Clarity First
A notebook about how we work and learn and love and live.

It’s hard to suggest that a country founded on genocide and slavery has ever been great, though our founding documents are a good start. The fact is, we’re still learning to be great. And when we do, don’t you think it will most likely be as a part of the greatest planet in the solar system, not as a best country? Let’s make the planet great for all living things. Happy July.

Is economics a science? Or is it a religion?

Economics offers a comprehensive doctrine with a clear moral code. It promises adherents salvation. It offers an ideology so compelling that the faithful remake whole societies to conform to its demands. Maybe we’re drinking some Kool-Aid?
Article: How Economics Became a Religion 

Stepping up to the co-evolutionary challenge of being human

The folks at Regenesis have produced a new series of videos about the role of human beings in the evolution of the planet, and about their approach, which grounds the challenge to place. The series contains 5 short videos: Becoming Co-Evolutionary, Starting from Place, Working with Potential, Story of Placeand The Next Leap. This is the stuff we need to learn.
Video: The Regenerative Practitioner, Series 2017

Sometimes industries hit a tipping point. It seems that this is happening in grocery now.

Conventional supermarket companies face an existential threat and must change their business models to compete and, ultimately, to survive.
Article: A Strategist’s Guide to the Digital Grocery

Meeting customers in their world.

There is no better way to learn about how people use your brand than to talk to them, wherever they are. The more informal and authentic the setting, the better.
Article: In Brand Research Context Is King.

Yes, we need to pay to play. Here are the specs.

One quarter of the people on the planet rely on Facebook. Resistance is futile. Here’s a cheat-sheet that we use.
Article: Facebook Ad Specs and Image Sizes (Fully Updated for 2017)

Creating an atmosphere that invites collaboration, contribution and cooperation.

Sometimes it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.
Article: 11 Pitfalls to Avoid in Difficult Business Communication

Sometimes a good slide is worth 1,000 words.

New presentation software is easier to use than PowerPoint, gives you the ability to collaborate with others, and allows you to edit your presentation on any internet-connected computer.
Article: PowerPoint Alternatives: The Best Presentation Software in 2017

Our core focus should be on doing the most important work, then spending plenty of time resting away from work so we’re ready to be creative again tomorrow. 

Rushing between tasks seldom accomplishes either of those goals.
Article: The Best Ways to Protect Your Time

Playlist

This week I sent this email to my brother:
“If you haven’t heard the Terry Gross interview with Giles Martin about remixing Sgt. Pepper 50 years later, you must.

Big deal: They were limited to recording only 4 tracks onto one inch tape. So, to multi-track as they did, they had to keep overdubbing the same tape mixes, resulting in significant losses of clarity. But because Giles had all of the original recordings, before overdubbing, he was able to remix the tracks as he thought the Beatles originally intended. The results are mind shaking. You hear nuance and texture you’ve never heard before. Played side by side, which Gross does over and over, what we knew as the record sounds like thick mud.

Another big deal: an original demo of Strawberry Fields, a really raw recording of just the band, pre sfx and treatment. It’s amazing. Those weird sounds they played? They played them on guitars and vocals first.

Another big deal: a recording of just the band playing their part of Good Morning. No chicken, saxes, or choruses of singers. My god, Ringo is a great drummer. My god, there is a reason this record sounds fresh a half century later, because this is a killer rock band that is untying the guy-wires and recording the results with a master producer.”
Terry Gross Interview: 50 Years Later, Producer Remixes ‘Sgt. Pepper’ To ‘Bring It Into The Modern World’

Images of the week

Article: Photographer Stores His Trash For 4 Years And Then Creates A Powerful Photo Series

What’s Clarity First?

If you’re new to Clarity First, it’s the weekly newsletter by Clarity, the consultancy that helps mission-driven companies use their brand – their purpose, values, and stories – as powerful tools for transformation. Learn more.

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