In the short time Humankind Works has been a “real” company in the big, wide world, a lot has happened - our team has grown and shrunk, we have tried things that haven’t worked and others that have worked better than expected. We have cried together and laughed together and muddled through the fog of uncertainty — are we doing the right thing? Is this going to make sense? Will people like it? The short answer is yes — probably. The longer answer is - we’re not sure and we’d really like to make it even better, but instead of keeping it to ourselves for any longer we’re going to invite you all into the journey and learn openly alongside you all. It's taken us a while to get to this point - we kept feeling like something was missing… Today’s newsletter is quite far from the concept we started with, but it’s hopefully much closer to what Humankind Works is at its core — a place to reimagine work AND make it more… well, HUMAN. The thing with newsletters is that communication is mostly one-sided, from us to you. There would be very few opportunities to connect, learn and make things happen — together. And if there is something innately human, is that we’re social beings who grow together AND create things together. Humankind Works was never about us (the team here), it has always been about ALL OF US (the community) together creating “magic”. Therefore, we’re happy to announce that the Humankind Works newsletter will no longer be just a newsletter, it will be: - A weekly newsletter: Instead of every two weeks, you’ll receive it every Thursday. Hopefully we’ll become a friendly nudge for you to nurture a habit of reflection and breakthrough.
- A lite and free community: You can apply to join here — please be mindful of answering the questions and reading our code of conduct. We’re committed to nurture a welcoming and safe place to everyone, as well as to make sure this community brings you tangible value.
- A monthly online event: Let’s meet every second Thursday of each month! Part one will be all about doing the things that will help you level up, part two will be fun, games and networking.
Bonus: you’ll also be contributing to a human rights or sustainability cause through a small RSVP fee.
We hope you're as excited as we are about this new direction and we can’t wait to meet you and see all the incredible things we’ll be creating together! Ok, now that the news are out, let’s get to this week’s topic: |
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The continuous flow between the I and the We |
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I’m 38. I grew up in a time and in a place where we’d go to school, pick a major on one thing, get a good job and stay there forever. There was not much room to explore new areas. After panicking and entering in 3 different degrees in 3 different cities, I decided to pursue Management and Industrial Engineering because it would give me more chances to… I don’t know, change between industries or even roles… Three years in, Catarina, one of my colleagues, nagged the crap out of me to go to an event that my teachers were giving free tickets to. To this day, I don’t know how she convinced me. I am so glad I went though, because it changed my life. The event was about entrepreneurship. It was 2005. Portugal. “Entrepreneurship” as a concept was unknown or just for the reckless. And yet, when I heard those speakers on stage, for the first time in my life I saw people like me. What they believed in, how they approached life and business, the excitement, the constructive optimism, the creativity, everything… I was able to see myself and with that, a journey of self-discovery started, now with a wider range of paths to follow. And this brings us to today’s topic… From the time we’re babies, our care takers help us create our identities and shape what we do and how we do it. They provide points of reference, unstructured playbooks and systems on how to go about the world. As we grow, we gain more autonomy and we can start being more intentional about who we interact with and the places we go. Mostly. I say mostly because even when we gain full independence, we integrated their ways of thinking, perspectives and practices that might block us from seeing, understanding or doing things that would be incredible for us. Do you remember me a few paragraphs before complaining about a posh place that I didn’t want to go? My colleague Catarina served as a bridge to that event. Now that I think about it, she was actually the first of 3 Catarinas who facilitated important pivots in my life — I’ll get to those stories in the future, I promise. The thing is: we’re all doing this to each other ALL THE TIME. Throughout our lives, we cross paths with multiple people, and it’s in these points of contact that small and big changes happen — on us, on them or on both. And another beautiful thing happens: We also facilitate the change of the groups we’re in. Family, friends, our team, an organisation we’re part of, a dance club,... As I gained more confidence in my “entrepreneurial” strengths, I contributed to college projects on this topic, proposed innovative projects at Bosch where I was doing my internship, co-organised startup events… The list goes on, and I know you relate to this too. There is no such thing as a “self-made” person or professional. And there are no immutable or completely autonomous groups, whatever their size. There is a continuous flow between the “I” and the “We”. The “I” comprises everything related to who we are — our identity, feelings, thoughts, perception, beliefs, actions… The “We” is the group at different levels — family, friends, coworkers, society, human species — with their own shared values, beliefs, systems and behaviours. It is in the touch-points with each other that we iteratively refine our identity and develop — sometimes consciously, other times unconsciously. And sometimes positively and other times negatively. |
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As we’re the ball in this pinball game of human interaction, we need to create intellectual space and nurture enough emotional balance to be present and properly leverage these points of contact. Especially if there is emotional weight attached to these interactions — we might even feel hurt, disappointed, scared, attached to unrealistic expectations or conformed. If you look at your points of contact without judgement, what points of contact do you need more of, so that you can be more of yourself, live aligned with your values and fulfil your purpose? |
