It’s the holiday season, and I’d like to wager that very few people are in the mood for a long read. So I’m going to keep it short this time and share a couple of goodies with you. That way I do my bit to spread the holiday cheer.

First, a video about brainstorming. To be more specific, a case against brainstorming. If you’re one of those people who’s noticed that brainstorms don’t often yield deep, insightful ideas, then I’ve tried to summarise why. And I’ve also presented an alternative to this age-old boardroom favourite. 

By the way, if you like the video, you may also like my previous articles about this topic.

• 5 superstitions we can't hang on to any more

• You don't need a face to face for a brainstorm

• When does the whiteboard effect work?

The second goodie is a collection of 10 tips for you to go async-first with your team. Look, I understand how hard it can be for a team to adopt new ways of working. Your team must first see value in this shift. Your business must support the temporary dip in productivity measures. But the hardest part is to go practice by practice and figure out how to improve your existing rituals and ceremonies. The PDF below, nudges you to think about how you can orchestrate the shift for your team. 

I encourage you to explore this website to find out how you can implement the advice in the PDF document. You can use the search and the method stack to zero in on ideas that work for your team. 

Number three is me cheating a wee bit. The async-first manifesto has been in existence for a while now, but we put out version one on December 11. Think of it as a line in the sand. We’ll attempt to iterate through this manifesto, but from this point on I expect less frequent, more cosmetic changes. I have a downloadable, printable PDF for you - in case that’s a format you like.

And finally - number four. It’s an opportunity to get “The Async-First Playbook” at a massive, 35%  holiday discount. Go to https://informit.com/async and use the coupon code MOGHE, at checkout, to avail the offer. InformIT ships books worldwide and the ebooks are available immediately, in PDF and EPUB formats. If you read on a Kindle, like I do, you can deliver the EPUB to your device. For ebook enthusiasts, the discount and Kindle experience means you can eat your holiday cake and have it too!

One tiny caveat for people in India. There’s a low cost, Indian edition that’ll be out in about a week’s time. So if physical books are your thing, then don’t buy on InformIT. You’ll get a much better deal soon!

Well, those are all the gifts I have for this holiday season. Have fun, stay awesome. I wish you and your loved ones a merry Christmas and a happy new year. And by the way, if you don’t hear from me before the year’s out, you know who I’m spending my time with.