Iterate Weekly - Issue 166
This week Spotify flip-flops on some Thing, Microsoft's secret to company culture, sleep is the new coffee, robotaxi tourism in San Francisco, and "Biosphere"!
Welcome to issue 166 of Iterate Weekly.
Hope you’re all doing well. This is just a friendly reminder that you can always reply directly to these messages or leave a comment on the Substack post. Feedback is highly encouraged and I’m happy to answer any and all questions that come up.
Thank you as always for reading!
🤖 Tech
Spotify changes its mind about the car thing
Remember just last week when I shared my feelings as a frustrated owner of the Spotify Car Thing?
Well, thanks to me (and plenty of other outraged fans) Spotify has reversed course on their plan that would fail to compensate those of us who purchased the curious little gadget that has come to the end of its life.
I can say that I personally contacted Spotify support and was able to receive a refund for my Car Thing purchase from 2022. They aren’t making the process all that straightforward. After clicking on a few dead support links, I was able to connect with someone via chat and shared my Car Thing receipt.
It’s great that they changed their minds about this, but it’s also sad that it took such a public outcry to do the right thing. What will I do with my Car Thing? I’m hoping to see some new open source ideas come to fruition. It’s a fun little device. I would not mind at all if someone could figure out a way to run Android on it to relive the days of tiny plastic Android phones. Even with just a wifi radio, it could be fun to have. I also may mount it on my computer monitor as a Spotify connection that’s independent of phone or computer.
All is well that ends well I suppose. Thanks for finally doing the right thing Spotify.
🎓 Education/Productivity/Work
How Microsoft built a “learn-it-all” company culture
Company culture is a phrase that tends to make people’s eyes glaze over.
Aside from maybe a few stand-out examples, this concept is typically vague and useless. So with that said, I’m always on the lookout for concise, believable mantras, vision statements, or core values from tech companies in particular.
So I was frankly surprised to hear of a company as large as Microsoft being driven by a simple three word focus when it comes to company culture and leadership.
Learn it all.
Sounds simple enough right? It’s the antithesis of the know-it-all. Someone who strives to learn it all can’t possible already know it all. Or if they do, they’re looking to learn a new way of seeing or understanding it. Woah, let’s not get too philosophical here.
It’s certainly a shift that has worked well for Microsoft whether you think it’s just corporate speak or not. After all, they are the most valuable company on the planet right now. No, it’s not as simple as just having a CEO decry that their is a new mode of thinking within the physical and virtual walls of the company. The leadership needs to embody this vision and encourage all employees to seek knowledge without making assumptions or resting on laurels.
For those who are really into these corporate values, I encourage you to read the full Fast Company story linked above and perhaps even Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s amazing titled book “Hit Refresh”. I’ll leave things with a snippet that stood out to me from the Fast Company piece.
But executing a learn-it-all culture requires real work. Carol Dweck, whose research on “growth” versus “fixed” mindsets inspired Satya Nadella, cautions that simply espousing a culture of curiosity will not translate into change. Companies need to set policies and practices that enable employees to exercise a growth or learn-it-all approach.
Any other phrases of company culture standing out these days?
♻️ Health/Environment/EVs
Should sleep be considered the new coffee?
When it comes to health and longevity, sleep is some serious business.
In fact, with so many Americans struggling to achieve quality sleep, “longevity expert” Bryan Johnson thinks that sleep is the new coffee.
Instead of rising and going straight to the coffee pot, more health-conscious folks are just getting more sleep instead. Fueled by the lasting effects of the pandemic and remote work, more people are getting to bed earlier and staying in bed later in the mornings. And this is obviously great for plenty of reasons.
While most people may not opt for Johnson’s routine of sleeping from 8:30pm - 6am (and eating his last meal at 11 am) it’s true that there is less of a stigma around early bedtimes than there used to be. Sleeping until 7 or 8 am feels more acceptable when people don’t have office commutes either.
As the sleep industry continues to grow, we’re only going to see things get more and more interesting in this space. When we used to just think about what time we went to bed and what time we woke up, now we can get far more granular sleep data that is truly actionable. Personally, the data I get from my Oura ring is indispensable at this point.
Don’t get me wrong, I still really enjoy drinking coffee, but it is absolutely no substitute for good sleep.
🛍 Grab Bag
Robotaxi tourism in San Francisco
I’m ashamed to admit that I have yet to ride in a robotaxi in San Francisco.
And maybe that’s because I take the technology for granted. Typically, I’m fine on foot, scooter, or bike when navigating the city. While I think it’s interesting to be taken around without a driver, I also don’t think it’s enough of a novelty for me to go out of my way to experience it.
Well, apparently out-of-towners are more interested in coming to the City by The Bay in order to experience this utopian (or dystopian depending on who you ask) future of transportation. Yes, robotaxis seem to be bringing tourists to San Francisco. Or at least they are attracting tourists more than average citizens.
This story did convince me to actually get on the waiting list to hail a ride using Waymo. I didn’t realize that there was still a wait, but I suppose it makes sense if all these tourists are getting on board before the locals. I know that the cost of one of these Waymo rides still far exceeds the typical Lyft or Uber ride. So I can see why it’s more of a vacation splurge activity rather than a way for locals to get from point A to point B. We’ll see how quickly I can get to the front of the waitlist to give it a more appropriate evaluation.
But sure, let’s make robotaxiing the next “driving down Lombard Street” or “riding a trolley”. In a post-pandemic tourism slump, SF should take all the visitor energy and positive press it can get.
💬 Quote of the Week
"I never knew whether to pity or congratulate a man on coming to his senses."
-William Makepeace Thackeray
🎥 Content Recommendation
Biosphere
I’m not sure how the film “Biosphere” flew under my radar for the last year. Evidently it was released in a very limited capacity in theaters and was hard to find on streaming platforms.
Well, you can find it these days on Hulu and it was one of the more thought-provoking yet hilarious films that I’ve seen in quite a while.
Its lone stars are the always fantastic Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown who are two people living in a self-contained biosphere. If your only frame of reference for this premise is the 90s classic “Bio-Dome”, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with this film.
It has you laughing from start to finish but it’s filled with very sincere emotion. And maybe most importantly, it has you asking all sorts of questions after the credits roll. A really great jumping off point for some date night conversations perhaps?
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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