2021. Prior to the pandemic, 2.5% of U.S. employees during 2017-2018 worked from home. Currently, over 40% of the workforce is working remotely due to the outbreak of COVID-19. And a recent study suggests that 37% of U.S. jobs can be done from home. Many leaders, just like the family member I mentioned, are adamant that employees don’t need to come back. If this is indeed the case, there are several factors organizations should be aware of to prepare for this change in culture.

TEAM BUILDING
It’s hard to build trust in remote work environments. There’s something about face-to-face interaction that virtual communication can’t replace. This is important because trust is a cornerstone component of several important team processes such as team psychological safety, team cohesion, and team satisfaction.

Team building happens more organically in face-to-face settings. Thus, in virtual environments, team building will need to be scheduled and more purposeful. Organizations should consider mandatory off-site retreats or regularly scheduled Zoom sessions, perhaps in the form of weekly brown-bag lunches or the like.

Organizations should also pay close attention to the socialization of new employees. Newbies will have an exponentially harder time getting to know team members when they don’t have the luxury of getting to know them in face-to-face settings.

STRETCHED WORK HOURS
Since the invention of the internet, work time has increasingly been stretched across the week. The traditional 9-to-5, Monday-to-Friday schedule is less relevant. This trend became even more drastic after the invention of mobile devices.

Moving an entire organization virtual creates a herding effect of stretched work hours. If everyone is working from home, everyone has blurred lines between work and home, and everyone is “sprinkling” their work across the entire week—in the evenings and on the weekend—instead of “chunking” their work into traditional timeframes.

Organizations need to be aware that employees work more total hours when working remotely, compared to when face-to-face. While this might sound appealing, it can also lead to burnout, and in turn, poor performance and turnover.

Another important consideration is recognizing that when it comes to the interface of work and home, employees typically associate as either a “segmenter” or an “integrator.” Segmenters prefer to keep work and home separate and become frustrated when they can’t retain clear boundaries between these two life domains. Integrators enjoy the dynamic and fluid nature of going back-and-forth between work and nonwork tasks.

Virtual organizations work well for integrators, but not for segmenters. Organizations should therefore consider whether it’s worth retaining a small, communal office space for employees who want the option of getting out of their house. This can be particularly helpful for employees with less-than-ideal conditions at home due to interruptions from family, or a subpar workspace.

INFORMAL INTERACTIONS
The degree to which an organization is formal or informal plays a strong role in how employees interact with each other, their customers, and their clients. In face-to-face settings, expectations regarding formality are relatively clear. The office setting (e.g., quiet versus noisy, offices and cubicles versus shared space) combined with observing superiors (e.g., the way they dress, the way they interact with others) offers strong cues on formality expectations.

These signals are muted in virtual work environments. Further, when working from home, the tendency is to lean toward being informal given that we typically let our guard down a bit while in our own space. For many employees, going virtual will be the first time they’ve wondered whether it’s acceptable to wear sweatpants, skip the shower, or manage nonwork tasks (e.g., kids, pets, making food) while on a Zoom meeting.

If an informal organizational culture fits with the organizations’ brand, strategy, or human capital initiatives, great. If not, organizations can run into challenges. For one, it’s nearly impossible to mandate formality. Instead, the best organizations can do is articulate their professionalism expectations and send strong signals on expectations by role modeling appropriate behaviors.

STRONGER COMMITMENT TO PURPOSE
Many organizations have been experimenting with virtual workers for years, or already have specific positions that have always worked remotely. When we hear stories of big-name companies such as Facebook and Google stating that they will give employees the option of working from home for the foreseeable future, it’s tempting for the masses to want to do the same.

The difference, however, is that these organizations have already been working hard at figuring out how to manage remote team building, adapt to the stretching of work hours, and find the right balance between formality and informality.

As organizations prepare for 2021 and evaluate the potential for a virtual workforce, they should pay attention to these potential changes in organizational culture. Regardless of whether you believe the old business adage that “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” it’s hard to dismiss the reality that cultural considerations should be part of a transition plan.

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Article originally published on fastcompany.com.

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Why you shouldn’t multitask on Zoom meetings

BY Fast Company South Africa 3 MINUTE READ

We’ve all heard that multitasking is bad and switching between activities makes it harder to complete them. But let’s be honest—many of us multitask during Zoom meetings, especially as we enter the 10th month of working remotely and our Zoom fatigue has worsened. But checking email or making a grocery list can have a negative ripple effect you may not realize, says Dave Crenshaw, author of The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done.

“Switching between tasks can have four effects,” he says. “Things take longer. You are prone to making more mistakes. It increases stress levels. And you can damage relationships.”

When you don’t pay attention, you miss important information, and when you miss important information, you need to take the time to either ask the presenter to go back or follow up after the call. “Either way, you’re wasting both your time and everyone else’s,” Crenshaw says.

