Thought-provoking Things Worth Sharing - Issue #166
A reintroduction of sorts.
When I started this newsletter on Substack, it was essentially to replace one that existed already on what was then Twitter’s newsletter service before it went away. Most of the subscribers were people who had read my blog previously and had a pretty good idea about who I am.
In the time I’ve been on Substack, many new folks have been subscribing and following, and I realized this week that many may not know much about where this started. So, this seems like a good time to give you some history.
Welcome to this week’s collection of thought-provoking things. For each issue, I will share information about careers and workplace culture, mental health in the workplace, talent development, and key insights into privacy, security, and legal technology.
You can learn more about me here: Mike McBride Online.
I started blogging in 2001—yes, way back in the early days. I worked for a small not-for-profit then and was the only IT person in the office. Blogging, to me, was a way of creating a community. It allowed me to connect online with other IT folks and share lessons learned, news, etc.
I’ve always enjoyed learning new things and have an almost obsessive need to share what I learned. (Training comes naturally to me, even as an introvert!) Part of that process, though, is writing. The best way to understand something is to force myself to post about it on the blog. That’s part of my learning process, and explains why I’ve been doing it for almost 24 years. It’s nice when someone wants to read it, but I would do it anyway because it helps me learn.
Over the years, my interests have diverged a bit. I’m not an IT person anymore. I’ve spent years in eDiscovery, training, and now in M365 Compliance and Governance. I’ve also always been an advocate for Mental Health in the workplace, which is a combination of my interest in improving workplace culture and my history of child abuse and mental health issues. (See also Child Abuse Survivor)
With all those varied interests, what you get here is often everything I’m reading and learning that makes me think. You may not agree with everything I write or share, but that’s the point. As the name says, this is about provoking you to think. It’s about creating our community of people who want to share tips, tricks, ideas, best practices, and hard lessons learned.
In short, these are the things I’ve been thinking about and wanted to share with you for the last two weeks.
It’s that simple. 😉
If you find anything that helps you learn something new, share it with people who are also interested in learning new things. I don’t have a marketing budget to promote the newsletter; it only grows by word of mouth.
Careers and the Workplace
This is all of us:
Related:
Linked - Why Celebrating Your Own Achievements Matters To Your Career Journey
I may have mentioned that my favorite career advice is taking responsibility for your upskilling. It's excellent if your manager and the organization you work for support training and development, but even if they don't, you do it independently.
It's your career, not theirs.
The link below makes a similar point about celebrating your achievements.
Your boss might not recognize them, but that's no reason not to celebrate them yourself.
Maybe it’s time for a punk-rock style revolution in the workplace?
5 ways the 1970s punk-rock mindset can kick-start leadership
Related to networking - How to Keep Your Network Warm. That’s something I struggle with, and I know a lot of other folks do too.
Artificial Intelligence
These are serious issues that they would rather we not think about too long:
Are AI mental health apps the future? Or are they still a work in progress with some dangerous risks? Here’s one take on whether we should trust them:
But, according to How People Are Really Using Gen AI in 2025, this is the number one use case of Gen AI right now. Are we sure about this?
Many of us in the IT space are playing catch-up. Maybe this can help - Rewriting the IT Playbook: Empowering CIOs to Lead with Confidence in the AI Era.
Training and Development
Linked - The great AI skills disconnect - and how to fix it
In short, most business leaders say they seek, value, and focus their businesses on leveraging AI to enhance everything.
A significant number of employees, however, don't see it that way.
Linked - Two ways AI hype is worsening the cybersecurity skills crisis
The pressure to become AI experts and make the organization's rollout of AI tools secure only adds more mental load to already overloaded cybersecurity professionals.
Mental Health in the Workplace
Given all the uncertainty and worry about our work, as mentioned above, we should look out for each other - Coworker Mental Health: 5 Signs Someone’s Well-Being Is Tanking.
If you are looking for a worthwhile read:
7 Books That Are Healing My Heart After Burnout
The Mental Health Trust Gap Between Employers and Employees
Only 36 percent believe work benefits provide adequate mental health support.
Privacy, Security, and Legal Tech
Anyone who works with technology in a law firm has felt this, right?
Law Firms Keep Buying Amazing Tech... Lawyers Keep Not Using It
When the product you sell is hours, how does AI fit into the equation? - The AI Conversation Law Firms and Clients Aren’t Having And Why It Matters.
If you missed it on May 1, How-to-Geek has advice for World Password Day 2025.
That’s all, folks. If you found something interesting in this week’s newsletter, please share it with your friends. It’s the best way to help support the effort I put into sharing this with you each week.