rethinking work, business, and leadership for the 21st-century economy
productivity ・
value ・
media ・
systems ・
economics ・
marketing ・
goal-setting ・
success ・
entrepreneurship ・
creativity ・
productivity ・ value ・ media ・ systems ・ economics ・ marketing ・ goal-setting ・ success ・ entrepreneurship ・ creativity ・
“I absolutely love Tara's deeply researched, insightful, and nuanced takes on navigating work in the twenty-first century. Her posts and podcast episodes always offer a refreshing new perspective and grounded approach for rethinking work...”
—Jenny Blake, author of Free Time and Pivot
“Tara's voice is effortlessly entertaining and brilliant, and her content is meticulously researched and produced. Every piece will turn your thinking upside down and send you off with a freshly-squeegeed view of work and labor in our society.”
—Dana Miranda, author of You Don’t Need a Budget
“Tara is uniquely brilliant at getting behind the hype about doing business (and living in a hype-filled culture) and zeroing in on—well, what (really) works for human beings, not just for consumers of how to do business.”
—Naomi Rose, “Writing from the Deeper Self”
work is a tricky thing to define
We work for a living, do housework, work out at the gym, and work on ourselves and our relationships in therapy. We give back through volunteer work, express ourselves through creative work, and share what we know through knowledge work. Parenting is work. Paperwork is work. Perusing review websites to ensure we buy the right stuff is work.
Partly because work is this ambiguous category of activity, we often don’t recognize the assumptions that shape how we work. We overlook the arbitrary moral value we assign to work of all kinds. And we miss the many, many contradictions in our narratives about work in the 21st-century economy.
why rethink work?
Work today looks completely different than it did in the 1970s or ‘80s. And it’s not just the rapid development and integration of computers into our lives and work. The notion of employment is undergoing a tectonic shift, with more and more people working independently, remotely, and precariously. Surveillance, managerialism, and algorithms dictate our daily tasks.
Of course, with all this change comes the potential to forge more sustainable and life-affirming work systems. We can demand better from employers and governments. And we can craft work lives that actually work for us and support others in doing what works for them.
i’m tara mcmullin
and i think about work all the time
That’s not as boring (or neurotic) as it sounds.
I think about how we can work less, why our relationships to work are changing, and what conditions we need to do remarkable work. I’m curious about how social, economic, and political systems impact how work informs our identities.
I’m especially interested in the forces that impact people who work full-time (or more) but are not traditionally employed: small business owners, freelancers, creators, gig workers, etc.
this is what works
What Works is a newsletter, podcast, and learning platform that investigates the future of work with big questions and practical applications. What Works equips you with critical thinking skills so that you can question your assumptions about work, operationalize your values in business, and practice generous leadership that subverts the status quo.
Get in on What Works
Podcast
Since 2015, the What Works podcast has investigated new ways of working, leading, and doing business. With nearly 500 episodes produced, the show is a leader in the small business space.
Newsletter
The What Works newsletter is a deep dive into the changing worlds of work, business, and the economy. Drawing on interdisciplinary analysis, it aims to make sense of an ever-changing environment.
Teaching & Speaking
Seminar x What Works offers immersive learning experiences that encourage you to rethink the status quo. Seminars are typically reading or writing-based with opportunities for discussion and application.
Tara McMullin is a dynamic and experienced speaker who’s presented at SXSWi, TEDxWaltham, Plywood Presents, CreativeLive, and more.