We could all use Mr. Rogers
Tippets by Taps #151: Gratitude, retail's labor challenge, binge-reading and more. Enjoy!
Happy Monday! I hope the beginning of the week finds you safe, healthy and rested after this weekend. A very warm welcome to the new Tippets readers who are getting this for the first time! If you're reading this, not yet subscribed, and looking to receiving Tippets alongside the other similarly curious, intelligent people who've already subscribed, click below! 😄
Last week Mr. Rogers was brought into the news as a Trump advisor criticized Joe Biden, saying watching the Vice President’s town hall this week was like watching an episode of Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood. If only.
We live in what might be the craziest year ever. The result is an unquestioned mental health crisis, with over 40% of people reporting “at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition,” including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and substance abuse”. For context, these rates are 3-4x higher than the year prior. I’ve written before about Mr. Rogers and his unparalleled ability to connect deeply with children through a screen. What was (refreshingly) brought to light for me last week was the impact of his sincerity, authenticity, and belief in the good within all of us on adults. I was turned on to Mr. Rogers’ acceptance speech at the 1997 Emmy’s where he received a Lifetime Achievement Award. I’ve copied the link below. I strongly encourage you to watch it (it’s short).
From this portrait written by Tom Junod for Esquire, on the speech:
He had already won his third Daytime Emmy, and now he went onstage to accept Emmy's Lifetime Achievement Award, and there, in front of all the soap-opera stars and talk-show sinceratrons, in front of all the jutting man-tanned jaws and jutting saltwater bosoms, he made his small bow and said into the microphone, "All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are….Ten seconds of silence."
And then he lifted his wrist, and looked at the audience, and looked at his watch, and said softly, "I'll watch the time," and there was, at first, a small whoop from the crowd, a giddy, strangled hiccup of laughter, as people realized that he wasn't kidding, that Mister Rogers was not some convenient eunuch but rather a man, an authority figure who actually expected them to do what he asked…and so they did. One second, two seconds, three seconds…and now the jaws clenched, and the bosoms heaved, and the mascara ran, and the tears fell upon the beglittered gathering like rain leaking down a crystal chandelier, and Mister Rogers finally looked up from his watch and said, "May God be with you" to all his vanquished children.
We are navigating through unprecedented times. The weeks and months ahead are sure to add to the stress with the election, cold weather, less daylight, and COVID fatigue potentially leading to a third wave. We can all use support, love, and encouragement. Remember those who ‘loved you into being’. And thank them.
P.S. If you’re looking for a feel-good distraction, I highly recommend Ted Lasso. A great show and definitely on the list of guilty pleasures. I just wish there were more seasons!
The seasonal job is getting a makeover and, in many cases, a pay raise
The holidays are here. As with everything else in 2020, the contours of this year’s retail season are vastly different than years past (except for the emergence of pumpkin-spiced everything…that’s right on schedule). COVID is accelerating retail trends like e-commerce, buy online pick up in-store (BOPIS), curbside delivery, using stores as warehouses (even Apple has started doing this), and buy in-store ship to my house. The makeup of the workforce that supports these retail operations needs to change to accommodate, but the additional burden of COVID is forcing retailers to change the way they are recruiting and managing their teams. In an ideal world, retailers would love employees to be able to successfully interact with customers, understand how the warehouse works, and can also operate heavy machinery when needed. That overlap of skills is a rare find so accommodations need to be made and the big retailers aren’t holding back. Postings for warehouse and logistics jobs are up nearly 6x since March. Retail job postings? Down by 14%.
Target plans to hire 130,000 seasonal workers, and 2x’ing the number of employees dedicated to curbside pickup. They are also expanding staff at distribution centers, and boosting the number of greeters and others who will focus on safety and cleaning
Walmart plans to add 20,000 workers to its fulfillment centers
Amazon is hiring more than 100,000 workers to its warehouses
The intense competition for labor on top of COVID uncertainty also means companies are forced to be flexible with their timelines and get creative with roles.
Retailers are also creating new roles to keep up with coronavirus protocols, by hiring employees dedicated to such tasks as managing customer traffic, sanitizing shelves and checking temperatures at the door. Companies typically fill about three-fourths of seasonal openings by October, but hiring this year could continue into the first half of December.
Gap, which also owns Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta, has moved its application process online and is offering perks such as flexible hours, discounted flu shots and backup child care to stay competitive.
Bain’s holiday shopping outlook suggests a 2% YoY growth in holiday season sales. Retailers that nail their plans and adapt well to changing consumer needs are going to make up the lion’s share of that growth.
Late Bloomers
An oldie but a goodie by Malcolm Gladwell, wondering why society today equates genius with precocity. So often we look at the music prodigy, the young author, the 20-year old startup founder and believe that’s the way it is. Youth is required in order to deliver something creative and groundbreaking. The data suggests otherwise. The difference? The approach.
Prodigies like Picasso…tend to be “conceptual,”…in the sense that they start with a clear idea of where they want to go, and then they execute it…But late bloomers, Galenson says, tend to work the other way around. Their approach is experimental.
The Cézannes of the world bloom late not as a result of some defect in character, or distraction, or lack of ambition, but because the kind of creativity that proceeds through trial and error necessarily takes a long time to come to fruition.
For example, we sometimes think of late bloomers as late starters. They don’t realize they’re good at something until they’re fifty, so of course they achieve late in life. But that’s not quite right…late bloomers bloom late because they simply aren’t much good until late in their careers.
Late bloomers’ stories are invariably love stories, and this may be why we have such difficulty with them. We’d like to think that mundane matters like loyalty, steadfastness, and the willingness to keep writing checks to support what looks like failure have nothing to do with something as rarefied as genius. But sometimes genius is anything but rarefied; sometimes it’s just the thing that emerges after twenty years of working at your kitchen table.
Now is as good a time as any to get started on finding your genius. Whether it is writing the book, playing the saxophone, or learning that new language, get to it! You never know where the hidden talent lies. And if it turns out not to be, then per SNL this weekend, there’s always PreBay!
Can Books Compete with Netflix? Yes, and Here’s Why
One of the positive side effects of the pandemic? More people are reading. You’ve heard of binge-watching, but it seems that binge reading has taken hold as we try to avoid doom scrolling and information overload. Print book sales are up 13% year over year, and both book stores and authors are getting creative with how they are connecting with their customers. Some are holding Zoom author events. Book launches are happening over Instagram Live, with live readings and book clubs. And others are even delivering books via horseback.
If you’re looking for reading recommendations take a look at some of my recent reads here. Please send me any books you’ve enjoyed (in particular anything historical fiction or spy thrillers!)
Taps’ Note: Last week I wrote about desperate times calling for desperate measures, featuring Singapore Airlines enticing people to come aboard their planes to eat plane food.
I don’t care how well Singapore has done fighting COVID, how many free drinks you get as part of the experience, or how magical the tour of the new A380 is. Unless the ‘special gift’ from SQ is free tickets (plural), subjecting oneself to plane food on a plane that literally is going nowhere feels like a desperate measure too far.
Well, according to this piece on the Straits Times published 30 minutes after I hit publish, “more than 900 seats that were available for Singapore Airlines' (SIA's) Restaurant A380 @ Changi dining experience were sold out within 30 minutes after bookings opened on Monday (Oct 12).” So there you have it…🤦🏽♂️😅
Quote I’m thinking about: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”” - Fred Rogers
If you have feedback on anything mentioned above or have interesting links/papers/books that you think would be worth sharing in future issues of Tippets, please reach out! Click the feedback link below, reply to this email, or DM me on Twitter at @taps.
Love reading your take ... Mr.Taparia 👍🙂