What Works

Attention is a scarce (and precious) resource. A gargantuan number of media outlets, advertisers, influencers, and brands vie for our attention every day. In turn, many of us (including me) are out there trying to attract attention, too. At the same time, the changing nature of the attention market (as well as larger macroeconomic shifts) creates some real weirdness.This is the first episode of a two-part deep dive into the economics of paying attention, getting attention, and audiences as a commodity. In this episode, we’ll question how an influencer can charge $100k per year for coaching, examine how attention scarcity impacts the market, and explore the “principal product of the mass media.” This episode is for you if you ever spend time on social media, consume any kind of traditional media, buy things, or hope people will buy things for you. We’ll get into the weeds—but all for the purpose of getting very, very practical.Footnotes:“New wellness price point just dropped” Conspiratuality Instagram post“Paying Attention: The Attention Economy” via the Berkley Economic ReviewThe World After Capital by Albert Wenger (available free)“Georg Franck’s ‘The Economy of Attention’: Mental capitalism and the struggle for attention” by Robert van Krieken“The Economy of Attention” by Georg Franck, translated by Silvia Plaza“The Audience Commodity and its Work” by Dallas SmytheDallas Smythe 1979 lecture via SFU Communications“The Economics of Working Together with Kate Strathmann” on What Works“Dallas Smythe Today - The Audience Commodity, the Digital Labour Debate, Marxist Political Economy and Critical Theory” by Christian FuchsNew episodes are published in essay form every Thursday at explorewhatworks.com. Get the delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge, by subscribing to What Works Weekly: explorewhatworks.com/weeklyIf you’d like to learn more about how we can approach life and work differently, check out my book, What Works. I explore the history and cultural context that’s led us to this success-obsessed, productivity-oriented moment. Then I guide you through deconstructing those messages and then rebuilding a structure for work-life that works. ★ Support this podcast ★

Toward the end of last week's episode, Kate Strathmann talked about the importance of understanding the "tiny economy" of your business. Digging into cashflow is a perfect way to do just that. When we start thinking about how money flows 3 dimensionally, we start to see new opportunities for investment, growth, and exercising our values.This episode originally aired in September 2021. Turns out, I needed an extra week to put together the economics of attention, and this piece followed up my conversation with Kate beautifully. I'll be back next week with an all-new episode!Footnotes:Cashflow Is A Feminist Issue (essay version)SBA report on credit market experiences among new business ownersReport on the gender gap in business financing (CBS News)The Valuable Business of Maintenance WorkYour Biggest Small Business Opportunity is Doing LessDecolonization is for Everyone: TEDx talk by Nikki SanchezWritten versions of each new episode are available at explorewhatworks.com every Thursday. Or, sign up for What Works Weekly—free—and get them delivered to your inbox automatically!If you’d like to learn more about how we can approach life and work differently, check out my book, What Works. I explore the history and cultural context that’s led us to this success-obsessed, productivity-oriented moment. Then I guide you through deconstructing those messages and then rebuilding a structure for work-life that works. ★ Support this podcast ★

Sure, you can build a business or independent career made for one. But once you start thinking about making a bigger impact or scaling up to serve more customers, you start thinking about hiring help. And that makes a lot of people nervous!The idea that we might unintentionally create a toxic work environment or exploit the people we hire is enough to keep many from hiring help at all. While you might expect this subject to get more of a psychological or sociological treatment, economics has a lot to teach us about creating equitable relationships at work, too.In this episode, Kate Strathmann joins me for a “conversation with no answers,” where we explore the possibilities of work relationships outside the traditional structures.Footnotes:More from Kate Strathmann and Wanderwell ConsultingPrevious episodes featuring Kate: 341, 298, 153“Exploitation” in the Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyEpisode 386: Extra Context — Getting PaidSurplus Labor in Radical EconomicsMore about Guerilla Translation“Open Value Accounting” (contributive accounting)A written version of each episode is published every Thursday at explorewhatworks.com. Get it delivered straight to your inbox by signing up at explorewhatworks.com/weeklyIf you’d like to learn more about how we can approach life and work differently, check out my book, What Works. I explore the history and cultural context that’s led us to this success-obsessed, productivity-oriented moment. Then I guide you through deconstructing those messages and then rebuilding a structure for work-life that works. ★ Support this podcast ★

