Melissa Nightingale

Today.

A poster that says “where are the people pleasers” behind a window, with Melissa in the background

A poster that says “where are the people pleasers” behind a window with Johnathan making a face in the background

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 👋)

Today’s.

Training the bosses as fast as we can but haven’t yet figured out how to do management training at Scotiabank arena. Would be cool tho. Get like 20,000 managers giving better feedback in a day. Someday. Someday.

(And thank you)

hey this is so nice. thank you!

Appreciate you helping to get the word out. So many amazing folks going to work in jobs they hate for bosses they can’t stand. I refuse to believe this is as good as it gets. We can do better. We can collectively sail right over this low bar. ⛵️

This is so very lovely and thank you 🫶🏻

None of this is real and it doesn't matter - Raw Signal Group The difference between the theater of work and actual work.

The difference between the theater of work and actual work.

www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

hello and thank you!

Yeah, I've had a strong return to reading long fiction in the evenings. Very relaxing to slowly read words that were carefully and lovingly crafted.

"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.

Thanks, Rob! I was rocking my Taber 🍓 tee just yesterday!

Today, over in CEO-club, all the cool kids are forcing their employees to use AI. They write bombastic internal emails, and then post those publicly for their CEO friends to admire and riff on. They tie AI usage to performance evaluation and compensation. They tie it to promotions and headcount requests. These CEOs, many of whom have woefully incomplete policies on hate speech and harassment, are clear-as-day that failing to use this or that LLM is an immediately fireable offence. It's fair to ask why one should have to compel people to use a tool if it's so obviously incredible, but the CEOs are prepared for that question. Of course the tools are incredible, and many of their team members are already using them. But the pace of adoption needs to be faster. CEO social circles are often full of AI investors who assure them that even more powerful AI is just around the corner. And if their teams need some tough love in order to get with the program and see the vision, so be it.

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

not at all sorry and thank you

<3

How did they not know? - Raw Signal Group We're still in the early days, this is still mostly anecdotes, but the anecdotes are multiplying fast. And they're haunting.

"Sorta like Napster, just post-DMCA."

IYKYK

www.rawsignal.ca/newsletter-a...

we do aim to offend you <3

Bring your slop to work day - Raw Signal Group It's definitely giving some low-key asbestos vibes.

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

Oh man. This is super well timed. It wasn't what @johnathan.bsky.social and I were talking about as we wrote tomorrow's newsletter, but we literally unstaged the thing to add a link to @dansinker.com's piece. <3 🎩

a little girl is standing in front of a black staircase and a sign that says ' imgplay ' on it ALT: a little girl is standing in front of a black staircase and a sign that says ' imgplay ' on it

All of the managers rn

While they’re doing that,
while they are out there on the edge of what’s possible,

stop

fucking

with

the

seating

chart.

OH @rawsignal.ca HQ on Newsletter Tuesday:

"I don't think we can add in the Fraggle Rock thing cause it's gonna take at least 150 words to explain what we're talking about"

Need people around you who can and do push back. In my lazier moments where I want to use strawmen @johnathan.bsky.social will say “what’s the best version of the counter argument?” Such a helpful shove.

Bianca Wylie – Medium Read writing from Bianca Wylie on Medium. Every day, Bianca Wylie and thousands of other voices read, write, and share important stories on Medium.

Yeah this piece would never juice an algo reaction. Cause at no point reading it did my cortisol spike. Reminds me of @biancawylie.com’s recent writing on slowing down and disagreement biancawylie.medium.com

Yes. Lots of folks write as though if you disagree, you must be stupid. But Andy anticipates your disagreement and nods to it as he continues to lay out his own reasoning. So even if you’re reading it and haven’t come over to his side, you still make it to the bottom of the piece.

Just read with my morning coffee and was reminded of why I enjoy Grove’s writing. It always sounds like he’s sitting across from you, explaining the thing. Even when he’s dismantling counter arguments, it’s got the same steady, inviting pace.

"Forcing dedicated and decorated staff to resign based on their gender identity is not good fucking management. Eliminating a program literally focused on elevating great management is…well it’s not great."

See? 🔥🔥🔥

"Midnight layoffs of gold-standard teams finding hundreds of millions in savings is not good management. Eliminating policies that drive transparency and accountability is not good management. Double-counting and faking your metrics is not good management."

"Intentionally putting teams into chronic stress is not good management, it’s ideology. Sending conflicting orders within the same management chain is not good management, it’s incompetence. Understaffing critical roles is not good management, it’s poor impulse control."