On this week’s “Galaxy Brain,” @cwarzel.bsky.social talks with Johnathan and Melissa Nightingale, two experts in management and leadership training, about AI hype and what’s actually happening in offices. Listen here:

I read A LOT of email newsletters… and Johnathan + Melissa Nightingale’s emails about being a better boss have been must-reads in my inbox for years. They keep us grounded in our human-ness.

Johnathan and Melissa Nightengale are two wonderful people who work to try and make work more humane by getting inside orgs with managers who don’t know how to manage. They talked about what AI is really doing to jobs and bosses (and workers). No hype, just what is happening & what we stand to lose

jobs are weird atm. lots of stagnation, lots of fear, lots of ai-pilled CEOs trying to force llms into work, lots of people automating their work, no clear productivity gains lots of concern about job loss/career tracks. I wanted to have a convo w/ ppl on the ground to sort out what’s happening

This is a really great conversation with @rawsignal.ca about the AI boom, what's going on inside tech companies with adoption, and what it means for the future of work.

The most accurate description of the job market right now.

What if you just abandon the front door entirely and find another way? www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

Yes! This! “…management is a specifically human practice that seeks to get the best from a group of people by aligning their individual talents, motivations, and creativity with clearly communicated goals and opportunities. Good management centres the humanity of each employee…”

“Questions slow you down.” Yes! Exactly why I love them.

Here are three, quick ways to spot AI bullshit in the wild: www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

Re: RTO: “Proximity isn't the same as connection. Doing work near other people doesn't automatically recreate serendipity, collegiality, and collaborative spirit. Never mind what your CEO/HR team might have said when they rolled out the policy.” From @rawsignal.ca: www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

This is a five-alarm fire in terms of human connection. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

Is this just another hype cycle you can ignore until it dies off? Maybe. But our sense is that this one's gonna be different. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

How do you check power that's not-presently-checked? www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

If you manage people, and you don't read @rawsignal.ca's newsletter... well, that's probably fine but you definitely should start. On managing teams when you don't have the relevant expertise: "The tools are getting faster but the core issue was never that you were bullshitting slowly."

We need to acknowledge that the fake-it-and-hope-no-one-notices approach to management is having a real moment right now. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

Even as we're setting up something ambitious, we can often spot the things lurking in the shadows that are going to get in the way. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

If your org is on your seventh layoff or Lord-have-mercy, your 82nd re-org, we suggest that it's time to take a hard look at your underlying planning issues... www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

"Capitalism isn't skipping 1:1s, giving toxic feedback, or changing goals frameworks every quarter — fucking Mike is doing that." (Mike was a great boss though.)

If we want work to be better, we need possibility, not futility. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

The real test for an org is not whether you ever bet wrong. The question is, when the results start to come in, what do you do now? www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

Betterboss, day 1. 🫶

It’s hard to push decision-making to the edges if we're not sure how the edges are making decisions. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

I really enjoyed this post by @rawsignal.ca against the pressure (in industry, but also very true for academia 🧪🔭) to overwork at the cost of having time to think, breathe and yes, be creative (it is related). mailchi.mp/rawsignal/yo...

Pictured: @shappy.bsky.social trying to get out of the way of the photo. Also pictured: @johnathan.bsky.social well, uh, doing the exact opposite. Also also pictured: new window art at the bank (our HQ is a restored bank if you’re new here hi 👋)

You can drop a lot of frogs in that pot and very few will feel their feet get warm. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

Folks who study meaning at work have three buckets. We love a good three-bucket framework. Let's go. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

The first and easiest gut check in terms of whether your workplace surveillance is helpful or harmful is this. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

The shift in this model is that we're no longer talking about a cofounder or a bestie or work spouse. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

Speaking of which, I encourage you all to read @rawsignal.ca's newsletter today: www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a... "[Eric Schmidt thinks] automating away the humans is righteous b/c it will reduce dependence on entitled employees, and produce appropriate level of fear/obedience in ones who remain."

Maybe I’m just hormonal but @rawsignal.ca - you weren’t supposed to make me cry today.

every time something comes along that dismantles a symbolic barrier / economic class skill check, that barrier will be replaced with a new/different barrier.

one aside based on @rawsignal.ca: I once heard it touted that AI would level the field for marginalised people, by ensuring people who'd never created a pitch deck/cover letter could make one now. if VCs are no longer reading pitch decks because they're all AI, then they're going on "gut" = bias

The difference between the theater of work and actual work. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

"Sorta like Napster, just post-DMCA." IYKYK www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

reading this week's @rawsignal.ca email on the bus, almost missed my stop

"It's fair to ask why one should have to compel people to use a tool if it's so obviously incredible." @rawsignal.ca on the AI boomlet and the hazards to their own workers many tech CEOs are ignoring.

Mandatory reading today from @rawsignal.ca: mailchi.mp/rawsignal/ho... It is offensive how good @johnathan.bsky.social and @shappy.bsky.social are at nailing the workplace issues around AI.

We're still in the early days, this is still mostly anecdotes, but the anecdotes are multiplying fast. And they're haunting. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

The people who tout this model of ambition have a whole cinematic universe of heroes and villains and moral dramas and cautionary tales.

Have you been to a program and called it "the most transformative experience of my career so far?" That's what an actual leader said about an actual program. About Betterboss, in fact. If your career needs some transformation... Applications are open for the October cohort: betterboss.ca

What would you do if you had a week to just clear out backlog? www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

If you've been feeling stuck. And don't know what you'd do next. If you've been feeling disconnected from your work. And chanting "it's just a job, who cares" in your head isn't making it easier. The next Pulse is for you. One hour. Friday, July 18. $99 to attend. All proceeds donated to Eva's.

This week's newsletter from @rawsignal.ca is really pushing the painful buttons. "Bring your slop to work day", AI in the workplace (for management, in particular). Push-back against LLM use and "punishment for caring"...wooooof. Yeah

It's definitely giving some low-key asbestos vibes. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

Do you really hate the work that much? www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

Is this what it means to work with a vendor these days? www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

If one more exec pastes one more link about workplace dips in productivity, the managers are going lose it. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

We talk with people building amazing things all the time, from founders to interns, and none of them sound like this. www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...