I’ve written before about libraries, but I continue to be impressed with how they have reinvented themselves. Instead of a stodgy, quiet place with a bunch of dusty, old books, libraries today are vibrant, interactive places for people of all ages. Books aren’t even their centerpiece anymore.
In Boston, a large space is dedicated to a “teen room” where those over a certain age aren’t even allowed to enter (unless you’re from out of town and beg to take a peek!). It features a giant game room where youth can come to play their favorite computer games on the latest equipment and other groups can gather for socializing. It’s colorful, modern, inviting, and well-used — nothing like libraries of yore that only attracted serious scholars.
Instead of asking “How can we better serve our current clients?”, take a page from the library and ask “How can we serve those who aren’t currently our clients?” You may end up with an answer that looks nothing like your present offerings, but it may become a bestselling idea for your organization.
Much has been written about the negative side of accumulating possessions with authors advocating for a minimalist approach or to “Marie Kondo” your belongings. While there is merit in not having more things than you can use, there is also an irreplaceable value in certain things accumulated over time.
I have a box of stickers I use in my workshops, and a participant looked at them longingly. “I was a teacher,” she said, “and I know what it takes to accumulate things like this. I lost all mine in a fire and it’s something you just can’t go out and replace.” I heard the same lament from someone who said his tool collection was what he missed most from a house fire. I’d feel the same way about my Sharpies-in-every-color or others would feel about their kitchen implements or recipe box. Having the right item for the job is something that amasses over time, rather than all at once.
I think the lesson here is moderation or balance — you’ll drown if you hoard multiple varieties of too many things, but there is value in a curated collection of frequently used items. Choose your accumulation pursuits sparingly and wisely.
Have you noticed the trend of “crossbody” purses — the small pouches that many women are wearing to be hands-free yet still have the essentials with them? There is even a “baby bag” version that is a “canvas belt bag” with a fold-out changing pad. These crossbodies are all the rage everywhere.
Those of us of a certain age will find them remarkably similar to fanny packs, the maligned “canvas belt bag” that was the subject of many jokes and parodies. Often worn by tourists, the practical carry-all faded into oblivion for decades but seems to have had a reincarnation in the trendiest stores. Suddenly, it’s fashionable to wear a fanny pack, as long as it crosses your chest instead of rides around your waist. Go figure.
It is a reminder that timing matters. If you have a good idea that isn’t accepted, perhaps put it on the shelf for a while (or a decade) but return to it later. What is ridiculed one day may become sought after the next.
The first time I taught a class, it was as a last-minute substitution for someone who was unexpectedly out on medical leave. I received a crash course in using the course management system, but the instructional designer never taught me how to set up the grade book. “It’s complicated,” she said, “And you’ll only use it this once.”
Well, as you may have guessed, that was 40 classes ago. The I-love-being-a-teacher bug bit me hard, and I’ve been in the classroom on a regular basis ever since. And I still need help with the course management grade book. I’ve been given tips and instruction sheets and watched video tutorials but they all cover the process in a piecemeal fashion and never address how to set up some of the system’s nuances. Thus, I rely on the staff to work through my quirks each term and get me ready to go.
If you are teaching someone a process, don’t assume they will only do it once. Help them understand the whole so they can grasp the capabilities and purpose of the system. The time you spend teaching will be minimal compared to the time you spend doing — repeatedly — to help those you failed to train fully.
In addition to showing proficiency in writing and speaking English candidates for US citizenship must answer a set of civics questions that most American-born citizens couldn’t answer. Examples include: When was the Constitution written? Who wrote the Federalist Papers? What territory did the U.S. buy from France in 1803? Name two Indian tribes. What states border Canada? What did Susan B. Anthony do? Name three of the original 13 states. Name two national holidays.
If one of the questions was “What is the meaning behind Juneteenth?” I think most people would fail the test. Those who know nothing about the holiday’s significance are more than happy to have the day off. Don’t be one of those people.
Juneteenth commemorates enslaved people learning of their freedom with the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation finally ending slavery in Confederate states. This was two and a half years after the proclamation was signed and those enslaved in states that did not secede did not gain their freedom until the passage of the 13th Amendment six months later.
Take a moment today to learn the history behind why June 19th was designated as a national holiday so you are able to celebrate its significance in our nation. You can find resources here.
Continuing the reflection about my Artificial Intelligence experiment (see dot #4290), I knew enough from my minimal training to have some idea of how to prompt ChatGPT to give me usable content. And the more I prompted it, the more refined my prompts became.
For example, I started with: “Write a 150-word blog post in the style of leadershipdots.com that offers advice to new supervisors about how to transition from being an individual contributor to becoming a supervisor,” but I received something that read like it was from a dissertation. So, I triggered another version with: “Re-write the above post to be more informal,” and ended up with what you read as dot #4286.
