39 Comments

As a subtitle, I like #7 best. #9 is my second choice, but not a close one.

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I like 9, but what if you flipped it to the futures, present and past of work because the time to live from the future is now? Probably not. Too obscure.

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Jul 4, 2022·edited Jul 4, 2022

Hi Stowe, admittedly I haven't read your work deeply. But we're in the Grow sessions together so I figured I'd chime in here (hope you don't mind me sharing that...of course let me know if so!)

I looked through your "About" page, and what really grabbed me was this phrase "digging into the economics, politics, history, technologies, and future of work, from the viewpoint of the individual, the workforce, and the business, and I have little tolerance for unsupported biases masquerading as universal truth."

That's probably a bit too long, but what about something like:

"Economics, politics, history, technologies and future of work, with little tolerance for dogmas masquerading as truth."

Again, I'm but a layman outsider, but I enjoy these kinds of things, so, here I am.

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I like #2. I like "history" rather than "past" and one of the elements I find most valuable in your work is the societal analysis that you bring. I think "society" belongs in the subtitle to make it clear that Work Futures is not just "hey, cool new tech and life hacks!"

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Of that list, I'd go with 9. too. But I'd make "futures" singular (just "future"). It's already plural in main title. And it goes with "past, present, and" better in singular form. Though one could argue that past and present could be made plural as well....

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3. Work: its place in history, society, and our lives.......the age old question of how to balance work with our private lives or in the Age of Mobility how to better integrate the two, has never been more relevant. The Pandemic and the rise of Populism has caused even deeper reflection on this issue by almost everyone. The world needs more purpose driven writers helping today's workers better understand the nature of work, its history, it's relevance to healthier, sustainable lifestyles within the context of today and how to prepare for the changes coming tomorrow.

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Eight is the best! The first seven make me sleepy.

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I loved ‘the ecology of work and the anthropology of the future’. But change is good. I would go for #9… Or maybe find a #10, possibility including a verb.

What are you *really* trying to achieve (or have us, readers, achieve) through Work Futures?

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I like 9, it's punchiest (is that a word?) and I like that future is plural even if duplicated. Some of the others may be more accurate but wordier.

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Hi Stowe! Salutations from Brazil! To me, #6 is the best! Extreme assertive!

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author

You can see the Welcome page here: workfutures.io/welcome.

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Yep I prefer your new #10 - that sums it up for me, the impact of what work was, is and is yet to become, on our lives and society.

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#10B > Work: It’s impacts on our politics, lives and society.

#8 is second for the reasons cited. “Futures” is duplicative with main title.

Who is your audience for your newsletter?

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I like the 'plurality' of futures in number 9 ... there simply is no single 'future of work'.

the new number 10 doesn't do it for me.

#tencents

OR

how about changing #10 to be a simple continuation of the title;

Work Futures

Their Impact on Lives, Society and Culture

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9!

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I like no. 10 the best so far. It sounds ambitious yet accurate to your content without hemming you in too much. Separately, something plainer and more direct came to mind: Workfutures: evidence, essays, and tidbits about how we have and how we may work

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Jul 5, 2022Liked by Stowe Boyd

#8 is the cleanest, in my view:

The past, present, and future of work.

I get that it ties in with "work futures" and the future has many possibilities to consider but I think that's implicit in "future". To my mind "futures" doesn't scan as well and I trip over it ever so slightly.

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#11 drop the 's' on futures is my $0.02 great 1 liner!

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an off-the-path suggestion: finding a metaphor that gives an overview of a fundamental insight or theory. eg. (making this up)

From Sweat to Tweet - the past, present and future of work

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Interesting - why did this post get 32 replies, but most of Stowe's other topics get 1 or 2 replies?

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Stu I enjoy and derive great value from your thought process. I was a career management consultant. I spent 30 years designing and implementing complex strategic performance improvement programs in ever more sterile, dehumanizing F500 environments. Looking back I am not proud to admit that many of these programs were implemented in the name of cost reduction and resulted in the termination of large numbers of people. Not poor performers, but really good people that for years had done everything asked of them. I have witnessed first hand the evolution of the corporate business model that valued people (employees) to today's C Suites that refer to people as assets to be assembled and disassembled on spreadsheets as required.

These are people that have been placed into a continuous cycle of productivity improvement and relentless cost reduction. They are people that have been subject to stagnant wages, reduced benefits, offshoring of jobs and now many are being stripped of W-2 status and being offered lower cost 1099 status. All in the name of cost reduction and "shareholder value".

Until recently workers could at least separate long hours at work with personal and family time at home. But now, in the Age of Mobility, this too has changed. Our work follows us everywhere we go. Where are the boundaries? Work has invaded all aspects of life. The Pandemic gave millions a change in environment and a chance to reflect. One of outcomes has been the Great Resignation.

What's coming next? This is why I wrote to you. To me the breadth and depth of your writing is not simply about the Future of Work. It's about humanity. It's about life in the 21st Century. We can't talk about one side without addressing the implications on the other side. I feel we are in a period where people are being buffeted by extraordinary change.

People are confused. You have a gifted thought process. You can help.

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I may have missed it: did you make a decision? Curious how it ended up

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