Soundbites

Print is more memorable

Support for longhand writing and reading print publications instead of electronic screens can be found in a recent issue of Fast Company magazine. An article entitled, “This is How the Way You Read Impacts Your Memory and Productivity,” cites studies showing that taking notes by hand helps a person remember content better than if your notes are typed into a smart phone or laptop.

Similarly, when a Norwegian researcher asked people to read a mystery story on a Kindle or in print, the participants who read the paper version had better recall on questions related to time and chronology. People who read on paper also did a better job of sorting events in the story into the correct order than the screen readers.

What’s the problem with the blue light devices? Another study suggested people think they are better at understanding information when they read it on a screen. As a result, they read the text faster than they would have if they were turning paper pages, and performed more poorly in terms of recall.

People who prefer to consume their books digitally can compensate for the “metacomprehension deficit” by taking a deep breath and reading more slowly. ◆

Founders aren’t great CEOs

Founder-run companies are less well run than those where the management didn’t start the firm, a study by business professors at three US universities concludes.

Firms led by founders generally ranked lower on management scores in data collected by the World Management Survey, which reviews upwards of 13,000 mid-to-large firms in 32 countries. Those companies were also 9.2 per cent less productive, on average, notes a story in Quartz at Work. The subpar management scores improved after the founder made way for a new CEO.

Most founder CEOs are pushed out in favor of professional management as a company grows, particularly in firms that do an initial public offering. The very temperament that leads a person to start a company — having the ability to decide how things should operate — can lead to poor management decisions, the study’s authors suggest. ◆

Women are key

Ramping up the number of womenowned businesses is key to ending extreme poverty, says World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim.

Writing in Inc. magazine, he notes that female-owned businesses are just over 30 per cent of formal registered businesses. “We need to significantly increase that number, since women-owned businesses create jobs,” he writes.

Lack of access to capital and professional networks needed for success are key barriers to be overcome. ◆

Comments?

Would you like to comment on anything in this magazine, or on any other matters relating to business and faith? Send your thoughts to mstrathdee@ meda.org

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