Quick notes to help you find new business in less time with less effort. . . sometime next week.
In this issue:
- Thoughts on "How A.I. Helped One Man (and His Brother) Build a $1.8 Billion Company"
- Being Human – Imperfection
- Random Stuff
- Back In The Day
Thoughts on "How A.I. Helped One Man (and His Brother) Build a $1.8 Billon Company"
- First, the hype machine for AI is something else. Amazing. Seeing people use these tools, it makes sense that a sales/distribution company would be among the first success stories. Marketing is inexact. Scheduling appointments and following up on leads doesn't need precision. Perfect for LLMs.
- Using these tools, the more precise you are with instructions, the better the results. The founder in the story built similar companies in the past. This gives him a massive leg up on someone trying to get into this space with only a technical background.
- The lack of humans as employees is notable. It reminds me of Berkshire Hathaway having fewer than 30 FTEs in HQ, but tens of thousands of people work behind the scenes. The story subject's ability to build tools that keep outsourced humans busy is eye opening.
- In a current project, I watch an LLM guru work these tools. It doesn't look easy. I've narrowed one of his advantages to his ability to give detailed instructions. It's unusual. I've asked him: can we train others to do this? So far, the answer is no. He, like this story's $1.8BN man, is unique.
Being Human – Imperfection
"If the goal is to prove something wasn’t made by AI, faking ‘realness’ on a computer doesn’t really get us anywhere new. It just reflects a different kind of dissonance (call it fauxbi-sabi)." – Elizabeth Goodspeed
What happens when perfect outputs are the press of a button away? The desire for imperfection, I suppose. Hand made, human touched, perfections and all.
An expert I follow is promoting his AI chat tool. Ask it anything and it answers like him. It's been trained on everything he's written and I'm guessing maybe even on what he's said. This week the tool is discounted. Again. It may mean people aren't interested in the tool, or maybe it's going great, I don't know. Either way, I'm guessing it's not as cranky as he is. I mean, unless it insults me for asking a stupid question in his online forum, it's just not the same.
Sometimes, it's nice to know a human took the time to read it, got pissed, and zipped off a snarky response.
Sometimes.
Random Stuff
"Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear."
– Rudyard Kipling, "The Power of the Dog"
Wilson, the ABC, is old. He showed up in newsletter issue #2 at just under 3 years old. He's grown up with the newsletter and has been a topic in 14.7% of the issues. This week I'm talking about him because he's always had terrible allergies. Red itchy skin, funky ears, drippy eyes. It happens once or twice a year. It's one of our commonalities. Twice a year the same thing happens to me. I chalk it up to dogs taking on the traits of their owner.
Well, chalked it up to that.
A few months ago we took him in for what we thought might be his last emergency visit. He was red again, but also could not stop the licking. He has a few accidents (very unlike him) and I think, uh-oh, kidneys. The vet said, "hmm, probably kidneys." I start looking up end of life plans for pups with kidney disease, but then the tests come back: negative. Kidneys are fine. The vet said, "you know, I wonder if he's allergic to his food?"
We order special food. The dog hates to eat, especially kibble. I imagine we're setting ourselves up for an epic hunger strike, then my lovely bride shows me the same food comes in paste form. This stuff is so smelly, so gross.
He loves it.
For the last month it's like the clock is running backwards. His coat is shiny, the redness is gone, and he's begging for food. I know it's not forever, but for now it's pretty great. (he still sleeps 22 hours a day, in case you wondered)
It's all good news. However, I think this means I've been poisoning him daily since 2013. Practically forcing stuff he shouldn't be eating down his throat. He never complained. What a good dog.
I feel bad about it. Bad enough that I'm going to let him keep a few of the spring bunnies he's bound to find in the coming weeks. He is really sniffing by one of the raised beds. It's "The Killing Moon" time. He doesn't have many of these left. Best let him enjoy it, even if it's not pleasant for "nature's popcorn" as they say.
Back in the Day
What I was thinking about last year, five years ago, and ten years ago.
- Last Year: Right FIT #483 – Trade shows were on my mind. I must have been in a hurry because some of my notes are a little cryptic, but the overall sentiment is strong. Knowing where you want go is more powerful than a cool booth or amazing toys.
- Five Years Ago: Right FIT #274 – Sometimes these old pieces remind me of incredibly frustrating conversations. This one was with an executive with a completely different set of beliefs than myself and my champion. He controlled the purse, so we lost. Since then, nothing has changed. I don't know if it would have been different with my advice, but I have strong feelings. Still.
- Ten Years Ago: Right FIT #12 – A little on being yourself and being happy, an exercise to help with making big decisions, and a story about liking a new picture of myself. I used to spend a lot more time on the happiness idea. Remind me to tell you about it sometime.