To reduce Zoom multitasking, organizers and attendees need to make some changes:

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ORGANIZER
Part of the problem is that meetings are scheduled for too much time, Crenshaw says. “Time abhors a vacuum and will fill up the space you give it,” he says. “When a meeting feels too long, you will find a way to fill that time. We are a YouTube generation, and we’ve been conditioned to look at a screen and get an answer in a handful of minutes. Then we schedule a 60-minute Zoom meeting.”

The responsibility is on the organizer to create a clear agenda and determine the shortest amount of time the meeting can take. This step can help prevent attendees from multitasking. Also make sure to include a buffer scheduled on both sides of a meeting. The Google Speedy Meeting setting automatically builds this in, or you can adjust your meeting time to leave a 5- or 10-minute buffer.

“A small gap can be enough to respond to something urgent or take care of the basic needs of a human being,” Crenshaw says. “If you don’t have that buffer, you may feel anxiety wondering if something has shown up in your email inbox. Plus, it’s possible you’ll be late to the next meeting because you didn’t have enough transition time.”

Another way to reduce the temptation to engage in other tasks during a Zoom call is to make sure everyone attending feels that they have a clear reason to be there. “It’s easy to copy and paste an email invitation, but a thoughtful leader will take a moment and customize an email to every attendee,” Crenshaw says. “Add a note that says, ‘I want you to be here to discuss XYZ.’ People will be more interested when they feel they matter. They’re more likely to multitask when they feel there is no point to being there.”

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ATTENDEE
If you’re an attendee, you may not have control over the time or purpose, but it’s still important to pay attention. The first step is to reduce external distractions by closing nonessential windows, which can feel like a constant reminder of your to-do list.

“Only have the Zoom meeting window open,” Crenshaw says. “And only pull up other windows if they become necessary to the meeting. This is just like in-person meetings where you turn your phone off or set it to silent and put it out of view.”

If you’re easily distracted, Crenshaw says it’s completely fine to have a fidget toy that’s quiet and out of view. “This doesn’t require attention and can be soothing if you feel like the meeting is drawing long, which most of us feel at some point,” he says. “It’s a way to help you get through without the temptation of email or other programs that get in the way of your focus.”

Crenshaw suggests making subtle adjustments to your workspace, which can make it easier to maintain focus. For example, use only one note-taking app or tool to keep things simple and streamlined. Come prepared by having a bullet-point list of questions. It can also help to set expectations with your family and roommates of when you won’t be available, so you’re not interrupted. (Or interrupted less, anyway.)

If you’re the organizer and you see that attendees are bored and distracted, it can feel like you’re unimportant. And if you’re the attendee, ask yourself if that’s the message you really want to send.

“When you focus on the human being, you can build the relationship,” Crenshaw says. “Paying attention communicates to them that they’re more important than anything else you could be doing. In a world where we’re separated from each other, telling people they’re important through your attention can make a big difference.”
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Article originally published on fastcompany.com.
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01.11.21

Hyundai and Apple set to sign electric car deal

BY Fast Company South Africa < 1 MINUTE READ

Hyundai and Apple plan to sign a partnership deal on autonomous electric cars by March and start production around 2024 in the United States, local newspaper Korea IT News reported on Sunday.

The report follows a statement on Friday from Hyundai Motor that it was in early talks with Apple after another local media outlet said the companies aimed to launch a self-driving electric car in 2027, sending Hyundai shares up nearly 20%.

Hyundai Motor declined to comment on the report on Sunday, and reiterated Friday’s comments that it has received requests for potential cooperation from various companies on developing autonomous EVs.

Apple had no immediate comment.

An updated version of the IT news report removed details, including production location and capacity and the time frame for signing the agreement and launching the pilot vehicles.

The previous version said the companies planned to build the cars at Kia Motors’ factory in Georgia, or invest jointly in a new factory in the United States to produce 100 000 vehicles around 2024. The full annual capacity of the proposed plant would be 400 000 vehicles.

The report also said Hyundai and Apple planned to release a “beta version” of the Apple cars next year.

Reuters reported last month that Apple was moving forward with autonomous car technology and aimed to produce a passenger vehicle that could include its own breakthrough battery technology as early as 2024.

Article originally published on iol.co.za.

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7 podcasts to make you more productive in 2021

BY Fast Company South Africa 2 MINUTE READ

Would it be fair to say that 2020 was a bit . . . eh, underwhelming? Is that a diplomatic way to categorize it?

So, we’ve all gotten used to working from home. With any luck, we’ve taken some time to slow down and catch our collective breath over the past couple of weeks. Now that we’re back at work, let’s barrel into 2021 like a bunch of productivity tornadoes.

To help keep you focused on your goals, here’s a quick list of helpful, inspirational, and upbeat podcasts to motivate you in the new year.

