Sunday Posts

A conversation today returned me to the subject of Gen Z! I don't have a great regard for generational labelling and particularly the adulation for Gen Z ( my views  were quite clear).  But a friend trying to discuss a potential PhD subject brought this up: That Gen Z is far clearer about mental health issues, boundaries of what they would do or not do to please the boss etc. We spent some minutes discussing whether organisations should realign themselves to accommodate the Gen Z culture, and my favourite trope that the CEO's job is to define the culture of the company and try to live it. On reflection, though, I am not sure companies should adjust themselves to Gen Z work culture. The label stands for a particular type of thinking and living: Mobile native, with a lingo that includes a lot of TLAs and emojis, defined by the western urban culture and relationships, anxious about many things, etc. These are real attributes and perhaps quite useful for a c...

Grow up. Don't fall for an American trope.  For my generation - I would be Gen X by label - United States of America, its style, its messages and what it passed on as its values, provided the model. Older now, I see the deception. It is not subjective view of a post-colonial - the Americans themselves have elected Donald Trump and let us know that they don't believe in what they preached.  I am not just a Gen Xer, but one that grew up in a post-colonial nation. So, United States was not our first disappointment. We already knew the trajectory with Soviet Union. Claims of universal values that come to nothing. I know this bitter disappointment and learnt its lesson - universal values don't work! Don't import the ideas about how life should be from a dominant culture, look deeper and look wider, look inside and challenge everything! Therefore, do not fall for the infantalised version of yourself. Be attentive - there is no glory in being scatter-brained and attention is, ...