The Weekend Reader: Making Impressions
The Weekend Reader: Making Impressions
This weekend: How stories and big finishes make strong impressions, research on using your ‘inner crowd’ to make better decisions, the impact of AI on workers, and how we’re losing our digital memory.
This is the Weekend Reader. Each Saturday, we’ll highlight some of the best content from this week (or insights I just discovered this week!). Consider it the enterprise IT leader’s weekend reading list!
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In Case You Missed It: This Week from The DX Report
What Adobe’s Experience Led Growth Message Means for IT Leaders
Last week in New York, Adobe reiterated its Experience Led Growth message. IT leaders may be tempted to dismiss it as marketing-focused. That would be a mistake. Here’s what it means to you.
Is Digital Transformation Roaring Back? A Look Back to Look Forward
Digital transformation had reached a point of it losing its real meaning. But this post from the archive explains its real purpose — and hints to a new evolution of this über buzzword.
Your Weekend Reading List
The World’s Digital Memory Is at Risk
From The New York Times: From streaming platforms removing digital-only shows from their libraries to governments defunding their national library systems to the effects of tech centralization, data is disappearing at alarming rates.
Tap into the Wisdom of Your ‘Inner Crowd’
From Behavioral Scientist: A lot of research has shown that the aggregate of individual judgements can be quite accurate, in what has been termed the “wisdom of crowds.” What makes a crowd so wise? Its wisdom relies on a relatively simple principle: when people’s guesses are sufficiently diverse and independent, averaging judgments increases accuracy by canceling out errors across individuals. Interestingly, research suggests that the same principles underlying wise crowds also apply when multiple estimates from a single person are averaged—a phenomenon known as the “wisdom of the inner crowd.” As it turns out, the average guess of the same person is often more accurate than each individual guess on its own.
Looking to Leave a Mark? Memorable Leaders Don't Just Spout Statistics, They Tell Stories
From Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge: That killer fever chart in your slide deck might not be as impressive as you think. In fact, your audience might soon forget that critical data point. If you want them to remember your message, research by Thomas Graeber suggests that nothing sticks to the mind like a good story.
Want to Leave a Lasting Impression on Customers? Don't Forget the (Proverbial) Fireworks
From Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge: Some of the most successful customer experiences end with a bang. Julian De Freitas provides three tips to help businesses invest in the kind of memorable moments that will keep customers coming back.
AI Promised to Make Jobs Easier. Workers Weren’t So Sure.
From The Wall Street Journal: Front-line workers don’t always vibe with new AI tools that promise efficiency but can really mean disruption.