Books galore! Savage Money and Audit Cultures
We learn a lot about value systems and how they affect what people do, and we look at a particular kind of bureaucracy that comes from collecting evidence of self-monitoring for compliance with regulations. (Whew, that's complicated!)
I hope your week is going well!
New articles
Book Review: Savage Money
Savage Money was one of those rare books that I decided to re-read. I remember feeling wonder upon reading it the first time, but I didn't get that feeling again when I read it the second time. I think that means it contained lessons that I truly made my own to the point where I, today, take as so obvious they don't need spelling out.
I spelled them out anyway. TL;DR: people's value systems are surprisingly different. It is difficult to judge someone's actions without knowing what they value.
Full article (16–40 minute read): Book Review: Savage Money
Flashcard of the week
Some other books I can't get myself to read fully even the first time. Audit Cultures was one of those. I feel like what that book says could be said much more succinctly, but I don't know because I never made it through. There were some nuggets in it, though, like the following puzzle:
Which parts of work become emphasised in an auditable organisation?
Auditing means something like "verifying that an organisation has self-monitored for regulatory compliance" which is a rather abstract concept, but apparently something bureaucracies want because it is supposed to decrease micro-management and be efficient.
This has a tendency of emphasising some parts of work, namely
The parts which represent themselves well in spreadsheets.
This happens because auditing requires the production of evidence of self-monitoring, and this evidence generally takes the shape of spreadsheets or spreadsheet-like things. Thus, the parts of work that are emphasised are those that are easy to get into spreadsheets, because those are the parts on which the organisation will ultimately be judged for compliance.
(In very sophisticated audit cultures, we sometimes see more time being spent on the production of evidence of self-monitoring than on the actual work itself!)
Premium subscription
I'm gauging interest in additional, monthly premium content[1]. For a limited time, a premium subscription to this newsletter will cost just $1 per month to see how large the interest is.
To upgrade, click the subscription link at the top of this newsletter and fill in your email again.
[1]: To be determined more precisely, but ideas include
- links to other articles,
- book reviews,
- previews of future articles,
- voting on topics for me to read/write about, etc.
Your opinions
As always, I cannot improve without feedback. Reply to this email to share your thoughts on any of the topics above, or anything else!