Open Tabs: Millennial Core, Nostalgia, Work Hacks, and the Evolution of Mid-Life Crises

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Welcome to Open Tabs — my biweekly roundup of what I’ve been reading, learning from, and quietly obsessing over. Inside, you’ll find the tabs I’ve kept open long after I’ve read them; they might have even shifted how I work and how I think. This week’s edition features articles and podcasts from The Tiger Sisters podcast, Vox, Slate, and the New Yorker.

Earlier this week, I wrote about making space for fun, which was really code for prioritizing non-work activities in my life this summer. And almost at the exact moment that I made that mindset shift for myself, my brain was flooded with new content ideas. This changes nothing about my plans, but it’s a case for how letting go can have a positive effect on your work.

Now, let’s open some tabs.

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My Open Tabs

→ SMART TALK: THE ARTICLES AND PODS I CAN’T STOP REFERENCING THIS WEEK

Open Tab #1: They Lied: You Don’t Need the Ivy League or 90-Hour Weeks to Win (Tiger Sisters Podcast)

The title is click baity but stick with me.

I saw this episode with Kofi Ampadu pop up on my Spotify and decided to give the Tiger Sisters podcast a shot. Little did I know that Kofi would speak to the core thesis of why I do what I do! Helping my clients navigate the game well is why I believe my approach works.

I love how he framed his POV so clearly (relevant timestamp 2:40-4:35). Work is a game and sometimes, it’s one that we know is rigged. If you’re going opt into the game, try not to spend all your time complaining about the rules. That approach doesn’t work. In my experience, you’ll increase your odds at success by learning the game and playing it well. Most importantly, you can change the game as you build your track record—each win gives you more leverage to reshape the system.

The biggest mistake people make? Trying to change the rules too early. As Kofi put it: it’s hard to talk a commissioner into changing the rules during your rookie year. You need to stack some creds first. Another thing he said is something I’ve also said and believe - you can win, in spite of the rules. It’s a mindset shift every emerging leader that is willingly opting into the corporate game needs to hear: learn the rules, play the game, then earn your right to rewrite it.

Open Tab #2: The Midlife Crisis is Coming for Millennials lol (Vox)

As a millennial, I loved this article. I never quite related to the concept of a midlife crisis because I’ve cycled in and out of career crises every 7-10 years (only half joking 🤣). What I mean by that is I’m always questioning if I am on the right path for me and, while it hasn’t always been pretty, I’ve had the freedom to explore and make changes when I wanted to.

From the article →

“Fully understanding the midlife crisis means deconstructing the ideas about what it looks like. Which is to say: The rug-wearing, skirt-chasing, Lamborghini jerk we all know and fear was always largely a myth.”

What’s happening now is that the concept of the midlife crisis is shifting. Millennials aren’t necessarily crashing, we’re recalibrating. And there is no spike in sales (yet!) for red sports cars.

Open Tab #3: Managers Are Speaking Out About What It’s Really Like to Work With Gen Z (Slate)

If you’ve been following the media trend about Gen Z at work, the content in this article isn’t that different. But what it offers is a reference to a queen that responded to feedback from her manager with “I would rather you didn’t give me that feedback”.

No, I do not endorse this strategy, but did it make me chuckle in disbelief? Yes, it did. It reminded me of my favorite Donatella Versace quote.

If you’re new here, these are the feedback strategies that I *do* endorse → here (How to Handle Difficult Feedback) and here (The Definitive Guide to Decoding Vague Feedback).

Open Tab #4: What Did the Pop Culture of the Two-Thousands Do to Millennial Women? (New Yorker)

Here’s some more millennial core for you. The early 2000s were a formative time for me:

• TRL (RIP MTV legend Ananda Lewis)

• 106 & Park

• Paris and Nicole Richie (they added “that’s hot” to the lexicon)

• Paparazzi culture taking a turn

• The explosion of reality tv (please tell me I am not the only one who remembers ‘The Swan’?!)

The list goes on. If you remember this era as vividly as I do, Sophie Gilbert has a new book Girl on Girl that explores how this moment in time impacted millennial women specifically. I won’t give the full article away, but it made me think about the impact of the media I consumed in my teens and how it’s shaped my world view. It’s worth unpacking.

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My Newsletter & Podcast

→ IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: THIS WEEK’S NEWSLETTER

Can You Describe What You Do Without Jargon?

This summer, I’m challenging myself to cover concepts that are interesting to me, in fewer words. This was my first. If you live in NY or a major metro - sometimes it’s impossible to ignore the topic of work in conversation. So why not revamp your stump speech? My advice (by way of our brilliant podcast guest this week) → think about how you would describe your work without jargon. I promise, it’ll make you more interesting this summer. Try it!

Can You Describe What You Do Without Jargon?

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→ IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: OUR MOST RECENT PODCAST EPISODE

An Interview with Rachel Kourakos, Executive Coach

Rachel had a great resume: Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley (and a stint in London) then a Program Manager at Google. She had a traditional path (one that some dream of) but something still didn’t feel quite right. I immediately connected with Rachel’s story, so many people are in that same boat. I coach some of them. You can do everything right and still feel like you’re on the “wrong” path. We talked to Rachel about the moment she decided that she wanted to step away from Google and what she did next. It’s a great episode - I think you’ll enjoy it.

🎙️ → Listen now

PS: I’m trying something new. Each month, I’ll randomly pick 3–5 subscribers to say hey to, so you might just see my name in your inbox soon 😃

From my browser to yours. That’s it for this week’s edition of Open Tabs.

—Ashley

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LET’S CONNECT →

If we’re not connected yet—let’s change that. I’ve been loving getting to know more of you. Connect with me on LinkedIn and say hey. 👋🏽 I love seeing who’s subscribing, what you’re working on, and where your career is headed.

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