Shout out to @PetBerisha for the fantastic breakdown on the @Sorare x @PremierLeague deal

Shoutout @anydistanceclub for getting me to be more active this year!

After the @WSJopinion piece called “Are there too many Asians?”, I’m seeing a piece called “Are French People just lazy?” in @nytopinion today.

…Which begs the question: are there any good editors left?!

If you’re able to watch it on Apple TV+ (which is a service I definitely recommend), “Super League: The War for Football” is a fascinating look at what happened in 2021!

Fun Sunday Night:

Weekend adventures

Really enjoyed this piece on my childhood club: AS Monaco 🇲🇨

The Monaco academy boasts a star-studded list of alumni: World Cup winners Thierry Henry, Emmanuel Petit, Lilian Thuram, David Trezeguet and Kylian Mbappé all graduated from the club. When Monaco tinkered with their successful formula of youth development, signing Radamel Falcao and James Rodríguez for big money, they won Ligue 1 and reached the Champions League semi-finals

[≠]

If you want to strip what’s left of the Titanic, call the Washington Wizards front office. No one is better at salvage operations.

Shoutout to employers making missteps

Layoffs are among the most challenging life experiences, causing more psychological stress than even divorce, according to one study. Losing a job can upend workers’ finances and their sense of self, and layoffs in the world of remote work have in many cases been especially destabilizing, with employer missteps fueling uncertainty and unnecessary unknowns.

[≠]

Felt this part a lot too: > Last year ended with job cuts across tech behemoths […] For many of these companies, these cuts followed years of free-flowing perks and flexible work arrangements that were part of what was called a “war for talent.” “That is one of the great contradictions of corporate life,” Ms. Sucher said. “All corporations say ‘People are our most important asset,’ but they don’t really seem to believe that.” “Calling someone ‘talent’ is quite different from calling them a person,” she added. “People aren’t a resource that can be depleted over time.”

Contrast being told “imma checkin with you and share your profile with my network” and never hearing back with how Nokia did it, at scale:

Actions > Words.

Nokia, when it was restructuring in 2011, gave the roughly 18,000 people who would be affected about a year of advance notice and offered them several pathways forward: The company would help them find new roles internally, get new jobs externally, start their own businesses or begin an educational program, among other options. Nokia’s success metrics were whether people had a job lined up when they left the firm, and whether they were leaving with a positive enough impression that they would be open to returning in the future. Nearly two-thirds of people who left knew what their next steps would be. “This is going to be the lasting impression that sticks with your previous employees, your current employees and all future employees,” said Tanner Hackett, chief executive of Counterpart, an insurance technology company that helps small businesses.

One of the most frustrating part is being told “what a great person you are”, “what a wonderful positive energy you bring”, “how much we value working with you”, and “if things were different we’d hire you again right away”…

But you’re still showing me the door so… 🚪💥 🤷🏻‍♂️

I do believe that good vibes/energy pay(s) off in the long term in terms of good reputation.

But short/medium term I’m yet to find a leader that values it at the point of backing someone when times get hard(er)

Vendredi, tout est Paris !

Great to be back playing football tonight

Y’all just don’t understand

Had to run an errand early morning today and rewarded myself with a long walk back, via the Canal

Testing the new @Hipstamatic: Bonjour Paris!

🇻🇳 Chúc mừng năm mới! / Happy Lunar New Year 🧧 🎊

📸 🏙️ ☕️ 🥘

Fun Friday night watch

As I’m preparing for the Manchester derby this weekend, this was a great read!

Wearing my “Friday The 13th” Vans slip ons (along with my ”Nightmare On Elm Street” tee) on a day that a surgeon went to town on my back with a little scalpel… Too on the nose?

Been making great use of @Letterboxd these past few weeks 🤩

“How we all started dressing up like Seinfeld” by the most excellent @Sprezza_ !

.@SevillaFC_ENG I LOVE YOU SO 🦆ING MUCH

2023 is the year I put my community-building and online-friendliness skills to good use on my own projects.

I’ve given enough and been burnt enough by corporations.

“We want a little 82-year old granny to come in the morning to have her coffee. If the place ends up being Instagram-cool, okay, sure. But the goal isn’t Instagram, the goal is the granny. If granny comes, the rest will come.”

🥰💌