To modern workers everywhere,
Virtual conference critic Room Rater recently complimented Pete Buttigieg for his kinetic Zoom background. The US transportation secretary and former presidential candidate wasn’t in fact on a video call, but conducting a live interview aboard an Amtrak train. The stagecraft and premise for the NBC segment signaled that the US economy is moving again and optimistically getting on the fast track to recovering from the hard losses of the pandemic.
Indeed, parts of the world are attempting a return to normalcy. Vaccinated travelers can soon travel to Europe and parts of Asia; the CDC eased face mask protocols in the US; beloved restaurants are reopening; transportation systems are adopting regular service; commercial air travel is on the rebound; and several companies (including Quartz) have accelerated plans to reopen their corporate headquarters to staff.
Through these hopeful milestones, it’s useful to remember that things can still go in the other direction.
If there’s anything this pandemic has taught us, it’s that circumstances can quickly change at any moment. Software designers might call this attitude “permanent beta,” a notion that products are constantly in cycles of development. In his book Start-up of You, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman describes this state as a kind of “flexible persistence.” The goal, he explains, is adaptation, not perfection.
The ability to tumble and thrive through every delay or detour is key to surviving this liminal period. More than ever, developing an aptitude for upheavals has become a core competence. —Anne Quito
Five things we learned this week
📉 The Indian government has a history of shunning data science. A disregard of statistical accuracy manifests in the country’s woefully managed Covid-19 crisis.
🙅 Basecamp kept a list of “funny” customer names. The “Best Names Ever” log is among the dirty laundry aired after the resignations of more than a third of the software company’s employees.
☣️ Boeing fired 65 employees for racist speech. The aeronautics giant adopted a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and has pledged to hire more Black workers after the killing of George Floyd.
👥 Bill and Melinda Gates plan to continue working together. Announcing plans to divorce via a tweet, the couple says they will continue to fulfill their roles as co-chairs of their 21-year-old foundation.
🤝 The handshake emoji will soon come in 25 skin tone variations. The update will be released sometime in 2022.
30-second case study
In something of a tailspin between civic duty and self-preservation, India’s vaccine czar, Adar Poonawalla, relocated to the UK for “an extended period of time.” Amid alleged personal threats and the stress of having to scramble for answers to arrest the country’s worsening Covid-19 crisis, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India, with his family in tow, arrived in London just as the UK was closing its borders to Indian travelers.
“We struggled through 2020 to get everything ready,” he told the New York Times. “I thought I could put my feet up and take a vacation, but it’s been the exact opposite. It’s been chaotic.” Poonawalla has since vowed to return to India. On Twitter, he claims to be working remotely from the UK and announced partnerships he’s forged since arriving there.
The takeaway: On one hand, the toll of a crisis on a leader’s mental health is real. Poonawalla confessed to the Times that he felt overwhelmed with the pressure of managing the world’s largest Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer.
But for most Indians, the shock of seeing a key player in the country’s fight against Covid-19 exercise his privilege cannot be underestimated. “He had to parachute himself and his family out of India—with all its devastating death tolls and crumbling healthcare infrastructure—and into the safe haven of a developed country,” as Quartz India’s Manavi Kapur describes.
Quartz field guide interlude
From SPACs to direct listings to auctions, the IPO market is evolving—and power is shifting to startup founders.
Charting the rise of SPACs
The purpose of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is to acquire an as-yet unidentified private company, taking it public through the merger process. SPACs were all the rage this year, but nobody thinks the SPAC mania can continue the way it has.
Read more about the future of the IPO
Workshop recap
Getting a clear-eyed perspective on one’s career goals is a skill to hone. In the latest Quartz at Work (from home) workshop, we consulted three experts skilled at helping others sort out professional ambitions. Each shared their story of how they came to pinpoint what they wanted out of their work and how they got it. They also offered advice to audience members with questions about when it’s time to change careers, whether it’s worth going back to school, how much emphasis to put on money, and where to find mentorship in the absence of a formal program.
Quartz members can access the video playback and a detailed recap here.
Not yet a member? Sign up for a 7-day free trial.
It’s a fact!
About 20% of the American workforce is experiencing menopause. Here’s a guide to how companies can broach the topic and support employees going through it.
Words of wisdom
“Zoom is not a place.”—Priya Parker on the irreplaceable quality of in-person company meetings
Speaking at South by Southwest, Parker, a facilitator and the author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters, described how the scourge of poorly planned meetings is heightened on virtual calls. “You can’t subsidize a bad meeting with the chocolate-covered almonds in the middle of the table or by grabbing the person you actually want to talk to on the way out of the room,” she said.
ICYMI
As facilities managers are preparing their offices for reopening, many are likely shopping for new safety signs or motivational wall art for their freshly sanitized walls. Geoff Cook, a partner at Base Design and co-founder of the Way Forward Signage Company, says it’s essential to evaluate the emotional weight of every Covid-19 reminder in the office. The optimal sign, Cook explains, will “help to uplift while still providing critical information.”
Office tunes
🎶 This Memo was produced listening to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Suite for Solo Cello No. 4. Yo-Yo Ma performed the piece’s somber sarabande as a lament for India.
You got the Memo!
Our best wishes for a productive week. Please send any office redesign innovations, favorite two-handed emojis, and spectacular SPAC picks to work@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. This week’s edition of The Memo was produced by Anne Quito and Heather Landy.