The proportion of our lives that involves some media intermediation (a repetition, I know) is increasing, which by definition changes the incentives and consequences.
For this environment, vibes is a very well adapted way of operating, albeit a nihilistic and stochastic one.
If the game is increasingly made to reward attention capture, it makes sense that that becomes the leading motivation. Again, don’t love it, but can’t see it developing in different ways, at least outside some pockets of more “realness”
But love the question: "Do we want to build tools that elevate us, challenge us, and restore our agency?"
Back in 2017, PwC Canada rolled out Google tools and encouraged staff to build their own widgets. Fascinating to watch who actually did it—and which tools caught on.
The thing is, tools help us think... we outsource some thinking to them. We shape them, they shape us, and so on.
For ages, tools have been built by others who decide how we should work. It's one reason why consultants struggle to adopt specialist tools unless forced by clients or their seniors.
We are getting closer to something better mind. More people can now build their own tools using reliable building blocks. The evolution from IFTTT to Zapier to Low-code to No-code to
'agent-assisted' builders like Lovable and Replit.
We still have challenges with expectations, messy data, classification, grotesquely inefficient model technologies etc. But this feels like the real promise of agents.
Not the hype-fuelled nonsense of Agentic AI replacing humans across all workflows.
But more a backend that responds to a user's input for a task specific tool, with a solution built on patterns of what has been successful before. And thereby also ensures relevant data is caught and preserved.
Its a revolution that might happen quietly, away from all the hype
I think the text is really encouraging. From my perspective, it might be worth addressing those super trendy ideas out there: 'AI will wipe out consulting,' or 'AI will save you $100K on advisors.' Or even better, how about some advice on how to thrive in a world where AI is coming for your job? (Haha, just kidding!)
@TMC, re: the back cover of your book... I liked it! It's a compelling lead-in... and the who it's for is clear. You might just be missing a 'why YOU' for those unfamiliar. A few more thoughts... perhaps the opening sentence could add "... or the spreadsheets.". Perhaps "missing your weekends" could be "losing your life" < because it's about nights, weekends, poor health, and failed relationships. And then, "39 exercises"! < Assume these have been checked for dupes and overlaps ;-)
Yessss! There will be a bio sketch right below this in the back cover. I like your additions, I will update.
Re exercises, I created 3 exercises per chapter. Each chapter focuses on a specific aspect of real-world consulting, so I'm pretty confident there is no overlap and the readers will find them valuable because they are very practical. You could pick a few (if you don't want to do them all) and just practice.
“39” sounds like a lot, I get that, but is it a lot over a year or so?
Sounds good MC. I think Adam Grant adopted a similar approach in one of his recent books. Fairly sure James Clear did also so there's precedent for it! '39' might still put some off. But they're likely not your target. As you said, it's not much over a year and I assume all your exercises are about helping folks weed out bad habits or plant and nurture the right habits they need.
Thanks! What approach did Adam Grant use exactly? The exercises or the bio? Sorry, I didn't understand that part...
Exercises are about practicing what I discuss in the chapter. I will send you a sample offline! My point is: if you don't practice certain skills, you'll never acquire them...
Sorry for the slow reply MC! I took a break. In his book Think Again. It's structured into 3 sections. Each containing 3-4 chapters. Then in his concluding section he has practical actions (for an academic) which follow the same structure. What I like about it is that you can focus on the actions without wading through the body of the text. And if you want to refresh yourself or go deeper. It's easy to know where to go in the book.
Interesting. I took a slightly different approach as I have the exercises right after the chapter. Rationale was once you are fresh with the stories and contents the exercises resonate better (at least, in my mind...)
One consideration/ question might be... do you anticipate your "ICP" reader to complete the exercises straight away as they progress through the chapters? or will there be some "DO NOW - enablers" and some more "DO NEXT", "DO LATER"?
The proportion of our lives that involves some media intermediation (a repetition, I know) is increasing, which by definition changes the incentives and consequences.
