In December I mentioned preparing for a fast start in 2024. And what a fast start it has been. I can’t remember a January being this busy, right from the first week, in a long, long time. It’s a good sign. Or at least I’ve decided to take it that way – you can choose your own outlook for the year ahead. Depending on which PR release you read it’s either going to be a terrible year, or a...
I’m enjoying Shane Parish’s new book: Clear Thinking
This quip has inspired me to be a flip-flopper this year:
Always fun to read the headlines and analysis of where the job market is headed:
Mass layoffs are coming in 2024 (Newsweek)
92% of employers expect more layoffs in 2024 (ebn)
More than half of US companies plan to increase hiring in the first half of 2024 (Robert Half)
70.5% expect an increase in hiring needs (Randstad)
Pick your preferred outlook.
The NY Times has the scoop (ahem), that they are suing OpenAI.
What a joke.
Good overview of how silly the case is here (thanks TechDirt).
That said, I am a proponent of AI companies paying to access training data (whatever that is). But this case isn’t that.
The only surprising thing about the news of TikTok harvesting data without consent is that anyone is surprised by it. The Privacy Watchdog is investigating. lol. Essentially, it seems that the TikTok pixel fires, even if visitors on a site haven’t opted in to accept cookies. Since most people mindlessly click Accept All on sites these days, I can’t see why there’s such a fuss...
This got me thinking…
How do you show empathy (and understand how a person is feeling) versus falling into the trap of projecting (and assuming the person is feeling what you are feeling)?
A handy analogy to use next time you’re trying to remind someone about tactics versus strategy.
Strategy is the recipe
Tactics are the ingredients/utensils
When you’re asked what your strategy is for the year ahead, tell them about the cake you’re baking, not the spoon and flour you’re using.
Hat tip to Chris Voss and Never Split the Difference for this reminder.
I suspect most people focus too much on the side effects of doing something, versus the side effects of not doing anything. For example: The side effects of vaccines (eg 2 out 100,000 get heart side effects from COVID vaccines, versus the side effects of not getting vaccinated – you can ‘do your own research‘ on this one) The side effects of exercising (injuries, muscle tears...
Thanks to Dare on Threads for this gem. Via the comments, a link through to the CIA’s blog post on simple sabotage, which in turn links to the PDF of the OSS 1944 Field Manual. And this screenshot from page 28: As Dare and others quip – this could be the agenda for most corporate meetings these days. There’s specific advice for managers and supervisors as well: The whole PDF is...
Perhaps the most ‘interesting’ part in this Wired article about Mark Zuckerberg’s $270M compound, is how uninteresting it is… Not a single interesting photo, no drone shots, no actual blueprints or plans. Definitely not any internal shots. Nothing except anecdotal stories from locals about the secrecy, some workplace related injuries, and correlations between philanthropy...