The World of Government Secrets & The Problem with Productivity

Mar 11, 2024

Government secrets, classified info & their psychological effects discussed with a professor. Productivity redefined from constant busyness to quality work. Shift from factory to knowledge work highlighted with insights on risk-taking behavior.

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Introduction

00:00 • 5min

Unraveling Government Secrets

05:29 • 9min

Exploring Government Secrecy and Its Psychological Effects

14:09 • 3min

Safeguarding National Security Information

16:54 • 6min

Exploring Government Secrets and Document Declassification

22:29 • 3min

Redefining Productivity: Slow vs Traditional Approaches

25:34 • 17min

Redefining Productivity: From Factory Labor to Knowledge Work

42:19 • 7min

Most offices have a coffee area and some spare coffee cups sitting around for anyone who needs one. This episode begins with an explanation for why you want to stay away from those coffee cups and what you need to do with the cup you use every day. https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2013/02/23/Expert-Coffee-mug-on-desk-a%20germ-machine/UPI-72401361679514/

Our government spends millions of dollars guarding secrets and other classified information. Why? What are they keeping secret? Are there secrets about you in there? Who decides what is and isn’t secret – or top secret. When you look inside the world of government secrets, it is truly strange. And that is exactly what we do in this episode with Matthew Connelly professor of international and global history at Columbia University and author of the book The Declassification Engine: What History Reveals About America's Top Secrets (https://amzn.to/49CjlyR).

Our working definition of productivity seems wrong. The idea of getting more done in less time may work for some factory and farm type work. However, many of us today work with knowledge and information. The “just being busy” model of productivity really doesn’t work because the busyness gets in the way of actual results. Here to discuss another way to approach productivity is Cal Newport professor of computer science at Georgetown University and author of several best selling books. His latest is called Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout (https://amzn.to/49wvV2M).

Men tend to take more risks than women. It may partly be hormones, but evolution also has a role to play. This is especially true when the risk involves a woman. Listen as I explain. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130211090844.htm

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