Podcast 17. #mRNA #Vaccines #History, It ain't #aboutyou, #Agile #Mindset, #BehindClosedDoors at #Work
Welcome to Sridhar’s newsletter number # 25 & Podcast (Click Play button for Audio version of the Post). Appreciate you being here, so we can connect weekly on interesting topics.
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This weekly newsletter is mostly about the article, books, videos etc. I read or watch or my views on different topics which revolves around my head during the week. Now, let us dive into this week’s reads.
1. mRNA Vaccines
mRNA vaccines are published in many of the articles as a new type of vaccine to protect against infectious diseases. This technology existed more than 3 decades earlier itself, but due government regulatory systems and funding issues has never made into limelight. Now during Covid-19 time, the traditional vaccines take time to develop and get release, finally they got approval, all the regulatory barriers which was stopping its production and work on it got bumped up. Traditional vaccine triggers an immune response, many vaccines put a weakened or inactivated germ into our bodies. Instead, mRNA vaccines, they teach our cells how to make a protein or even just a piece of a protein that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.
COVID-19 mRNA vaccines give instructions for our cells to make a harmless piece of what is called the “spike protein.” The spike protein is found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19. The cell displays the protein piece on its surface. Our immune systems recognize that the protein does not belong there and begin building an immune response and making antibodies, like what happens in natural infection against COVID-19.
See this Wired article, giving details of mRNA history to current pandemic crusher.
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/mrna-coronavirus-vaccine-pfizer-biontech
2. Some People take things personally; at work I should say many
We all have seen many people who take things personally, they are around us all the time. Specially at workplace we will find many. Ideally workplace should have people on projects to have one common vision which is best interest of project. But we often see, knowingly all few in your team or your work group always take things personally. Just not that, they take things personally and end up responding back in way which leads to mistreat their colleagues.
Psychology says that a significant number of people are insecure about reality and tend to read these insecurities into the actions/words of others and take them personally. Basically, in all such situations, persons ego takes over him and it the ego which does the talking. As they think they got mistreated or not given the importance they have been asked for or they have been told wrong.
Biggest problem always is they think it is about them. Reality is it is not about them, but it is about the project they are all working on. So, one should keep their emotions aside and I remember from Netflix culture blogs, we are adults, so act/treat like an adult at work, see it in best interest of your project or your organization when you are at work. Do not act immediately when ego takes up your conversation, rather step back and view the situation as we, a team, organization and see the intention of the other person. This is not so easy to adapt to such mindset quick, it will take some discipline for every situation to step back and take time to respond as we instead of me.
Asses your day, if you will see in which situations the I am taking over in your response, so in any situations where it says it is about me, review to see it again with clear mindset. If this does not work, then it is really about you/me :-)
3. Agility and The Future Of Work
Agile Mindset. Yes, Agility is a Mindset. Forbes did an article this week, talking about the future of the work. This year has certainly taught us that we can work successfully remote but at the same time we all have gone through cycle of how to work, where to work, how much time to work before getting burn out. The Agile framework as we know, work with the info you have currently and recourse in later once newer information is available. Last 9 months as we worked remote, most of our time/work can be looked well with the Agile mindset. Not just for work, having this mindset is good for any personal project as well.
There are three key principles talked in the article, which are needed to be highlighted during this Covid-19 time.
1. Prioritize people and interactions over processes and tools.
2. Collaborate with customers instead of focusing on contracts and numbers, and let them inform product development and marketing.
3. Respond to change, versus simply following a plan, with continuous adaptation.
Here is the link to article,
4. Behind Closed Doors at Work
All traditional companies leaving few like Netflix as an examples all works in close doors. As I was reading a book No Rules Rules Book this week, one of the chapter in it was screaming at me, why the hell companies are designed in such hierarchal way as key decisions are done in close doors. If we are all working on some common goal, project whatever it is, we want each one of us to be committed to that vision. Either we succeed or fail, transparency should exist, information should be honestly shared with all. We all have been there, where we are sitting at a desk knowing that there is some meeting going on whose outcome is unknown us. At least in that time, it is clearly shouting out that we are at wrong place, we feel everyone else there as strangers. Such situations make your own coworker or boss whom you think part of the team is creating a situation as they are sitting behind the close doors vs the others sitting open waiting for the outcomes of the meetings happening in close doors.
Couple of my readers are Leaders in their organization. I do recommend reading this book and give a thought, as future leaders need to change this behavior at workplace.
That is all for this week. See you again.
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