By the time I was on my third dot (#4288), my prompt read: “Write a 150-word informal blog post in the style of leadershipdots.com that offers advice to supervisors about how to deploy free resources at their disposal to increase employee engagement. Include an example and unique analogy.” In addition to machine learning, it was simultaneous human learning.
And if I didn’t like the output, I could merely type: “Try again,” and I would instantly have another version. It was as magical as I’m sure the early programmers felt when their stack of keypunch cards calculated equations faster than humans could.
Back in those days when computers were first being programmed, the common mantra was GIGO — garbage in, garbage out. The 2024 version of GIGO remains the same, only it applies to prompts — the modern-day computer code.
In the dark ages of DOS computers, I was an expert on writing commands for the mainframe system to pull specialized reports generating enrollment numbers in increasingly refined subsets. To me, writing prompts is a very similar skill. The more nuanced your query, the more usable your output. I think it’s where I came to identify the Superman “S” with specificity — the ability to be granularly specific about identifying what you want to produce is a superpower.
Writing prompts is becoming so essential for businesses to harness the power of AI that J.P. Morgan announced all incoming employees will be required to learn AI Prompt Engineering as part of their orientation, and the company is training 80,000 current employees on the skill as well. AI is permeating the banking world — and just about every other aspect of life.
Writing is just one tiny fraction of what AI can do. Maybe it’s time for you to play around on your own or to take one of the many online tutorials that abound. The sooner you learn to think in the format of how prompts are written, the sooner you will have access to the unlimited resources that prompts unlock.
I was on vacation for the last four days, and typically when I’m away for an extended period I re-run previous dots. But this year, I tried an experiment and instead published the last four dots (#4286, #4287, #4288, #4289) generated by Chat GPT/Open AI. The photos (from Adobe) were also AI-generated. I wonder if you noticed.
I have dabbled my feet in the AI pond — I took a few LinkedIn courses, led discussions in my communication and business classes, and played around with the technology. It is staggeringly fast and on the whole, quite amazing. I thought I needed to see how it would handle writing a dot.
AI did in seconds what takes me a half hour or more. It literally took me longer to come up with a title than it did for the software to write the entire content. I prompted it to “try again” and instantly an entirely different blog post appeared. I could have spent hours being fascinated by all the variations I could conjure.
Fortunately (?), I did not like the dots that it wrote. I felt they were generic and trite and it gave me renewed motivation to continue plodding away on my own to write them manually. (Human-ly?) Had AI given me content that was indistinguishable from previous dots, I may have never written on my own again.
But, since that was not the case, I’ll continue to create dots — 100% self-made — including one tomorrow with more about my AI reflections…
P. S. Could you tell it was AI? I would love to hear your observations in the comments.
In a sales brochure, most organizations highlight what they are, outlining all the benefits customers will gain from choosing them. A Viking Cruise mailing caught my attention by doing the opposite — featuring an entire page of “What Viking is Not.”
“We do not try to be all things to all people,” it read. “In addition to being known for all that we do, Viking stands apart for all that we do not do.” The brochure lists 16 things in this category, including no casinos, no formal nights, no inside staterooms, no umbrella drinks, and no nickel and diming. Talk about knowing your audience.
Whether you feature it in your marketing materials or not, it would be a helpful exercise to make your own list of what you are not. How do you differ from your competitors? What don’t you provide that others charge for? Who should not avail themselves of your services?
Nobody is for everybody, even if they try to be. Become more clear on who you are for by articulating what you are not.
In an interview with the Washington Post, former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan talked about how the Republican Party has changed since his time in office. “We were leading on principles and policy outcomes. This Congress is led by politics. It’s a zero-sum game with no positive outcomes or win-win,” he said. “If the animating principle of the party revolves around the personality of a man, this is the outcome you’re gonna get: policy-makers leaving, replaced by entertainers and performers, not problem-solvers.”
Of course, he was speaking about national politics, but the same principle applies to organizations. The organization as a whole takes on the characteristics of its leader, and those working for the person need to be in sync or prepared to struggle due to a misalignment of styles or values.
Even if you’re many layers removed from the person at the top, look closely at them before committing to an organization. Their ethics, temperament, and priorities will filter down to you one way or another and infuse themselves in hiring and budget decisions that will ultimately impact your work environment. Best to know their principles and policies more than just their personality.
Source: Paul Ryan: The Stakes, Washington Post Live series, February 21, 2024.
Airport restrooms usually are so generic that you don’t even pay attention to them, but not at MSP. The Minneapolis/St. Paul facilities impressed me with their forethought and intentionality in many aspects of design.
For example, instead of a blank wall at the entrance, each restroom featured a different mosaic scene. There were electronic signs helping passengers know if the facility was occupied or vacant. Signs noted the last time a restroom was serviced or gave directions to the next closed facility if one was currently being cleaned. Inside the stall, there was a shelf where people could place their loose items.
Don’t overlook the components of your organization that most take for granted. Making small enhancements in areas where most offerings are standard can amount to noteworthy improvements for your customers.
