Business

Dot Dot Dot lecture: “The Entrepreneurs”

I recently attended “The Entrepreneurs,” part of the Dot Dot Dot series of lectures hosted by the Interactive Design MFA program at SVA. This event was at Galapagos Art Space, one of my favorite venues in Brooklyn. Check out the pics on their site to get a feel for it.

The typical format for Dot Dot Dot talks is four speakers, who present for 10 minutes each: two, then a break, and then the last two. For this event, there was also a bonus fifth.

Most speakers only had the chance to relate the story of their business’ evolution, and not really touch on the opening remarks by program chair Liz Danzico that “ideas aren’t enough.” Nevertheless, it was a lovely evening of talks that inspired much note-taking. Here are some of those, made coherent and cohesive for you:

The Trouble With Humans

(photo by Flickr user Slightly North)

Managers are expecting increasingly robot-like performance from their employees, to the detriment of their personal lives and mental health. But a groundswell is forming to fight back against this trend.

Some advocate an exit from corporate culture, calling for workers to focus on freelance projects. Others push for a change in attitude among managers, urging them to recognize that we are, in fact, humans, with human needs.

Here are some great quotes on the subject from experts at the Harvard Business Review, and others.