Brandon Barker

Brandon Barker

Austin, Texas, United States
621 followers 500+ connections

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Volunteer Experience

  • Marbridge Graphic

    Mentor

    Marbridge

    - Present 7 years 3 months

    Social Services

Publications

  • Which comes first: The monkey or the pedestal?

    Deloitte Insights2Action

    The reverse salient, a term invented by American historian Thomas P. Hughes, describes the part of a system upon which the entire system is reliant. Some people call this the “showstopper.” Prior to development, it’s necessary to identify the reverse salient of a system to determine whether it’s even possible.

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  • AI and making mistakes: It’s only human

    Deloitte's Insights2Action

    Popular artificial intelligence (AI) systems can now pass the bar exam3, write complex term papers4, and streamline medical diagnoses5. But no matter how expedient these systems, there’s one area where humans will always do better: failure. Throughout history, every mammoth mistake (the Titanic, the Hindenburg, the Edsel) likely can be attributed to flawed human decision-making. Such mechanical breakdowns, failed products, and dashed dreams almost always result from people and their choices.

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  • Your favorite anecdote isn't a true story. Does it matter?

    Deloitte's Insights2Action

    The story of Newton’s Mathematical Bridge—namely, its assembly, disassembly, and reassembly—communicates important and timely lessons related to overconfidence, misguided curiosity, paradise lost, etc. The only problem is the story is not true. From The Epic of Gilgamesh to The Boy Who Cried Wolf, powerful fictitious tales can often convey universal truths more successfully than strings of standalone facts.

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  • Would someone want to work 84 years at your company?

    Deloitte's Insights2Action

    Walter Orthmann, a sales manager at a Brazilian textile company, recently secured a Guinness World Record for having the longest career at one company. Orthmann, who turned 100 this year, was hired in 1938 at the age of 15 and has been with his employer ever since. "When we do what we like,” he said in an interview, “we don't see the time go by."

    Mr. Orthmann’s story is inspiring—and also concerning when one considers the mercurial sentiments of today's workforce. According to the 2021…

    Walter Orthmann, a sales manager at a Brazilian textile company, recently secured a Guinness World Record for having the longest career at one company. Orthmann, who turned 100 this year, was hired in 1938 at the age of 15 and has been with his employer ever since. "When we do what we like,” he said in an interview, “we don't see the time go by."

    Mr. Orthmann’s story is inspiring—and also concerning when one considers the mercurial sentiments of today's workforce. According to the 2021 Deloitte Millennial and Generation Z survey, today’s younger workforce is less loyal to their employers than they were last year.

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  • How to take the emotions out of decision-making

    Deloitte's Insights2Action

    Deloitte research has found that improved decision-making can help leaders manage marketplace demands and enable organizations to function efficiently when juggling multiple priorities. Part of this improved decision-making relies on leaders recognizing potential biases—including emotional ones, as illustrated above—that could result in negative consequences from poor or neglected decisions.

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  • The power of playfulness: How to encourage more whimsy at work

    Deloitte's Insights2Action

    As companies struggle with talent shortages and negativity about work itself, making the workplace “more fun” might seem like a Herculean task. It doesn’t have to be. Paul and Daurio demonstrate a successful way to complete tasks by applying an activity many people consider the opposite of work: play. It would stand to reason that—for these screenwriters—the act of singing, joking, and other forms of whimsy significantly minimize the stress impactors of high-intensity tasks like creative…

    As companies struggle with talent shortages and negativity about work itself, making the workplace “more fun” might seem like a Herculean task. It doesn’t have to be. Paul and Daurio demonstrate a successful way to complete tasks by applying an activity many people consider the opposite of work: play. It would stand to reason that—for these screenwriters—the act of singing, joking, and other forms of whimsy significantly minimize the stress impactors of high-intensity tasks like creative ideation and sales.

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  • What Swedish crows can teach us about finding the hidden workforce

    Deloitte's Insights2Action

    The Swedish city of Södertälje faced a multifaceted problem: accumulating waste, environmental concerns, overwhelming costs, and probably a workforce shortage—or at least a “bad job” no one wanted. To solve these problems, they tapped into a workforce, so to speak, that wouldn’t qualify for any other city job but is uniquely suited for this one.

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  • The Gordian Knot: Cut through the noise to make better decisions

    Deloitte's Insights2Action

    Readers of the Gordian Knot story might reason that brute force, entitlement, and drastic measures can solve highly complicated problems. However, note that Alexander avoided common assumptions, historical bias, and spent significant time observing and contemplating the knot before deciding that how the problem came to be was not as important as making the bold decision to take action to fulfill its key objective.

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  • You-rah-rah: Treat your team like a group of individuals

    Deloitte's Insights2Action

    The saying goes that there’s no “I” in team. When you’re part of a team, that’s a useful mantra. When you’re leading one, maybe not. Josh Allen, the quarterback of the National Football League's Buffalo Bills, caught attention this season for the unique handshake he shared with his top wide receiver, Stefon Diggs. Though the greeting was so fast viewers needed instant replay to break down the components, it consisted of a series of hand slaps, finger taps, hip swipes, and pantomime. It’s a…

    The saying goes that there’s no “I” in team. When you’re part of a team, that’s a useful mantra. When you’re leading one, maybe not. Josh Allen, the quarterback of the National Football League's Buffalo Bills, caught attention this season for the unique handshake he shared with his top wide receiver, Stefon Diggs. Though the greeting was so fast viewers needed instant replay to break down the components, it consisted of a series of hand slaps, finger taps, hip swipes, and pantomime. It’s a ritual the two players developed over time. According to ESPN, Allen didn't confine a special greeting to Diggs. In fact, he had a unique handshake for every member of the offense, and initiated those before every game.

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  • If goldfish can drive, imagine what your workers can do

    Deloitte's Insights2Action

    As part of a study on how species navigate unfamiliar environments, researchers in Israel trained goldfish to drive. Yep, you read that correctly. For companies navigating a shift to hybrid or remote workplaces, acclimating to geographically dispersed teams, or dealing with talent shortages and the ongoing challenges of operating during a pandemic, the results of this experiment might prove thought-provoking.

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  • 4 ways to know if you should hire a branding agency

    Survey Monkey

    If you’ve been do-it-yourself brand building so far, you can see how much work goes into it. But how much is too much? Hiring brand marketing experts can be the smart move, but you’ll want to ask yourself a few key questions before you hand the reins over to a branding agency.

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Languages

  • Italian

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