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Ep. 26 A Trauma Based View of the Future of Work
In this episode we examine how the dramatic changes in the world of knowledge work over the past five years can have traumatic effects. Acute Trauma – Life is noticeably different before and after Job Loss, Layoffs, New AI Capabilities Chronic Trauma – Prolonged exposure to a harmful situation Self-doubt, hopelessness, insecurity, fear, negativity about…
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Rules for Cognitive Offloading
You may have seen the recent MIT paper presenting data suggesting that using ChatGPT for your writing causes your cognitive abilities to atrophy from lack of use. So, I thought it was worth thinking a bit about when one might choose to take the trade-off of ease and speed as opposed to writing the painful…
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Reading Recap: June 2025
Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic by Paul Conti This isn’t an area that I have a lot of background. I find it valuable to be humbled by how naive I am in many areas and experiences. While making the world a place of healing has universal value, there are many practical lessons for managers to better…
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Emergence of the Second Visible Hand
Capitalism is the driver pushing businesses to endlessly chase efficiency and growth. While it is the current cause casting so much uncertainty on human job prospects, I think that ultimately it will help produce the cure. In a market economy, it is entirely logical for businesses to lower costs and reduce profit. There is no…
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Why Our Language for AI Matters
Describing AI Agents as digital workers who are members of your digital workforce is great marketing. It is also dehumanizing. Analogy is a powerful tool to explain innovation. Referring to something we already know and understand makes it easier to conceptualize novel ideas. There are certainly similarities between tasks currently done by human workers and…
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Be Brave
Sheltering in place is the logical response to a raging storm, But your makeshift cover won’t hold out forever. There is opportunity in the swirling chaos, You must slay some dragons if it’s treasure that you’re after. What’s the worst that can happen? You expose yourself as the fallible human that you are? We need…
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AI Skills: SPP vs GPP
Determining the skills for the future of work in an AI world is showing up everywhere right now. If you know me, you’ll understand that seeing reading and writing listed as one of the most out-of-focus skills gave me some pause. I’m not suggesting that future knowledge workers will be spending their workdays reading in…
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Reading Recap: May 2025
Atomic Habits by James Clear I finally got around to reading this book and I can see why it is so popular. Incredibly easy to read and covers a lot of ground in the personal habits / productivity space. I don’t think there was any I hadn’t seen covered elsewhere, but a good choice if…
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Reading Recap: April 2025
Thanks to everyone who recommended books to me. If you have recommendations or want some, hit me up. 👺The Chronicles of Doom by S.H. Fernando Jr. A fun, although a bit long, journey through the career and life of Rap legend MF Doom. 💻High Output Management by Andrew S. Grove This book was the inspiration…
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Putting Others at Ease
This is a leadership skill that I don’t see talked about explicitly. When you are in a position of authority or seniority, that position carries a weight. Sometimes that weight is helpful to get things done, but it can also get in the way. We often go into meetings with people who have impressive titles…