1 Thought:
I recently was part of a hiring event. I was thrown off by a highly talented, charismatic potential hire. This lady had been with the same employer for over 15 years, grown revenue year over year, and had an attitude that showed no plans of stopping.
For the sake of the blog we will call her Ann.
Ann shared that she was recently fired, as was her entire outbound development team, due to the introduction of various AI software.
Should we be scared of AI or see it as a tool? I can accurately share that I am not the most tech savvy but I don’t see AI as something to be feared. ChatGPT, etc has no heart , no soul, and it’s obvious when used by would-be writers, presenters as well as companies reliant on multiple forms of outbound communication.
Ann was part of a dealership style business that was extremely reliant on B2C style volume communications. Her employer saw the obvious cost savings, the higher level of control, as well as got caught up in what they see “other” organizations doing.
I’d be curious over the next 3,6, or 12 months to see if the ROI has been achieved. I have no crystal ball but my guess is that the software was a “smart” purchase as a tool to be used in conjunction with this talented business development team; not a replacement. People buy from people, been that way forever and will remain that way in my opinion down the road. This of course at the smallest level isn’t true and could be argued isn’t the case for a company like Amazon where its selling “widgets” on an online platform for purchase at claimed lower pricing and easier delivery which of course appeals to all of our lazier sides. Had the personality and magnetism of Jeff Bezos been less in the earlier years would the company be where it is today? Again, I believe people buy from people.
My thoughts are that AI and other predecessors are going to be hugely helpful to those that incorporate them into their organizations but I also feel many companies are going too far and will suffer down the road. “All in” moves can work but to quote my father (and paraphrasing Geronimo) when I was a young fearless entrepreneur “Look before you leap.”
I’m sure there were people that assumed the wheel and introduction of fire had its faults too.
1 Quote:
“All that is human must retrograde if it does not advance.”
– Edward Gibbon
About Edward Gibbon:
Little more obscure quote than usual for those who might not know Edward Gibbon I thought a little background might be worthwhile. Edward Gibbon was an English historian and essayist in the 1700s. His most famous work is The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. This quote is chosen because it’s controversial, as one key idea in his book is that the Catholic Church’s rise contributed to the faster decline of the Roman Empire, since it focused more on religion than the Empire’s growth.
Don’t be afraid of progress; it doesn’t make us less important, but be cautious about moving too quickly. Also, watch out for what Edward calls “retrograding.” Always move forward, never backward.
1 Question:
Any tools you could start using to become better versions of yourself? In reverse are you becoming too reliant on technology and losing that needed personal touch?
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* AI of course is used for far more than simply sales and marketing; this blogs focus is however focused on this specific niche”
A Few-Things 
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