Four careers over 50+ years. USMC, engineering, consulting, education. Past twenty years have focused on helping leaders become and remain relevant during times of change.
MindPrep 311 - Bets on the Future
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Reader, Sometimes a picture is worth a lot of words, so this week’s issue of MindPrep Reflections is short and sweet. It’s always “today” when you decide, but every decision plays out in the future. In fact, every decision is a bet about the future. Sometimes the future is near and sometimes the future is far. Sometimes our decisions produce that results we want; and sometimes they don’t. If you want to make better decisions in the “here and now” you must do two things: 1. (Re)confirm the assumptions underlying the decision. Do past assumptions apply to the future you are facing? What assumptions must be true for you to succeed? 2. Think about the unintended consequences of the decision, not just what you want to happen. Sometimes the unintended consequences are good, sometimes not-so-good. What could go wrong? We are in the midst of packing for our move back to the Chicago area. I hope to see some of you soon. Cheers, Bill |
Bill @ MindPrep
Four careers over 50+ years. USMC, engineering, consulting, education. Past twenty years have focused on helping leaders become and remain relevant during times of change.
Reader, Yesterday I’m a “leading edge” Boomer, so I remember my mom worried about this thing called “polio” in the 1950s. I remember pictures of children on crutches and people in iron lungs. I remember putting dimes in a cardboard slot and sending the contribution to The March of Dimes to fight the disease. I remember standing in line at school to get “the vaccine.” I remember when polio was declared to be eliminated in the United States. Today “Florida's position on vaccine policy under...
Reader Last week I reflected on the small study conducted by some MIT researchers and a disturbing finding. They asked 58 students to write an essay. Some could use ChatGPT to create an initial draft. Some could use Google-search for research. And some had to draw entirely on their own knowledge and reasoning. 83% of those who used ChatGPT to draft their work couldn’t recall a single sentence minutes later. The researchers referred to this as “AI-induced amnesia.” Four Questions Reflect on...
Reader (We are still unpacking from our move from Colorado to Illinois, so this is very short. I’ll comment on this in the next issue. In the meantime, ponder the impact of this technology on you and your family. It’s not going to go away.) “Writing is how we think our way into a subject and make it our own. Writing enables us to find out what we know—and what we don't know—about whatever we're trying to learn.” (William Zinsser, Writing to Learn, 1988) Zinsser’s book has been a companion for...