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In The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg explores the importance of a third place — coffee shops, parks, libraries, bars and any hangouts at the heart of any community. The places where we connect, laugh and grow. In his words, the places that bring us novelty, perspective, spiritual tonic and friendship — not to mention economic opportunities. The places where we expand as individuals and as a group. Home and work are the first and second places, the places he considers ‘closed contained worlds within which regularity and routine are closely tied to the success of their respective functioning’. This book was written before the internet, and yet, we’re still suffering from the constraints of the first two places. Novelty, creativity and agility are more needed than ever, so consider exploring better ways to leverage the first, second and third places to our advantage — as individuals, and as humankind. |
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Let's get specific and create a map of our relationships, how they influence our identity and life journey, and how we can better leverage them. We thought it could be easier if there was a structure and some questions to prompt insights, so we made a Relationship Journal template in Notion for you. Feel free to copy it to your workspace and adapt it to your needs. |
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If you have any learnings or feedback on this topic, found something inspiring or have a question you need help with, we'd love to hear from you — just hit reply or join the conversation in the Humankind Works community. 🤗 P.S.: Access to this space is limited to community members - to become a member please apply here. |
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Reads, podcasts, short videos, documentaries, anything on our favourite topics. Enjoy! - We Need the Right Kind of Climate Optimism, by Hannah Ritchie helps us rethink our approach regarding climate change in a more productive way. (Article)
- In The Paradox of Pleasure, psychiatrist Anna Lembke explores a broader concept of addiction in this modern world — by Hidden Brain. (Podcast)
- In a time where AI is taking over the world, it’s crucial for us to be skeptical and to not take anything for certain — Coded Bias exposes the prejudices found in facial recognition algorithms and AI, and how sometimes we are unaware of its true implications. (Documentary)
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COOL THINGS PEOPLE ARE DOING |
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Companies, orgs and products that are making the world a better place today. - The Good, good, good website and newsletter is packed with real constructive optimism. Visit their website for news and suggestions on how to support any of the causes that speak to your heart.
- Plan A helps companies with carbon accounting and decarbonisation. If you’re looking for a platform to measure, report and reduce your emissions, it might be worth a look! And if you’re on LinkedIn, follow the founder, Lubomila Jordanova, for a ton of environmental updates.
- When we see pictures of piles of clothes taken from space, one cannot stop wondering what they can do. Supporting sustainable, inclusive and transparent fashion brands like Girlfriend Collective is part of the solution. This brand designs and sells activewear made with recycled material sizes XXS-6XL.
- If you want to run delightful and effective online meetings, you need to know about Butter. “Built by facilitators, for facilitators”, their platform is all about human collaboration, offering built-in features to help you structure, record and make the most of any type of events. Plus, the team is one of the most caring towards their users we’ve met!
- Because of Humankind Works, I recently met Harry, one of the co-founders of Village One, a “somewhat utopian design + tech cooperative”. They design and build ethical digital products and infrastructure. If you run a purposeful business, they’re really worth checking out!
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Funds, scholarships, grants and crowdfunding projects for you to get funding or support others. - EU Calls for proposals
Funds for projects in many areas, mostly EU based projects. - Biovance Capital Partners
Funds for early stage biotech projects in Europe, especially Portugal, Spain and Italy. - Funds for NGOs
Funds and grants for NGOs all over the world. - Brainy Billy Builds a Bot
Support Charlotte Jones — a tech attorney and mother of three children — making AI more accessible to small children by independently publishing her debut children's book through crowdfunding.
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Remote and hybrid jobs, contractor projects and collabs. |
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And kind, funny, ingenious, loving, resourceful, thoughtful, generous, welcoming,… Let's take a moment to appreciate ourselves — and create more moments like these in our lives. Have you noticed how we light up when we dance? 🥰 Click on the gif below to watch this fun video. |
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Community Mentions 👋 Hello & welcome to the 200 new subscribers who've joined us since our newsletter officially launched — we're so happy to have you here! 👉 Let us know if you have something you want to share — we'd love to hear where you're at, what you're working on and celebrate the progress you made. We'd love to feature your work here too! |
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Did you enjoy this issue of the HKW Newsletter, First name / friend? Please take 2 seconds to let us know how you found this week's story and links — just hit reply and give us your thoughts. We read every single reply. 💜 We hope to make Humankind Works an inspiring digital “third place” for you. Speak soon! Ana and the Humankind Works team |
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We offset the carbon emissions of this newsletter, community and events by supporting initiatives that preserve forests and sea life. To sponsor or book classified ads, please email us to:
sponsor@humankindworks.com. |
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Humankind Works is a project by 3101. |
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