James Damore, the guy Google just fired for his generalizations about gender, apparently said and did some sexist things in college. It disturbs me how everything in people’s pasts is now part of how we critique their current actions. And there’s a lesson in that for all of us. According to Gizmodo, Damore participated in…
James Damore, a Google engineer, published an internal manifesto about gender and discrimination at the company. He’s either a sexist tech bro or a First Amendment hero bravely proclaiming forbidden truths, depending on your perspective. His generalizations about how women think are the problem here — they’re what got him fired. A fresh look at the…
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and several other government organizations are completing a report on global climate science. Someone leaked a late draft to the New York Times, which published it. The 545 page report is a great case study on how (and how not) to summarize technical information. The executive summary features telling…
Not any time soon. Computers are getting much better at identifying writing problems — passive voice, excessive adverbs, misspelled words, the wrong form of “its.” They’re not so good at suggesting answers. And they’re a long way from understanding conceptual and structural issues. From Jacob Brogan’s piece in Slate, “Microsoft’s Grammar and Style Rules Will…
Everyone consumes content online now, and video is ubiquitous. Is it time to admit that writing is obsolete? Not quite. But you must recognize the power of video and understand how it works with text to improve how-to and narrative communication. I recently had a mindset-altering conversation with a third-year medical student. She’s helping me…
Marketing automation company Marketo had an oopsy last week — they forgot to renew their main domain name. This caused a day’s disruption for their customers. The CEO’s passive apology fails to be direct and honest. Why is this so hard? Let’s take a look at the CEO’s email to customers. In what follows, I’ve…
Everybody has questions. Everybody wants answers. What determines your future is the kind of questions you ask, and whether the answers satisfy or stimulate you. One way to succeed is to get really good at something. This competency-focused mindset can get you a good job, and if you’re good at something for which there is…
A Dallas jury just awarded Andrea Polito, a wedding photographer, $1.08 million in damages against a couple who took their complaints about her to social media and local news. This lawsuit showcases how, after more than a decade of blogs and social networks, courts (and people) still have no idea how to deal with the…
I feel for Michael Surbaugh, Chief Scout Executive for the Boy Scouts of America. He got the thankless job of apologizing for Donald Trump’s remarks to the scouts’ Jamboree. But his padded and swaddled apology misses the mark. Even if a problem is not your fault, you are responsible for apologizing as briefly and clearly as…