Posts from Awesome Folks #158

A weekly round up of blog posts I've been reading

Emily Webber
June 27, 2025

Hello folks,

I’m back after a short break from the overwhelming talk of AI all over the blogosphere. I’m looking forward to the bubble bursting and seeing how things turn out, but that might be a little while yet.

Away from AI, I visited Preston Bus Station this week, a Grade II listed brutalist wonder designed by Building Design Partnership (read more about it here), if you find yourself in Lancashire, it’s worth a visit.

three photos, the first of a 60s station clocj with concrete ceiling in the background and helvetica exit sign, the second some wooden doors with glass panes surrounded by whilte tiles and the third the outside of the building with concrete windy ramp.

Some snaps from the wonderful Preston bus station.

Enjoy this week’s posts and happy Friday.

Emily

People and Culture

The key to good communication? Don’t drop the baton

Mathias Meyer and Sara Hicks

Why timing, focus, and setting clear expectations are the keys to good communication.

leaddev.com/communication/the-key-to-good-communication-dont-drop-the-baton

Find Your Phrase in Important Moments

Jim Detert and Aba Blankson

Our natural response to inappropriate comments is fight or flight. Responding more effectively takes practice.

sloanreview.mit.edu/article/find-your-phrase-in-important-moments

ChatGPT's Impact On Our Brains According to an MIT Study

Andrew R. Chow

The study, from MIT Lab scholars, measured the brain activity of subjects writing SAT essays with and without ChatGPT.

time.com/7295195/ai-chatgpt-google-learning-school

Organisations and Systems

Beyond Hierarchies: The Real Org Chart - Blog

Joost Minnaar

True organizational power lies not in titles or org charts, but in relationships. Learn how self-managed companies use trust and shared purpose to thrive.

www.corporate-rebels.com/blog/beyond-hierarchies-the-real-org-chart

It’s easy to convince people of the power of community. But hard to convince organizations. Why?

Fabian Pfortmüller

It is so easy to “convince” people about the power of community. But so hard (or impossible?) to convince organizations. Why?

medium.com/together-institute/its-easy-to-convince-people-of-the-power-of-community-but-hard-to-convince-organizations-why-4bfe43d221c9

The AI Revolution Won’t Happen Overnight

Paul Hlivko

AI will transform industries. However, this transformation will happen on enterprise time: longer, slower, and with far more friction than most expect, and much slower than Silicon Valley is selling.

hbr.org/2025/06/the-ai-revolution-wont-happen-overnight

AI won't make your team 2x faster

Amy Carillo Cotten

But systems thinking will.

leaddev.com/velocity/ai-wont-make-your-team-2x-faster

Approaches for Teams

Three Ways to Optimize Up: Make Work Better and More Effective for Everyone

Johanna Rothman

All my clients are dabbling with AI. They're using it to think about more, such as generating more features in a backlog so each person can do more. Or more code with vibe coding. Or even […]

www.jrothman.com/newsletter/2025/06/three-ways-to-optimize-up-make-work-better-and-more-effective-for-everyone

Working as a service when you're stuck in programme delivery

Ayesha Moarif

A field guide for teams who want to deliver actual change

ayeshamoarif.substack.com/p/working-as-a-service-when-youre-stuck

Other Things

Kindness Index 2025 | rspca.org.uk

Explore findings from over 7,000 people on the UK’s relationship with animals. See where kindness is growing— and where we can do better.

www.rspca.org.uk/whatwedo/latest/kindnessindex/2025