five friday finds: life is a game, warming hanami, EV geopolitics

Do you bones and brains ever disagree?

This week was a bit of a blur so no art - I’ll be back with something special next week - pinky promise! I’m advising a wide range of businesses - from hospitality to urban planning to SaaS - on a wide range of topics - from branding to business strategy to company culture. I’m also getting ready to do some teaching and facilitating on the side for Hyper Island. A good friend was back in town. Amidst all this, I also found myself back in the Google office for an event - the first time since I decided to leave the company. Something unexpected happened.

I caught-up with a few friends who still work there. I chose to meet them at a cafe nearby. It felt nice to talk about the momentum post-exiting-corp-tech. Then as I headed in for the event - towards a very familiar elevator, leading to familiar hallways - I was gripped with a combination of panic and disorientation. What had I done? I was being chaperoned down the same hallways I had sauntered with autonomy just a few months ago. It was good to acknowledge the unease and sit with it. Just because we are sure about our decisions doesn’t make them immune to losing our emotional proprioception. Often times we forget how connected our brains and our bodies are. Over a decade of a company’s architecture, culture, color schemes and vibe will seep deep into your bones. So even if your brain has moved on, your body may need a minute.

Thankfully a client emailed with a ridiculously interesting opportunity right around then and I snapped right out of it. 😆

Here are your finds for the week:

1. GAME LIFE We can learn a lot about ourselves as a species by studying what fascinates us. People have been captivated by games for millennia, and today the gaming market is about as big as all other forms of entertainment combined. Why is this behavior so deeply ingrained?

2. WARMING BLOSSOMS It’s hard to overstate how important the cherry blossom season is to Japan, not only culturally but economically .At the heart of the whole operation, estimated to be worth ¥615.8 billion ($4.6 billion) this year, is a small number of scientists responsible for tracking the gently shifting target of this national pastime. And as the world gets warmer, their jobs are getting harder.

3. INCLUSIVE PLANTS In a historic move by Botanists, scientific designations containing a racial slur will be altered — the first time that any species names have been adjusted because of the offence they cause.

4. INDIA BITES into Apple. Apple’s India sales surge 33%. This is a big shift as they rethink their China strategy. Apple has fully cemented itself as the cultural winner - owning an iPhone is seen as a sign of moving up the socio-economic ladder. An external signal of prosperity. And in a nation with one of the fastest growing middle-class, signals matter!

5. EV WARS Toyota and Isuzu have long dominated Thailand’s pickup truck market. As they prepare to launch EV trucks, they face competition from Chinese firms. Truly fascinating to see geopolitics and economics play out in your own backyard.