For nearly 20 years I identified as an anti-capitalist anarcho-communist, but ironically in the last four years, as those ideals have exploded into the mainstream in response to Trump, I have gone the opposite direction. It was just a few months before Trump was elected that I started a job at BNY Mellon, one of the biggest banks in the world. I felt like a sellout, like I was taking part in some great evil. But I started the job and it was really easy, but they also kept me…
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Toxic Anti-Capitalism
In my early thirties I dated for a couple months a woman whose best friend was dating a millionaire CEO of a software company. I hung out with him a couple times. He may be the only millionaire I’ve ever had drinks with outside of a work event. He bought me a cheese plate once and talked about the history and significance of each cheese. He seemed like a pretty normal guy. You never would have known he was loaded. He would write these long, deeply emotional emails to his…
Read MoreSarah Blakely Thought Real People would Work Better than Mannequins
I recently listened to a Masterclass by Sarah Blakely and was very impressed with all the ideas and perspectives she offered on business and entrepreneurship. I’m making data-management software and she makes shapewear for women but there was still a ton of ideas I can apply to my own mission. She told a story about going into a manufacturer where they were producing clothing and found they had three mannequins they used for sizing. A big mannequin, a skinny one, and an in-between. So Sarah asked something like, “Well where…
Read MoreWorker Uniforms are Like Socialized Medicine
Let’s say we have two executives in a board room debating about whether or not the company should make the employees buy their own uniforms. Our hypothetical character named Jim likes this idea and says “By having employees buy their own uniforms we can clearly point to X dollars in savings against our bottom line. Other companies that do this don’t see much pushback from employees.” So another executive I’ll call Susan replies, “I think this policy will ultimately harm our bottom line. Employees may feel ripped off, like we’re…
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