The first time I heard you could charge $47 for a PDF less than 50 pages long, I was shocked. When I first encountered an online course selling for $2000, I about fell out of my chair. Of course, it wasn’t long until I, too, was selling information products for more than my first car cost. Of course, I’m also an autodidact who benefits greatly from the proliferation of “free” information. And I’m a writer and podcaster who chooses to make 99% of what I make free to consume and use. I’ve benefited from both sides of the equation when it comes to the economics of information. And so this episode is a long time coming. It’s an exploration of the seeming paradox at the heart of how we value information. And this episode covers some broad territory: from the 1960s and Stewart Brand who originated the phrase “information wants to be free,” to how information gets priced, to a case study on two of my most popular forays into information products, to feminist economics and the erasure of care work.Footnotes:“The Real Legacy of Stewart Brand w/ Malcolm Harris” on Tech Won’t Save Us with Paris Marx“The Zen Playboy” by Malcolm Harris in The NationMy courses on CreativeLive“Feminist Economics” video series from the Institute of New Economic Thinking, hosted by economist Jayati GhoshBerik, Günseli, Ebru Kongar. The Routledge Handbook of Feminist Economics. 2021. 1st ed., Taylor and Francis, 2021.“What is Money? With Paco de Leon” on What WorksRevolution at Point Zero: Housework, Reproduction, and Feminist Struggle by Silvia Federici“Course Mechanics Canvas: 12 Levers to Achieve Course-Market Fit” by Wes Kao ★ Support this podcast ★

Welcome to “The Economics of…”—a new series from What Works. In this series, I’ll be exploring how economic concepts and frameworks can help us run our businesses or manage our careers. Each episode will have some fundamental economics education and a case study to make each concept tangible. Today, we’re tackling a pretty fundamental economic concept: opportunity cost. Opportunity cost helps us understand what we have to give up in order to get what we want. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, it is. But opportunity cost asks us to dig deep to discover the hidden costs of any decision—and that can be anything but straightforward.In this week’s case study, I talk with Tell Me A Story founder Hillary Rea about the opportunity cost of quitting social media (or rather, the opportunity cost of not doing all the things she has the time to do now!).Footnotes:Learn more about Hillary Rea and Tell Me A StoryEconomics in Two Lessons by John Quiggin“Unlimited Wants, Limited Resources” by Robert Skidelsky and the Institute for New Economic Thinking“Networking That Pays” by Michelle WarnerMusic by Track ClubAn essay version of each podcast episode drops every Thursday at explorewhatworks.com. If you'd like to have it delivered straight to your inbox each week, sign up for What Works Weekly—FREE: explorewhatworks.com/weekly“Thanks to What Works, I’ve broken up with goal setting as usual. Tara has laid out a liberated way to identify what matters to me and move towards it without striving, suffering, or burning out.” — Annie Schuessler, Rebel Therapist ★ Support this podcast ★

Well, it’s the first week of January. And whether you’re back to work or eking out a few more hours of unstructured liminal time, the arrival of New Year energy is imminent. You know what I mean by New Year energy—it’s that annual infusion of urgency, striving, and discipline that comes crashing down on our post-holiday mellowness. And if we’re not paying attention, that New Year energy will sweep us out to sea. What if this year, we embraced patience?  In this piece, I share how baking has helped me feel good about going slow and why that’s crucial to the way I work. Footnotes:You Belong by Sebene Selassie“The Human-Built World Is Not Built For Humans” by L. M. SacasasMusic available on Track Club by Marmoset Essay versions of podcast episodes are released every Thursday on the website. Sign up for What Works Weekly to have them delivered to your inbox: explorewhatworks.com/weekly Start the new year with a radically different approach to goal-setting. Grab my new book, What Works: A Comprehensive Framework to Change the Way We Approach Goal-Setting: explorewhatworks.com/bookOr join me for a brand-new live workshop on January 10, 17, and 24 called Work In Practice: workinpractice.life Today’s episode is an edited and updated version of a piece that was originally published in December 2021. ★ Support this podcast ★

