WEW16 - When to adopt AI, SVB and Thinking Neutral

Welcome back, everyone. It’s been quite a week with the collapse of SVB, fear of bank stability, GPT-4’s rollout, Google’s LLM play, and about a thousand other things. I’ve picked a couple of specific topics however to give takes on related to these that should help you as you plan for the future of your teams, technical strategy, and businesses. Topic 3 is a breather from all that.

As a reminder, I’m still accepting new clients in need of fractional CTO services. Currently, I’m working with Goal SZN and have space for 4 more clients. If someone you know is looking for support with shifting their technology strategy, adopting effective work practices such as Agile, or with scaling and all the pain that involves, put us in touch. What’s a fractional CTO? Me, but helping lead part-time.

In this week’s Email:

• Money - SVB, Bitcoin, and Shoeboxes under your mattress

• Artificial Intelligence - For your business, it may be too early to adopt

• Leadership - Leaders don’t take notes.

• Further Reading - Neutrality and acceptance.

Money

SVB Made Me Trust The Government

In a truly unexpected, but well-played move, the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC released a joint statement saying “We’ve got your back” to all of us normal humans and businesses that deposit money in banks, even for amounts above the FDIC-insured limits. The collapse of SVB was quite shaking in much of the tech sector and not only for startups using it. Many larger and reputable institutions I know leaders at also talked to me about how it tied up their finance departments as they had to halt payments scheduled to go out to vendors using SVB.

While the government’s message makes me feel less like I need to put all my money in a box under my mattress, it does show we are less resilient than we thought. Runs on banks are still very much possible, and the unexpected can happen. This is most likely what led to a sharp rise in the value of Bitcoin (which solves the problem of trust in banks, but adds other trust issues), in recent days.

Artificial Intelligence

When Should A Business Adopt AI

Open AI, the company behind Chat GPT announced its newest language model, available only to paid users. Google announced a suite of AI developer tools, and there are countless startups in the space.

If you are building a product and leveraging any tool, it can be dizzying. Did you make the right choice to go with Open AI, or should you switch to Google? What will Amazon’s answer be, let alone the next startup?

My advice? Don’t worry about it.

We are going to see a continued and rapid evolution of tooling in the AI space for companies in all sectors to adopt. Pick a vendor, use what you need for your business, and if you need something they don’t have, switch. If switching is too much work, use two vendors, or just wait a bit. When a tool like this is so emergent it’s bound to change often. Refactoring, and retooling are just a part of the SDLC. Whatever you choose try not to stress about it for a bit. Don’t let the uncertainty of what is to come stop you from adopting the AI tech you need today to create better user experiences.

Leadership

Taking Notes Is Making You Look Weak

I’ve stopped taking notes in front of others when talking one on one.

I’m still a note-taker and archivist (data hoarder) at heart, but I don’t want others to see that. Even when the information being given is valuable, it’s my theory that there is something ingrained in us about the student-teacher power dynamic. This is unshakable when we see someone taking notes as we speak.

“Weak” may not be apt, but the person taking notes in any situation is most certainly not the thought leader helming at that moment. It signals that you won’t remember what’s said otherwise. What’s more, it’s distracting. You aren’t having a conversation on equal footing. Since I stopped toting my notebook around, conversation engagement and quality have increased as I meet with others. Those on the fringes of my network have increased their outreach to me as well.

I still take notes, just… afterward.

Further Reading

Thinking Neutral

I’m at a pivotal point in my life. My first child is expected in less than a month and impacted by layoffs I am on the job hunt. I’ve also started to find a groove with my content creation practice, and have become motivated in my art (I make art). With all of this comes a tremendous amount of emotional ups and downs, as a person as a professional, and as a provider. A strategy I’ve been leaning into lately has been a balance of thought and neutrality. That doesn’t mean a lack of excitement though, I still want to WIN!

It Takes What It Takes - I just started this book the other night and am only a chapter in. The sports breakdowns (play-by-play) are a lot for me, but what struck me in chapter one was the author’s concept of neutral thinking. In the second quarter of a game, the first quarter doesn’t matter, whether it was positive or negative. Quarter two requires a neutral mind whereas only quarter two matters.

Lagom - I’ve been “exploring my roots” which means a lot of reading about various parts of Europe. Im 50% Italian, but identify more with my Scandinavian heritage. Lagom is the Swedish theory of balance. Very much like the porridge Goldilocks chose, but also like not oversleeping or undersleeping. It’s the idea that for many things there is an “enough.”

Blogposts By William

• What If Web3 Isn’t About Blockchain - William Every Week

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