One reason I added the Friday Big Ideas section was to include counterpoints to my own. And we have some really good ones today.
The Harvard Business Review tackles loneliness on Remote Teams. Remote work can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness, impacting job performance. This article provides four evidence-based strategies for leaders and managers to build community in remote teams, including reflecting on team dynamics, recognizing team members, supporting career development, and communicating as whole individuals. The piece highlights how addressing loneliness and building community in remote environments requires innovation and intention.
Also from HBR, Is Your AI-First Strategy Causing More Problems Than It’s Solving? An AI-first strategy can cause problems if it prioritizes AI over the true purpose of technology, which is to serve and enhance human endeavors. Oguz A. Acar recommends a problem-centric, people-first, and principle-driven approach to AI transformation.
Over at MIT, Return-to-office mandates can lead to a loss of best performers. While CEOs argue that productivity is a reason for these mandates, there is evidence that they damage employee engagement and increase attrition, especially among high-performing employees with caregiving responsibilities. Focusing on outcomes, trust, and flexibility in where and when work is done allows individuals and organizations to thrive. Mandates and monitoring decrease employee satisfaction and trust, while companies that build trust and focus on outcomes outperform their peers financially.
This is one I didn’t want to miss – Federal News Network covers the issue of who can enforce end-user license agreements when software is sold through a reseller, which was recently discussed in Federal Circuit Court. The case involved a software company, AVUE Technologies, software of sale to the FDA through a reseller, Carahsoft. AVUE claimed that the FDA breached their intellectual property rights by violating the end user agreement. The civilian Board of Contract Appeals upheld the FDA’s position that the contract was directly with Carahsoft, not AVUE. However, the Federal Circuit reversed the decision, stating that AVUE had the right to allege the existence of a contract and pursue the case. The outcome of this case could have implications for software companies selling through resellers and their ability to enforce end-user license agreements.
And I’ll end with one that was just a great read. The Guardian profiles Orangeburg County in South Carolinachallenging commercial broadband providers that have neglected rural areas in the US, including. The absence of service from major companies has prompted counties and small towns to consider building their own broadband networks. Orangeburg County has been at the forefront of the fight for rural broadband access, aided by federal grants and exemptions from state regulations. The provision in the Infrastructure Act allows local leaders to propose municipal broadband projects and receive funding, overriding state laws that restrict competition. However, large telecom corporations have successfully lobbied to block municipalities from competing. This article is the story.
Why do we care?
I’m going to focus on that reseller story. We’re all interested in this one because of the implications of responsibility by being a reseller. Imagine for a moment that software companies could not enforce EULAs sold through resellers. Now you know why we care. NO outcome yet, but we’re interested.
