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...
4 days ago • 2 min read
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...
11 days ago • 2 min read
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...
17 days ago • 1 min read
Reader, Rin Duong I'm an OOG (Official Old Guy) and my career aspirations are mostly history. I don't intend to ride into the sunset, but I know I have more history than future story. On the other hand, Miley and JJ are both HS seniors and are just about to enter their careers (whatever they may be). My generation has written its history; their generation is just starting. And I'm concerned for them. Here's an excerpt from some of Kyla Scanlon's writings (look her up, she's really smart) to...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Reader, Rin Duong Artificial intelligence (AI) is being discussed everywhere, and we are certainly not lacking for a wide variety of opinions as to its impact. Some of the opinions are from real experts, some from intelligent novices, and some from people who simply have an opinion. However, there is little consensus as to how bad or how good AI will be for society, businesses, and our careers. So, here’s my recommendation: think about it for yourself! Prepare for the impact of AI on YOUR...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Reader, Rin Duong I focus on strategic thinking for business leaders. Here are five things to ponder: Lifecycles are destiny. Products, businesses, even careers start, (hopefully) grow, mature, and decline. You need to rethink, reinvent, and reposition all of them as needed. Evolve at least as fast as your environment is evolving – or become irrelevant. AI is the most recent catalyst for business and career evolution. It won’t be the last. Customers age a day at a time. Tomorrow’s target...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Reader, Sometimes a picture is worth a lot of words, so this week’s issue of MindPrep Reflections is short and sweet. Charlotte Mills 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....
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Reader, Intercept the Future A few weeks ago (MindPrep 308) I introduced this cycle and provided some comments about the first stage of intercepting the future – scanning. I promised to jump into the second phase but was sidetracked about my IdeaQuake musings. Nonetheless, I’m back on track and have a few comments about the need to guess where the future is taking us. I say “a few comments” because the work associated with guessing about the future is hard work and we don’t have time for that...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Reader, The last issue MindPrep Reflections dealt with the work of scanning the larger environment and I told you that I would address the need to build hypotheses (i.e., guess) in the next issue. However, I started thinking about what I was seeing in today’s business and political environments, and, for some strange reason, I started thinking about earthquakes. That lead me to think about the relationship between earthquakes and “IdeaQuakes.” Bear with me as I explain my thought process....
2 months ago • 1 min read
Reader The last issue of MindPrep Reflections introduced the general framework for an upcoming workshop focused on “intercepting the future,” which is built around answering four fundamental questions. They are: What’s going on? >>> Scan the larger environment. Where is the future taking us? >>> Guess and build hypotheses. Can we intercept the future? >>> Decide on bets about the future. How are we doing? >>> Act and adapt. Answering the first question requires that you actively scan the...
3 months ago • 2 min read
