Tag: change

Celebrate

FabrizioLeave a comment

At the beginning of this year, I had a few things I wanted to achieve in 2019.

Now I can say I have managed to stick to my three resolutions. I am particularly happy, and surprised, by the fact that I have managed to blog every day. It’s not always been easy, not always rewarding, at times almost a burden, and yet 368 blog posts later I am proud I have continued doing it.

It helped my confidence in writing, cleared my thoughts, cristallized some ideas. It made me face the fear of the blank page (and blank mind) in many occasions, as well as overcome the pressure of metrics and analytics. And most of all, it strenghtened my practice and made me even more comfortable in the day-to-day act of doing.

If you also have something to be proud of tonight, remember to celebrate.

Not the new year, not a new beginning, not the hope that it will be different. Celebrate your success, the difficulties you’ve overcome, the intensity of achieving. And celebrate continuity, because change is very rarely the product of a sudden revolution.

This one is to me, and to you.

Happy New Year!

The journey

FabrizioLeave a comment

When a lot of importance is put on a single goal, there’s a huge risk to lose perspective.

As the goal is set and gets nearer, corners are cut, shortcuts are sought, poor work is normalized. And soon, the initial goal is either discounted or made unreachable. There is no more excitement in getting there.

This is why the way things are done are more important than the things themselves and the places they take us.

Goals are temporary and variable, practices are grounded and stable.

Keep a wide view on the horizon as you put one step after the other, relentlessly, day after day. You might spot new destinations, and at the very least you will have developed the muscles that will allow you to continue the journey.

Take AI down to earth

FabrizioLeave a comment

A number of things a useful AI could take care of in place of the fallible human.

Understand that tomorrow is a bank holiday and suggest that you turn off an alarm set for weekdays.

Read from a list of favourite sites and actually recommend content from such sites.

Organize the notes you have taken in different articles and suggest connection between them.

Collect the common operations done after a certain meeting (e.g. set up a follow-up, send e-mail with notes, schedule update call) and prepare an automation for you to approve.

Send a notification when it’s time to head out of the office to go to an appointment that is scheduled in your calendar.

Remind that the annual subscription to a service is about to expire.

Break up a single, unique goal (e.g. organize summer holidays) in many different tasks (e.g. book flight, book accomodation, rent car, book train tickets, …) and send notifications when the prices on common booking sites are below the average for the period.

These (and many others) are example of a consumer-centric AI.

Many will tell they are just around the corner. But if you have ever interacted with AI, or even if you have just tried to do some of the above operations with your phone, you know that is probably not true.

It’s about time we take AI in the day-to-day, and for this to happen its promoters will have to forget about their agenda for a while and focus on the consumers pain points.

Who will make this happen?

Harmony

FabrizioLeave a comment

Harmony is rarely a first choice.

As humans, we are wired to seek for friction, to look at the world from our perspective, to burst when somebody does not agree, to focus on one negative even when it comes with one hundred positives. We never shy away from a challenge, and then we try to escape the distress that comes with it by crafting stories that point the finger or tell about how inadequate we are.

Harmony is almost never the first choice. Yet, it’s still a choice. One that requires effort, commitment, groundlessness, humbleness.

It needs to be chosen every day, until it becomes the only possible choice to move forward. Are you up for it?

Replenished

FabrizioLeave a comment

It’s Christmas.

A great time to say “thank you” to the person who is there for you, all the time.

To praise the colleague for their brilliant work.

To talk with a friend about what they will become.

To forgive the ones who have, inadvertently or not, hurt you.

To hold the dear ones and tell them about how lucky you are.

To start that project you have pushed back for too long.

To help somebody disentangle from negative thoughts.

To tell about kindness and how it spreads.

Of course, all of the above works any day of the year. But if it’s true we often need a symbol, today is the perfect day to give more than you receive. You will find yourself replenished.

Merry Christmas.

And thank you all for reading. It means the world to me.