YES, I WORK FROM HOME
Yes, most of us work from home at the moment. And if you’re looking for helpful hints from people who have been happily working from home, this is a great new podcast to check out. Host April Malone interviews real people with all sorts of different jobs about what they do and how they do it from outside the confines of the traditional office. Interviewing regular people can be kind of hit or miss, but Malone’s guests manage to be engaging and interesting. New episodes drop sporadically—every few days to a week or so—and land at about an hour in length. 

MINDFUL PRODUCTIVITY
When it comes to being productive, we’d all like to be able to switch it on at will so we can power through a mountain of emails or whip up a pitch-perfect presentation. This podcast, hosted by Sarah Steckler, takes a more human-focused approach to productivity so that it’s purposeful and sustainable. Episodes are released weekly, run about 20 to 40 minutes, and feature a nice mix of guest interviews and practical advice straight from Steckler.

NOAH KAGAN PRESENTS
Whether you’re starting a new business from scratch or looking for tips and tricks to scale one you’ve already built, this is a great weekly podcast for generating new ideas, hearing inspiring stories, and keeping up on general productivity hygiene. Episodes typically run about 45 minutes.

SHE DID IT HER WAY
Business coach Amanda Boleyn’s podcast features productivity tips and entrepreneurial strategies to help women transition from corporate careers to owning their own businesses. Episodes generally drop weekly—sometimes more frequently—and are about 20 to 40 minutes in length, depending on the topic.

THE STARTUP CHAT
Steli Efti and Hiten Shah run an effortlessly conversational 10- to 15-minute podcast that covers how to make it in the world of software startups. Episode releases are a bit sporadic but most of the content is pretty applicable no matter the date, so it’s a good one to binge for thoughtful advice.

ENTREPRENEURS ON FIRE
John Lee Dumas is an excitable entrepreneur who has interviewed a vast number of fellow entrepreneurs for this long-running podcast. He teases out tips for financial freedom, living wherever you like, and paving your own path—you know: entrepreneur goals. Episodes are frequent (about every two to three days) and average about a half hour each.

SETTLE SMARTER
How’s that work-life balance going? Too much work, not enough life? This is the podcast for you. Host Dana Look-Arimoto interviews successful C-suite types about how they keep all their personal and professional plates spinning. Breaking down complex issues like compartmentalizing, adjusting to working from home, the myth of perfection, and more, it’s a good, twice-monthly stabilizer with episodes that run about 30 minutes each.
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Article originally published on fastcompany.com.
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WhatsApp’s new privacy policy causes a stir

BY Fast Company South Africa 2 MINUTE READ

New changes to WhatsApp’s privacy policy will force users to share a significant amount of data with the messaging app’s many-tentacled owner, Facebook.

Users were first informed of the changes last week via an in-app notification, which asked them to accept an updated privacy policy taking effect on February 8. After that date “you’ll need to accept these updates to continue using WhatsApp,” it read.

According to the ledger of terms and conditions, data that will be given to Facebook and its other subsidiaries includes “your account registration information (such as your phone number), transaction data, service-related information, information on how you interact with others (including businesses) when using our Services, mobile device information, your IP address, and may include other information identified in the Privacy Policy section entitled ‘Information We Collect’ or obtained upon notice to you or based on your consent.”

The update was spotted on developer forums and picked up by tech sites such as MacRumors and 9to5Mac.

Facebook declined to comment.

The move is a 180-degree reversal from Facebook’s stance when it bought WhatsApp for $19 billion, and assured the messaging app’s users that their data would remain private and separate from the larger company. But it’s a U-turn that some could have seen coming after 2016, when WhatsApp’s policy shifted to sharing data with Facebook by default. At that time, users could still opt out by manually editing their settings within 30 days.

But now that choice is gone. And it has vanished at a peculiar time, as congressional antitrust groups are intensifying investigations into whether Facebook and other tech giants have been using their massive reach to build monopolies and quash competitors. Last month, the US government sued Facebook, seeking to compel it to sell off WhatsApp and Instagram.

According to Facebook, it uses shared data for “improving their services,” such as “making suggestions for you (for example, of friends or group connections, or of interesting content), personalising features and content, helping you complete purchases and transactions, and showing relevant offers and ads across the Facebook Company Products.”
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Article originally published on fastcompany.com.
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12.21.20

How to set goals for 2021 in the face of uncertainty

BY Fast Company South Africa 5 MINUTE READ

Typically the start of a new year brings a natural renewed enthusiasm for goal setting. The final digit of the year is turning, and you’re looking ahead to a hopeful new 12 months, refreshed and ready for your dreams and plans.

But this new year feels different. Last January, we never could have imagined what would transpire throughout the course of 2020. And unfortunately, much of it wasn’t good. You, like almost every single person in the world, likely saw many dreams and plans crumble to the ground or get modified, in some cases beyond recognition.

