Articles for category: Growth

9 months ago

Greg Thomas

The First Bit of Feedback on your Idea

It might not be the best feedback you’ve heard. It might take you down a peg. It might even make you tear up. But there are 8 billion other people on the planet who haven’t heard your idea and this idea, this thing, might be just what they are looking for and just what they need. Don’t throw it away, keep it, think about it, ponder it. But don’t accept it as the all encompassing feedback for what you are building.

9 months ago

Greg Thomas

Is your Job Coming or Going with AI

Microsoft put out this fun article this past week on the Top 40 jobs threatened by AI and those that are seemingly secure.  The full article is here. Hats off to the use of Top 40, invoking the vibes of Casey Kasem’s weekly Top 40 that I listened to as a kid for years. In the Top 40, most affected jobs… #5 Authors and Writers – Because we no longer will want creative, innovative thoughts and stories being created. #17 Mathematicians – Because AI will always get math right?  What about all those unsolvable puzzles from Goodwill Hunting? #20 Hosts

Naysayers for the Unproven

Nothing ever works the first time. New ideas stumble over the finish line the first time, and once there, will probably need some help to get ready for the next race. The Unproven ideas, or even the “Not Proven Here” ideas, are the ones with the greatest Naysayers because they are rooted in change. Changing what you do. Changing what the team does. Feeling uncomfortable. Challenging the Unknown. That’s what Naysayers do, they don’t talk about what could be, but what couldn’t be if we were to change. Don’t let them hold you back.

9 months ago

Greg Thomas

When to Critique

There are times when critique is needed and times when it serves no value. First Day on the job?  Give them a chance, everyone screws up. Second Day on the job?  Where were you on your second day? Third week on the job?  Are they learning and still trying? Would you critique a fireperson’s use of a hose as they are in the middle of putting out the fire? Definitely not, they got the fire out. Save the critique for after the fire, when everyone’s heads are clear and no one’s life is on the line. The same goes for

9 months ago

Greg Thomas

The Old Ways

There is no alternative to building a rock garden but to do the hard work and gather rocks. It’s simply how it works: you go, you get rocks, and you build a garden. There is no way to hack it, hustle it, AI it or amplify it. You collect rocks, you tweak them over and over again, trying to find the perfect fit until you have something resembling a garden. If I’m building a log cabin, the requirements are the same – I need logs, straight logs, shaved down logs, and if I want insulation, I need something between them