For this environment, vibes is a very well adapted way of operating, albeit a nihilistic and stochastic one.
If the game is increasingly made to reward attention capture, it makes sense that that becomes the leading motivation. Again, don’t love it, but can’t see it developing in different ways, at least outside some pockets of more “realness”
I'm afraid you are right.
I was counting on you to snap me out of it!
Completely agree.
But love the question: "Do we want to build tools that elevate us, challenge us, and restore our agency?"
Back in 2017, PwC Canada rolled out Google tools and encouraged staff to build their own widgets. Fascinating to watch who actually did it—and which tools caught on.
The thing is, tools help us think... we outsource some thinking to them. We shape them, they shape us, and so on.
For ages, tools have been built by others who decide how we should work. It's one reason why consultants struggle to adopt specialist tools unless forced by clients or their seniors.
We are getting closer to something better mind. More people can now build their own tools using reliable building blocks. The evolution from IFTTT to Zapier to Low-code to No-code to
'agent-assisted' builders like Lovable and Replit.
We still have challenges with expectations, messy data, classification, grotesquely inefficient model technologies etc. But this feels like the real promise of agents.
Not the hype-fuelled nonsense of Agentic AI replacing humans across all workflows.
But more a backend that responds to a user's input for a task specific tool, with a solution built on patterns of what has been successful before. And thereby also ensures relevant data is caught and preserved.
Its a revolution that might happen quietly, away from all the hype
I think the text is really encouraging. From my perspective, it might be worth addressing those super trendy ideas out there: 'AI will wipe out consulting,' or 'AI will save you $100K on advisors.' Or even better, how about some advice on how to thrive in a world where AI is coming for your job? (Haha, just kidding!)
Anyway, I seriously can't wait for your book!
😂 All great ideas actually! The book is coming very very soon!! 🙏
@TMC, re: the back cover of your book... I liked it! It's a compelling lead-in... and the who it's for is clear. You might just be missing a 'why YOU' for those unfamiliar. A few more thoughts... perhaps the opening sentence could add "... or the spreadsheets.". Perhaps "missing your weekends" could be "losing your life" < because it's about nights, weekends, poor health, and failed relationships. And then, "39 exercises"! < Assume these have been checked for dupes and overlaps ;-)
Yessss! There will be a bio sketch right below this in the back cover. I like your additions, I will update.
Re exercises, I created 3 exercises per chapter. Each chapter focuses on a specific aspect of real-world consulting, so I'm pretty confident there is no overlap and the readers will find them valuable because they are very practical. You could pick a few (if you don't want to do them all) and just practice.
“39” sounds like a lot, I get that, but is it a lot over a year or so?
Sounds good MC. I think Adam Grant adopted a similar approach in one of his recent books. Fairly sure James Clear did also so there's precedent for it! '39' might still put some off. But they're likely not your target. As you said, it's not much over a year and I assume all your exercises are about helping folks weed out bad habits or plant and nurture the right habits they need.
Thanks! What approach did Adam Grant use exactly? The exercises or the bio? Sorry, I didn't understand that part...
Exercises are about practicing what I discuss in the chapter. I will send you a sample offline! My point is: if you don't practice certain skills, you'll never acquire them...
Sorry for the slow reply MC! I took a break. In his book Think Again. It's structured into 3 sections. Each containing 3-4 chapters. Then in his concluding section he has practical actions (for an academic) which follow the same structure. What I like about it is that you can focus on the actions without wading through the body of the text. And if you want to refresh yourself or go deeper. It's easy to know where to go in the book.
Interesting. I took a slightly different approach as I have the exercises right after the chapter. Rationale was once you are fresh with the stories and contents the exercises resonate better (at least, in my mind...)
Yeah, I can definitely see the rationale!
One consideration/ question might be... do you anticipate your "ICP" reader to complete the exercises straight away as they progress through the chapters? or will there be some "DO NOW - enablers" and some more "DO NEXT", "DO LATER"?