If 2020 was the year people asked, “Can we really work from home?” and 2021 was the year people asked, “How might we return to the office?”, then 2022 was the year people started asking, “Why do we put up with this crap?”If like me, you’ve been working from home for many years, maybe this shift in discourse felt irrelevant. You’ve got your own gig; you make your own rules; you create your own working conditions. But I believe this larger shift transcends the divisions created by our tax codes—contractor, employee, sole proprietor, member of an LLC, and even employer. Whether we have obligations to an employer or rely on some of the world’s largest corporations for “free access” to the software products they create to harvest our personal data, we are workers.The way we think about work and workers is changing because work changed and is still changing.In this quick bonus episode, I lay out a vision for work in 2023 and beyond that defies the structures and assumptions that keep us focused on productivity and efficiency, despite our best efforts to prioritize creativity, collaboration, and care.Look for the written version of this episode at explorewhatworks.comReady to transform the way you work? I have two recommendations:The first is my new book, What Works: A Comprehensive Framework to Change the Way We Approach Goal-Setting. It’s a fundamental rethinking of why we choose our goals, why we’re always striving for more, and how we might create work and life structures that don’t revolve around achievement or the relentless pursuit of growth.You can grab your copy—or gift one to a friend—at explorewhatworks.com/book.And the second is a brand-new workshop that I’m teaching January 10, 17, and 24th called Work In Practice. This 3-part workshop builds on the themes of the book and applies them to our daily work. On January 10, we’ll tackle job crafting so we can do better work with less stress. On January 17, we’ll embrace our limits so we can make reasonable and sustainable plans for the year ahead. And on January 24, we’ll creates systems of care for ourselves and others to increase our access to resources, as well as increase what we have available to give and share.To find out more, go to workinpractice.life. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode is decidedly different from what you've heard on What Works this year! If this happens to be your first foray into the show, maybe start with an earlier episode.But if you're into hearing my dear husband (and executive producer) chat about the ups and downs of this year, as well as some of our favorite things of the past 12 months, listen on!All of the books we mention in this episode are linked in my Bookshop store.Thanks for listening this year! Look for new episodes in 2023. I've got some great stuff planned.***Our work has evolved. Our way of working has not. Make 2023 the year you transform the way you work.I'm teaching a 3-part live workshop in January called Work In Practice. I'll guide you through rethinking the way you work from the ground up. We'll dismantle old mindsets and standard operating procedures. And then we'll rebuild a vision for work that's based on sustainability and satisfaction. Get all the details at WorkInPractice.Life!  ★ Support this podcast ★

Everyone experiences work stress from time to time. But some of us experience persistent work stress—even though we have more "tools" for reducing stress than ever before. If you've experienced work stress this year, there's a good chance you're thinking about how you can create the conditions for less stress in the new year. So today, I'm exploring how psychologists understand what kinds of work create more stress, what conditions reduce stress, and how we might intentionally design our work to be more sustainable.Note: In the last third of the episode, I use a swear word (commonly abbreviated B.S.) to reference a book & theory by David Graeber. It's the name of the theory... so I use it a lot. If you'd rather not hear it, stop the episode around 17:45. You'll still get most of the message!Footnotes:Creating Sustainable Work Systems: Developing Social Sustainability (2008)Chapter: "Sources of work intensity in organizations" by Armand Hatchuel (2005)Demand-Control Theory Job Demand-Resource ModelThe Office (US Version)B***S*** Jobs: A Theory by David GraeberLooking for a great gift for your clients, colleagues, or team members? How about my new book, What Works? It's a great way to spread the message that we don't have to do things the way they've always been done. And you can provide a little relief when it comes to all that "New Year, New You" garbage. Grab your copy here!Essay versions of each podcast episode are released every Thursday. Get them delivered straight to your inbox by subscribing here—free of charge.Reviewing the past year and planning for nextIf you’re listening to this close to its air date, you’re probably thinking about how this year went and what you’d like to tackle in the next year. I suggest including a review of the demands of your work, the autonomy you allow yourself, and the resources you have at your disposal:Does your work present challenges that motivate you to learn and think creatively? Are those challenges met with an appropriate level of autonomy and sufficient resources?In what ways do you deny yourself flexibility in the way you work? How does flexibility (or lack thereof) impact how you meet the challenges of your work?What resources would allow you to challenge yourself in new ways?What challenges would you like to take on in the new year? ★ Support this podcast ★

Over the last two years, I've transitioned from identifying as a business owner first to identifying as a writer and podcast first. In the first year—2021—I didn't realize that's what I was doing. But over the course of this year, it was quite intentional. Making that shift has allowed me to explore creative territory that I didn't think I could explore when my primary function was content marketing. In this week's episode, I talk with India Jackson about transitioning from content marketer to writer and podcaster. I share what it's meant for my work, my sense of identity, and my mental health. Plus, we talk about some of the difficult decisions I had to make on this journey.Tune in to India's show, Flaunt Your Fire, wherever you listen to What Works or at flauntyourfire.comFootnotes:Find out more about India Jackson and Flaunt Your FireFind out more about Pause On The PlayHear India on EP 398: Good Bodies and EP 294: Offering Bespoke ServicesJay Acunzo's LinkedIn postGrab your copy of my new book, What Works: A Comprehensive Framework to Change the Way We Approach Goal-Setting! ★ Support this podcast ★