Things I have learnt this week

5 things I’ve learnt this week – week 46

One of the ways I am embracing the “Be 1% better every day” philosophy is by sharing a weekly curated list of the best articles I have read in the last 7 days.

The motivation behind it is twofold. On the one hand, it helps me reflect on the new ideas I am exposed to so that I understand them better. On the other, it helps reward all these authors that take some time to share their learnings with the world, making it a better place for everyone.

Past articles in these series

This is the recap for the week.

The Zebras movement: the life of a startup beyond going public or selling

Source: Jennifer Brandel
Topic: Venture Capital / Corporate Social Responsibility
Reading time: ~10′

In the eyes of Venture Capitalists startups have only one measure of success: growth. This is a model that rewards quantity over quality, consumption over creation and exits over sustainable growth. The ¨Zebras movement” aims at empowering startups that, beyond growth, pursue profit but also purpose. Companies that aim at creating a more just and responsible society. Unlike Unicorns, Zebras are real.

Uber’s new cultural norms: preserving what works while quickly changing what doesn’t

Source: Dara Khosrowshahi
Topic: Company culture
Reading time: ~5′

Cultural norms are the basic pillars of organisational culture. They define the rules and behaviours that a company considers relevant, and represent an important lever to enable employee empowerment and alignment between attitudes and business goals.

The new moats: Why Systems of Intelligence are the next defensible business model

Source: Jerry Chen
Topic: Strategy
Reading time: ~15′

Economies of Scale or Network Effects represent the traditional moats that Tech companies have used to cement their position in an industry. As applications move to the cloud, are consumed on phones and personal assistants and fuelled by AI, the traditional way of building barriers to entry is being disrupted. Thus, Tech companies must look into building new moats to avoid becoming victims of their own success.

Artificial intelligence is as prone to bias as the human kind. Here’s why.

Source: McKinsey Insights
Topic: AI / Machine Learning
Reading time: ~20′

Algorithmic bias represents one of the ethical dilemmas in the adoption of artificial intelligence. Though Machine Learning (ML) promises to improve decision quality, some of these algorithms are prone to incorporating the biases of their human creators.

Colours: data-driven colour palettes to use for inspiration

Source: Klart.co
Topic: UX Design
Reading time: ~1′

Given my colour-blindness (at least in spirit), I have found this collection of colour palettes extremely useful for putting together presentations and documents that shine. Each palette provides with the HEX value of every colour, so it’s straightforward to incorporate them into one’s work.

Have you come across any other articles you would like to recommend? Help the world be 1% better in the comments.

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