Does it mean you should fear?
Does it mean you shouldn’t fear?
Does it mean something bad could happen?
Does it mean something good could happen?
Does it mean nothing?
Daily one-pagers about AI, leadership, technology, and being human.
johnmaconline
I'm writing to think, learn, and remember in public. I'll be here everyday.
Cycles
Sales Cycles.
Business Cycles.
Product Life Cycles.
Orbital Cycles.
Hiring Cycles.
Sleep Cycles.
Economic Cycles.
Water Cycles.
Weather Cycles.
Life Cycles.
Market Cycles.
Some of these are human-made, and some are built into the fabric of the universe.
Cycles are systems. Like all systems, you can either work with them or work to change them. If you ignore a cycle, it keeps turning. If you fight it blindly, it fights back. But if you understand it, you can adapt, influence, or even redesign it.
If you want to change a cycle, it’s probably best to first understand it as a system, because systems protect themselves. What will it react to? What will it react against?
You can’t always break a cycle, but you can decide how you engage with it.
Competition
Competition can make you smart. Keeps you sharp. Hones your message. Focuses your attention and resources.
Competition can also make you dumb. Distracts you from what’s important. Pulls resources in the wrong direction. Makes you worry unnecessarily.
When thinking about competition, the key is to decide who, not what.
Who’s your competition? Ignore the others.
Your AI Travel Companion
AI is a great travel companion.
AI translates. Translates the train schedule, the menu, and any directional signs you come across.
AI suggests. Suggests things to see, places to go, and methods for getting there.
AI explains. Explains customs, historical landmarks, and questions you have about whatever you see.
A word of caution, however. The best method for translation, suggestions, and explanations when you’re traveling is always another human. AI is very helpful, but part of traveling, maybe the most important part, is the people you come across.
Your first approach should always be to ask a person. Ask a person if they speak english. Ask a person to suggest where to go and how to get there. Ask a person about what you see.
I’ve spent this week in Nuremberg, Germany, and AI has helped me tremendously with translation, suggestions, and explanations. But it’s no substitute for the people I’ve spoken with.
AI is a great travel companion, but like AI with everything, it’s a poor replacement for human connection.
The NAMES Project
It’s one thing to read “over 700000 people have died from AIDS in the US.”
That sounds large and unfortunate. It makes you feel sad but in an abstract way.
It’s quite another to look with your own eyes at a quilt that contains about 50000 3×6′ panels with names on them — Mike, Jerry, Matthew. Now, it feels personal and real. That’s what the NAMES Project has created.
One thing I’ve learned from over 30 years of engineering and making stuff for people to use — it’s hard to feel abstract. It’s easy to feel personal.
If you’re making something, or trying to get a message out, or trying to make an impact, make it personal.
AI Customer Service
Everybody’s got an AI chatbot now.
I’ve spoken to several of them this week — the propane company, mobile phone provider, and 5 or 6 companies in my industry. Some of those interactions were good. In fact, my interaction with the propane company’s AI chatbot was a much better experience than the interaction I had with their human customer service rep.
But some were stupid.
A 24x7x365 AI chatbot is cheap. If you need customer service for your business, you should have one.
But remember, like with everything, AI should enhance service, not replace it.
When the Tank is Empty
We have a propane tank that supplies a few things in our house, most importantly the stove.
Today it’s empty. Zero. No tea. No eggs.
So, I’ve spent the morning working to get propane delivered as soon as possible.
If your tank is empty, the highest priority you have for today is to get it filled.
Who or what fills your tank?
A Better Philosophy About an AI-Enhanced Workforce
When some construction companies invested in power drills and saws, they fired some workers to offset the costs. Then, they asked the ones that remained to ensure output kept up.
But not the successful ones.
The successful ones invested in the tools, kept their people, and grew their output. Then, they hired more people.
From B to A
From B to A is a choice.
But can you coach or help a B-player become an A-player?
The first thing to understand is that not every B-player wants to be an A-player.
Some are happy being solid, reliable, and being good, maybe very good, at their job. Nothing wrong with that. But if you see potential, maybe you can pull it out.
Start by raising the bar. Set higher expectations. Give them something they can own. A-players don’t wait for permission. They take ownership and run with it. See if they do.
Take away comfort. B-players often avoid discomfort and risk. They play it safe. You’re looking to see if they avoiddiscomfort because that’s just what they know, or because its in their DNA. Put them at the front of the room or in front of the customer. Growth only happens in discomfort.
Then, make them accountable to themselves. No more coasting. No more good enough. Praise progress, but don’t sugarcoat where they fall short.
Do they want it? Some will rise. Some won’t.
That’s their choice.
It’s Less Important Than You Feel
We all have those moments.
The moments that feel most important, epic, and as if maybe things will all be different afterwards. Depending on your performance, it can go either way. All different, but different better or different worse?
So you focus and prepare.
And worry. And the worry goes into overdrive. The stress consumes your thoughts. Keeps you awake. Then cruely, starts to inhibit your ability to focus and prepare.
So you try harder.
Then you get that feeling in the pit of your stomach. It’s nervousness and anxiety because you probably won’t be good enough. You know it well. That feeling starts to dominate. You’re trending towards different worse. You can feel it. You can picture it all bad.
But here’s the thing — the sun will come up regardless. The next day will come, and you’re still here.
Then, whether different better or different worse, you can make the coffee, make your list — maybe the list looks different or maybe not — and then you realize it.
It was less important than you feel.