🎵 : Cardi B’s latest entry in the NPR Tiny Desk series

I book-maxxed in 2026 thanks to finally caving and buying an eReader. No, I don’t want to talk about it, and yes, it turns out I like to read a lot more these days when it’s on a screen.

My energy for books is flagging after a speed run, though I expect to finish another 2-3 before the end of the year. I am enjoying Searches: selfhood in the digital age by Vauhini Vara — she is doing something similar to what I’m noodling with here, arranging a vignette of personal reflections with common-place book-keeping. It also reminds me a little of Ullman, in that she captures the texture of a tech era through first-person writing (interspersed with some revealing chatter using ChatGPT). Related: getting cozy with Ethan Mollick.

I am also 100% committed to finishing the Edmund Fitzgerald book in November, as assigned by Beloved Book Club. There will be jokes.

Music note: I was given two music assignments in recent weeks: my team directed me to listen to the latest Taylor Swift album, and my kiddo curated a playlist of Lucki songs with specific instructions to listen to him using headphones. I liked pieces and parts of both artists quite a lot, playlists updated accordingly.

Customer service 101

🎵 : Waiting Room - Fugazi

AI’s growth has widened the understanding gap between leaders and the people who use these tools most, as emerging tech tends to do. I’m tracing emerging leadership approaches with juice; this Intel interview argues that leaders should weigh what we lose when we cleave workers from relational processes through automation. (And: avoid the ways that proofs of concept become pitfalls.)

I’m seeing some early chatter online about the return of old-school customer service models, where people talk to and resolve issues in real-time for other people (they treat you right!). Demonstrating solid customer service values and elevating audience perspectives is a plus for any org in the current business environment — so much CX is about keeping customers and critics at bay. Investing in a call center would be a wild flex for an emerging leader. Let’s see if it’s real or if it’s three TikToks in a trench coat.