And the coming year is still uncertain. In some parts of the United States and the world, life is seem to be pretty much back to normal with businesses reopened and people living life no differently than they did at the beginning of 2020. And in other places in the US and abroad, there are severe restrictions that make any semblance of normalcy almost impossible.

All this makes it very understandable that you might balk at the idea of making any goals for 2021. But before you dismiss the idea as foolish in light of all the uncertainty, hear what I have to say. As a time management coach who has been working with clients all over the United States and the world, I’ve found that goal-setting is actually more essential right now, in order to maintain your productivity but also your sanity.

Here’s how to set goals while we continue to face uncertainty.

INTERROGATE THAT “WHY BOTHER?” ATTITUDE
Throughout 2020, I’ve seen more and more people fall into hopelessness about their present and about their future. Inevitably, this leads curtailing goal-setting and trying to make the most of the present situation.

But this is the biggest mistake you could make.

One of my personal secrets to life success is, You only fail if you stop trying. If you haven’t stopped trying, you haven’t failed because there is always another chance to try again.

Despite the unknowns of 2021, setting goals still has great value. Having goals gives you a sense of self-determination that you have the autonomy to make choices for your life and the competence to achieve them. This is a key component of mental and emotional health. Goals provide a sense of focus so you aren’t drifting through your day without purpose or motivation to be effective at work or thoughtful with your time outside of your job. Goals provide a sense of accomplishment, which can give you a hit of dopamine, a brain chemical that makes you feel happy. And goals can be an excellent distraction from thinking about all the things in the world that you have no control over and can feel extremely anxiety producing.

Setting goals for 2021 is worth it for all of the above reasons. Also when you set goals, you receive the wonderful reward of being more likely to achieve the things that are truly important to you.

Through my work this year, I’ve seen that even if you’re in a part of the country or the world with more restrictive measures, you still can set and achieve goals.

SCHEDULE GOALS
One type of goal that you could set for 2021 is a schedule goal. One of the biggest themes that I’ve seen throughout this year is that not going into the office or having things like gyms consistently available has really caused people’s schedules to slip. Two of the biggest areas of “slip” have been sleep schedules and work start times.

I’ve seen many people stay up later than they would prefer due to kids being up later who don’t have in-person school as well as due to falling into extra hours in front of the TV or scrolling the Internet. This then leads to sleeping in later, skipping their morning routines, and in some cases starting work much later than they would like.

If you find yourself in this cycle, I recommend you make a goal around when you will go to bed and when you wake up. Relatedly, make a goal around when you will start work in the morning. Then aim to be as consistent as possible with those targets. For schedule goals, as well as the other following goals, a habit tracking app can help you measure your progress.

PROCESS GOALS
Another category of goal that is completely within your control is “process” goals, or focusing on standardized routines that will help lead to the results that you want in life.

For example, I’m a big advocate of daily and weekly planning. Those are habits that I encourage all of my coaching clients to develop because they have such a dramatic impact on peace and productivity. If planning is not your favorite, you could at least make it a goal to do daily planning and have a written map of what you intend to do for the day.

Other process goals can vary depending on your job and personal circumstances. An example for a profession-specific process goal would be for a sales person to have a goal to follow up on a certain amount of leads each week. You can’t guarantee sales, but you can choose to practice consistency in a measured process that can lead to the outcomes you desire.

ACTION GOALS
While process goals are around following a system, action goals are focused on doing what you say you want to do. For example, you might make a goal to exercise four times a week. So, if your typical gym or class studio is not available these days, you can still find ways to workout at home or if possible, outside.

An action goal at work might include tackling a project that has long been gathering dust on your to-do list. To start making progress, pick one or two of these key projects each month to focus on and accomplish.

STRETCH GOALS
Stretch goals are the icing on the cake of your 2021 goals. These types of goal are particularly important because they involve certain achievement in your life you would typically get excited about, and now which may or may not happen. You might be able to travel, or you might not. You might be able to go to concerts, or you might not. You might be get that promotion at work, or you might not.

It’s acceptable to think about what you might want to do on these uncertain fronts in 2021. But I wouldn’t make them your only goals that give you something to anticipate. Instead, come up with some stretch goals that you can do even if everything is not open. For example, you might want to learn a language, practice an instrument, complete a certification, read certain books, or volunteer on a bigger level—like I’m getting certified to be a foster parent.

Come up with stretch goals that are really within your control and can feel excited and satisfied about tackling. This way, you won’t sink into a feeling there’s nothing to look forward to, so why bother being efficient or staying off your phone because everything is always going to stink anyway.

I highly encourage you to set goals that you can focus on in the months ahead. We all might know what will in 2021, but we can still have a great year.

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Article originally published on fastcompany.com.

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