☎️ The Switchboard Exchange
9 Links to Learn about Operations, Communications and Culture
Welcome to The Switchboard Exchange, a summary of content that has crossed my path and captured my curiosity. I’m sharing the highlights with this community. I hope these posts will also make you think, grow and be inspired. Below are the three themes I focus on in this edition. Learn more in the linked posts and takeaways.
📚 Operations
🎙️ Communications
📈 Culture
📚 Operations
📗 Aggregating Team Learnings into a Book: Clay Parker Jones
Clay is the Author of the forthcoming book “Hidden Patterns.”
“Somewhere between dusty binders of innovation project charters and 342‑person email threads I started writing down what actually works, and testing those things with real teams. That Trello board turned into Hidden Patterns: 75 interrelated ways to make work saner, faster, and a lot more human.”
📊 Applying Data & Design to How We Work: Annie Dean
Annie is VP, Workplace + Future of Work Transformation at Atlassian.
“Recently, my team had the honor of being a part of a Harvard Business School case study authored by Ashley W. about Atlassian’s data-driven approach to distributed work. At the heart of Team Anywhere is being a designer: understanding real problems and using research and data to build solutions that stick.”
🎞️ Learning from Past Leaders: Dickie Bush
Dickie is the Founder of Premium Ghost Writing Academy.
“In 1991, Warren Buffett gifted Bill Gates his favorite book. Gates read it and said:
"This is the best business book I've ever read."
Business Adventures was written in 1969 by John Brooks.
It’s a collection of 12 real-life stories about ambition, failure, greed, and resilience.”
🎙️ Communications
👋 The Power of Introducing Yourself: Sahil Bloom
Sahil is the Author of “The 5 Types of Wealth.”
“Try this three-part model to simplify your personal intro statement:
1. Name
2. Primary professional focus (or interest)
3. Something related that you've been focused on or excited about.”
🔮 Make the Most of Unexpected Opportunities: Julia Levy (This is me)
I write The Switchboard to explore the ways we communicate and connect at work and beyond.
Find the magic in the mundane. ✨
Not every opportunity will appear shiny and bright initially. 🔮
Look beyond the surface for the possibilities. 🎩
Invest creativity into a basic project. The outcome might surprise you. 🪄
📖 Refine Storytelling Strategies: Nathan Baugh
Nathan is the founder and writer at World Builders.
“The Story Spine is not your story. It’s a building block that lets you build a story on top of it. In fact, Kenn Adams says the most common mistake he sees is “considering the story done once the Spine is complete.” At that point, he says, you’re about 10% of the way there.”
📈 Culture
📝 Write Company Values: Erin Fitzgerald
Erin is Head of Communications & Payer Marketing at Headway.
“Culture certainly starts at the top, but when you get it right, my gosh it's electric at the bottom.”
📚 Recommending Great Reads: Lavinia Mehedințu
Lavinia is Co-Founder & Learning Architect @ Offbeat.
“I strongly recommend Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff, PhD 💜 My lessons learned?
🔄 “Success doesn’t come from rigid planning, but from continuous discovery.”
❓ “You don’t need to find your one true purpose. You just need to stay curious.”
⏳ “We don’t grow in lines. We grow in circles.”
🔁 “You don’t need the perfect plan. You need a repeatable action.”
🌊 “The goal isn’t to eliminate uncertainty. It’s to become more playful with it.”
✅ Giving Feedback with Intention: Jenny Wood
Jenny is the Author of “Wild Courage.”
“My team didn’t need *more* feedback. They needed *better* feedback — clearer, more thoughtful, and easier to act on. That’s where the SAFE method comes in.
It’s a simple framework to make your feedback more actionable, empathetic, and effective:
✅ Setting – Be specific about when and where it happened
✅ Action – Stick to what they did, not who they are
✅ Feeling – Ask what was going on for them in the moment
✅ Effect – Share how it landed or what the impact was.”
Thank you for tuning into this edition. I’m always grateful for your support growing this community of caring communicators and connectors. If you enjoyed this article, give it a heart, consider sharing it with a friend or posting a learning on LinkedIn. Signing off. — Julia
