Hi,

"Return to normalcy" was presidential candidate Warren G. Harding's campaign slogan for the election of 1920. It was meant to signal a return to the way of life before World War I, the First Red Scare, and the Spanish flu pandemic. The years after the 1920’s pandemic saw a wave of travel, innovation, and exuberance. I sense that we will not return to the way things were, but to something different. I’m excited!

** For this month, here are some ideas, hacks, and mental models to think about:

Hysteresis– Why Things Don’t Go Back To Normal?
It’s a Good Time to Start Planning a Team-Self Design Workshop
People Miss the Office, but No One Wants to Go Back on Mondays or Fridays
Build Zelda and/or Mario with Kaboom.js
Mental Model to Consider: Creative Destruction
Teach Your Body to Burn Fat for Energy Using Zone 2 Training
June Challenge: Register for a Half Marathon in 2021

** Hysteresis– Why Things Don’t Go Back To Normal?

Hysteresis is a physics concept which states that when a force is applied to a system, the system does not just revert back to normal when the force is removed, it remains slightly altered.

London Business School Professor Julian Birkinshaw postulates that most things will return to normal with two notable exceptions: 1) There will be more “constraints” on our lives 2) The digital revolution just got a “turbo boost”

** It’s a Good Time to Start Planning a Team-Self Design Workshop

Eight years ago, I wrote an article on idea team self-design. I recentlycreated a short 3 minute video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmrYfD55HmI) explaining the idea. With many coming back to the office in the near future, it is a good time to start planning a team self-design workshop! Please share it with your friends and colleagues.

** People Miss the Office, but No One Wants to Go Back on Mondays or Fridays

Current surveys are showing that nearly a third of employees want to work completely remotely. This includes college graduates, which has surprised the industry. Most employees are stating that they want a mixed model. Projections show that most employees will choose midweek dates, which will lead to most offices becoming a ghost town on Mondays and Fridays and a shantytown on Wednesdays. Leaders and managers will need to consider this phenomenon as they plan for the great return.

** Build Zelda and/or Mario with Kaboom.js

This (https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-build-mario-zelda-and-space-invaders-with-kaboom-js/) is a three-hour class to build a classic video game using the JS library Kaboom. It’s free, and a great activity to do with someone that's interested in programming.

** Mental Model to Consider: Creative Destruction

There is a staggering amount of innovation happening right now. Crypto, the new space race, modern finance, remote work, etc. A useful mental model to adopt is Create Destruction. “Creative destruction is the dismantling of long-standing practices to make way for innovation and is seen as a driving force of capitalism.”

** Teach Your Body to Burn Fat for Energy Using Zone 2 Training

I have used Zone 2 principles in my ultra training for a decade. You are training your body to burn fat for energy. It is so fundamental to what I do that I named my consulting practice after it. Here (https://youtu.be/yiKLpAtjZng?t=2450) is my former coach explaining the training method.

** June Challenge: Register for a Half Marathon in 2021

Register for a half marathon to do this year. Don’t think about it, just do it. Once you send me a confirmation, I will send you my training plan that involves only two runs a week! JFDI!

Some half marathon options. (https://marathons.ahotu.com/calendar/half-marathon) Wishing you a prosperous June! Until next month, Ahmad