Who doesn’t want to be more productive? We recently heard a great piece of productivity advice from Charles Duhigg, who is a New York Times bestselling author on habits and productivity with The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business. He said: “Throughout history, there’s only been one killer productivity app: to think more deeply – to make sure that what I am doing right now aligns with what I think is most important.”

It’s only through slowing down and considering the why behind what we do that our lives and businesses can truly have meaning. 

Here’s what you might have missed this week:

• We have an innate ability to connect to each other and the world around us. We need to prioritise it. Dr. Jane Goodall discusses the urgent need for us to learn how to become better custodians of our world, for its and our own sake – 5 Media
• Good managers don’t just add value to the overall business; they allow individuals to be the best they can be. Research increasingly demonstrates the importance of good management – but that means the human side of management, not just the business side – Financial Times
• Art can become a symbol of resilience. French artist JR travelled to Lviv, Ukraine, with a 148 foot mural of Valeria, a Ukrainian refugee. Joined by volunteers to carry the image through the city, the image of a young girl resonated across borders and demonstrated the importance of art in times of crisis – designboom 
• Businesses need to start looking out for green growth opportunities and embrace them. Decarbonisation will change the game across the economy, including creating new and lucrative markets – McKinsey 
• Status is a fundamental need for human beings. Will Storr, author of The Science of Storytelling and The Status Game, discusses exactly how we’re hardwired to care what others think of us, and how this impacts the business world – Eat Sleep Work Repeat Podcast 
• In defence of the email: slow communication is important. Writer Jay Caspian Kang argues that the fact that emails can be slow, get lost and are less efficient than messaging channels like Slack and Discord is exactly what makes them essential to the workplace – The New York Times
• How to avoid ‘active inertia’, or seeking comfort in the old ways of doing things even when the world around you is changing. Leadership can have a huge impact on how willing, ready and adaptable a team is to significant change – Harvard Business Review