What Works

Typically, the question of accessibility online is considered in technical terms: How does this website need to be designed? What ALT text is appropriate for this image? Are captions available for this video? And obviously, knowing the technical aspects of accessibility is important.

But if accessibility stops at the technical requirements, we forget that there are people on the other side of those checklists and manuals. We forget that even the most rigorous checklist can’t account for everyone and their experiences. We forget to ask critical questions that seem obvious when it comes to a backstage pass but are readily dismissed when it comes to most other social spaces.

In the 3rd episode of my 5-part series on Decoding Empathy, I talk with Erin Perkins, an accessibility educator and the founder of MabelyQ, and draw on the work of disability studies scholar Tanya Titchkosky to theorize the overlap between access and empathy—and what it means for you.

Footnotes:

How do you get seen in a world that doesn't see you? How do you get recognized when so many systems are designed to keep you unrecognized? Those are the questions at the heart of today's episode. In the 2nd episode in my 5-part series on decoding empathy, I talk with behavioral scientist and brand strategist N. Chloé Nwangwu about how she helps underrecognized people "emerge from the margins" and get noticed.

Footnotes:

Today, we peel back the layers of a term that's become ubiquitous in the business world and beyond: empathy.

In this episode, empathy's origin story. Er, stories. We'll explore its philosophical roots deep in the 19th century, through my personal trials and errors with empathy, to some of the challenges we face in empathizing with people we have less in common with. Ultimately, I want to explore the ways empathy invites curiosity, leverages imagination, and recognizes our differences.

This is the first in a 5-part series in which I'm decoding empathy. We'll talk brand strategy, non-violent communication, disability, and copywriting. And all throughout the series, we'll look for ways to recognize difference instead of assuming sameness.

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Are you waiting for a glorious day with your system, plan, or business just work? I hate to tell you this—but you will be waiting a long time.

Plans, systems, and businesses evolve. Change isn't a bad thing—it's the only thing.

In today's edition of This is Not Advice, I share how I recently coached Sean through a run-in with process entropy and process evolution.

To get the full essay or episode, visit: https://www.whatworks.fyi/p/process-entropy-and-process-evolution

Our beliefs leave an indelible mark on how we interact with others and our environment. Even when those beliefs aren't conscious. 

Beliefs about quality of life are a whole other can of worms. Who gets to decide the relative quality of a life? Or what lives are worth living? And how do our beliefs about quality of life and worthiness impact the way interact with others and the way we treat ourselves?

In this episode, I reflect on how my beliefs about quality of life were influenced by my favorite Star Trek character, Data. I discuss technoableism, narratives of overcoming, and the unnecessary self-judgment we can put ourselves through on the path to becoming like everyone else.

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