conversations.from: human
conversations.value: What could be a title for a book about Bechdel, P>These, Fun with the genre: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Books, Literature & Fiction?
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: A title for this book could be 'The Slow Fix'
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Provide the first four paragraphs for this book.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: The Slow Fix
  We have already seen the wisdom of tapping a wide range of views, both expert and amateur, when tackling a problem. We have also explored how a single figure with fire in her belly can drive the search for a solution. The micro-mill revolution blends these bottom-up and top-down approaches to add another ingredient to the Slow Fix. In other words, it often makes sense to put problem-solving in the hands of those who live with the problem every day, to give people on the front line the chance to call the shots.
  The micro-mill revolution works because it puts farmers like Pérez in the driver's seat. Coffee is now a vocation rather than just a way to pay the bills. "I love my coffee now," he says. "Before, nobody around here said they loved their coffee because it was just a thing we sold to make a living, but now we have a deep feeling of responsibility and ownership. Our coffee is like our children that we give birth to after lots of work, and we follow them right up to the day when we say to them: You are ready to go out into the world now!" Like a proud and pushy parent, Pérez is never finished seeking new ways to solve the old problem of how to earn a decent living from coffee. "Always now, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed, you're thinking about how to improve your coffee – how to process it better, how to roast it better, how to tend your plantation to yield a better cup," he says.
  That feeling of ownership can boost problem-solving beyond the coffee farms of Costa Rica. Companies that award stock options across the workforce usually see their profits, productivity and share price rise faster than do those who restrict them to top management. A 2010 study by Cass Business School found that firms owned by their employees are more productive and more resilient in a recession. Research has shown that people work better, and seek out problems and find solutions with greater alacrity, when they feel some ownership in the company they work for.
  Britain's John Lewis group, which includes department stores and the Waitrose supermarket chain, is a good example. Business experts hail its "partnership model" as the cornerstone of its success. Every one of its 76,500 staff owns a share of the company through an independent trust, and five are elected to sit on the board. All John Lewis employees, from the CEO down to the cleaning staff, take home the same percentage bonus on their salaries. Many have been with the company for over 20 years. "Everywhere else I've worked people sat back and let others take the lead or the blame when things went wrong," says Maggie Shannon, who started on the sales floor a decade ago and now works in management. "But when you are all owners of the company, the culture changes: you see a problem, and you want to do everything you can to solve it."
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Delete the last sentence.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: The Slow Fix
  We have already seen the wisdom of tapping a wide range of views, both expert and amateur, when tackling a problem. We have also explored how a single figure with fire in her belly can drive the search for a solution. The micro-mill revolution blends these bottom-up and top-down approaches to add another ingredient to the Slow Fix. In other words, it often makes sense to put problem-solving in the hands of those who live with the problem every day, to give people on the front line the chance to call the shots.
  The micro-mill revolution works because it puts farmers like Pérez in the driver's seat. Coffee is now a vocation rather than just a way to pay the bills. "I love my coffee now," he says. "Before, nobody around here said they loved their coffee because it was just a thing we sold to make a living, but now we have a deep feeling of responsibility and ownership. Our coffee is like our children that we give birth to after lots of work, and we follow them right up to the day when we say to them: You are ready to go out into the world now!" Like a proud and pushy parent, Pérez is never finished seeking new ways to solve the old problem of how to earn a decent living from coffee. "Always now, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed, you're thinking about how to improve your coffee – how to process it better, how to roast it better, how to tend your plantation to yield a better cup," he says.
  That feeling of ownership can boost problem-solving beyond the coffee farms of Costa Rica. Companies that award stock options across the workforce usually see their profits, productivity and share price rise faster than do those who restrict them to top management. A 2010 study by Cass Business School found that firms owned by their employees are more productive and more resilient in a recession. Research has shown that people work better, and seek out problems and find solutions with greater alacrity, when they feel some ownership in the company they work for.
  Britain's John Lewis group, which includes department stores and the Waitrose supermarket chain, is a good example. Business experts hail its "partnership model" as the cornerstone of its success. Every one of its 76,500 staff owns a share of the company through an independent trust, and five are elected to sit on the board. All John Lewis employees, from the CEO down to the cleaning staff, take home the same percentage bonus on their salaries. Many have been with the company for over 20 years. "Everywhere else I've worked people sat back and let others take the lead or the blame when things went wrong," says Maggie Shannon, who started on the sales floor a decade ago and now works in management. "But when you are all owners of the company, the culture changes: you see a problem, and you want to do everything you can to solve it.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Provide another paragraph.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: With four decades of fine-tuning behind them, game designers know all the psychological and neurological buttons to push to keep us fully engaged. In Chore Wars rewards for completing adventures are immediate, and you can always monitor how powerful and skilful your avatar becomes. That might sound trivial, but constant, measurable and incremental progress is precisely what the brain craves.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Provide the last four paragraphs.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Is it working? Like every Slow Fix, mending my back with yoga is a work in progress. There have been mishaps along the way. After three months, I pushed too hard into a stretch and strained my groin so much I could hardly walk for a week. The quick fix habit dies hard.
  Even the demanding Dr Woo is pleased. When I return to the clinic for a shiatsu massage, he is sitting at Reception, waiting for his next acupuncture patient. "Where have you been?" he asks. "It is a long time since you were last here."
  A nervy silence descends. By not giving acupuncture a real chance, I feel I have let Dr Woo down. He senses my discomfort and tosses me a lifeline.
  His words contain a gentle admonishment, but they no longer sting – and that speaks volumes. When it comes to mending my back, the quick fix is now a fading memory. After years of piss-poor performance, I now have a long-term plan for healing, and I am sticking to it. No longer an impatient patient, I can finally look Dr Woo in the eye.