Image: Vincent van Gogh, Still Life with French Novels, 1887, The Robert Holmes à Court Collection, Perth [Public Domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Looking for something to read this weekend? We’ve scoured the web for thought-provoking articles and essays. Enjoy!

In a recent piece explaining “How Senior Executives Find Time to Be Creative,” The Happiness Track author Emma Seppala points out that “the number-one attribute CEOs look for in their incoming workforce” is creativity. She goes on to pack her article with tips for fostering creativity day in and day out – even on a busy schedule. Quoting executives from Google and Salesforce, among many others, Seppala particularly exhorts readers to “seek out unfamiliarity,” especially by embracing new perspectives, and to “get feedback from diverse sources,” making sure to really listen to what others have to say. A quote from Riverbed’s Phil Harris further explains this last point: “When we are in a room, there are no titles, grades, seniority. All voices have equal weight and all have equal time. Everyone knows they are listened to, and their contribution is always given time.”

Pair Seppala’s article with our own thoughts on fostering creativity at work.

Elsewhere on the internet:

What we really do to people who give us negative feedback.

What do the books we loved as children say about us?

Can bias affect our ability to listen?

An ode to minor literature – the books “not likely to come up at dinner parties,” but which teach us about life all the same.

How to have more energy at work.

This free online course, focusing on literature and mental health, features actors and authors like Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry and Mark Haddon, among many others.

Learn more about our programs, or read more on The Notebook:

Connecting With the (Un)Familiar: Self-Discovery Through Literature
Learning From Our Differences: Talking About Nervous Conditions
Story at Work: Making Space For Shared Experiences