Almost through January already—I hope you’re embracing each day to the fullest! It’s not too late to recommit to your 2024 goals, dreams, intentions. Lunar New Year is still coming up, another great time for a reset.

Speaking of Lunar New Year, one reason you’re receiving this note a bit later than usual is that I had a sudden trip to Singapore! Last week I gave the opening keynote at the Singapore iOS Conference. This was my first trip to Asia to speak about Compassionate Coding. I’ll be sure to share the recording once it’s posted.

The response has been heartening. So many kind people came up to offer words of gratitude. Others came up to share struggles at their job. I’m always happy to lend an ear at these events. People aren’t always looking for a solution. Sometimes compassionate presence is all people are seeking—you can offer that, too, dear reader. 💙

The previous week I had an engaging private virtual Compassionate Coding team training for a client, and some of the words used to describe the session were: inspirational, practical, healing, highly informative, very useful. Such a joy to do this work!

I’m very grateful to be able to meet wonderful people around the world and share the message of Compassionate Coding. This is how I stay hopeful in the midst of some serious challenges in the world.

Thank you for your support in helping to spread this message far and wide. If you and I haven’t had the chance to interact directly, I hope we do soon. Feel free to respond to this email to let me know how your year’s been so far!

Today I have a lot to share about upcoming events and some podcasts. Before I forget, I’ll be giving a keynote address in Chicago in April on “Embracing Change with Curiosity, Creativity, and Compassion.” You can use this link for discount conference tickets. 🎟️

Podcast - How to Stay Human in Tech

Staying human was one of the main topics in my recent podcast with CodingCat.dev.

We explore so much in this one!

• The joys of job-hopping

• The importance of self-compassion

• Giving direct feedback

• Inclusion beyond demographics

• How to avoid being robotic on LinkedIn

• Why in-person events are worth the effort

• The value of nature even for us basement-dwellers

• Avoiding co-rumination online

• Reclaiming personal power to prevent burnout

• Finding balance between extremes

• The power of gratitude

I’d be curious to hear your thoughts! Feel free to respond to this email and let me know.

Upcoming public events

• January 24 - AMA on TechCommute Twitter Space

• February 17 - Pitch Judging at Treasure Hacks, San Diego

• April 24 - Keynote at php[tek], Chicago

• May 20 - 21 - Conference - Malmö, Sweden

• July 21 - 24 - Conference - Toronto, Canada

More to come! ✈️

I’ve also been scheduling my usual private client training events on communication, engagement, emotional intelligence, etc. for tech companies. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to schedule one.

Compassion Around the Web

• The positive character traits that support leadership [via Ruth Malan]

• There’s work to be done on keeping employees engaged (thankfully compassion helps with that 😉)

• A nuanced response to what some people call “toxic compassion”

• The connection between loneliness and AI at work

• A touching podcast from Braver Angels bridging the empathy gap on COVID. This one resonated strongly with me. I have friends who chose not to get the vaccine. I have friends who were part of the clinical trial. I have friends whose businesses were destroyed by pandemic policies. I have friends who got sick and friends who lost loved ones. I feel that many people in tech (in the “laptop class”) didn’t have a full understanding of what it was like for small business owners during the pandemic. People living alone had a very different experience from people with families. No matter where you stand, or what your experiences, I recommend listening to this two-part series to grow your empathy muscle.

Talk to you soon!
💙 April

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