Category: Creativity

Is AI Overrated?

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Are you concerned about AI taking over the world?

Once ChatGPT hit the scene, along with hyper-realistic image generators, it seemed to the world that there was no limit to AI. Does this mean computers will take over most jobs or render thinking itself obsolete?

In a fascinating counter-point exercise, Greg Rosalsky from Planet Money on NPR listed several reasons why AI may be overrated. He starts off with a number of quick hits:

There are just so many reasons to believe AI is overrated. I could talk about the fact that productivity growth remains super disappointing. If AI were revolutionizing the economy, we would see it in the data. We’re not seeing it. I could talk about the fact that AI companies have yet to find a killer app and that perhaps the biggest application of AI could be, like, scams, misinformation and threatening democracy. I could talk about the ungodly amount of electricity it takes to power AI and how it’s raising serious concerns about its contribution to climate change. 

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Rosalsky goes on to flush out three specific reasons to doubt that AI is all it’s cracked up to be. One reason is that despite its name artificial intelligence is not really that intelligent.

When you first use something like ChatGPT, it might seem like magic. Wow, a thinking machine able to answer questions or write or generate anything in an instant. But when you look under the hood, it’s more like a magic trick. These chatbots are a fancy way of aggregating the internet and then spitting out a mishmash of what it finds.

Later, Rosalsky points out a serious legal issue with AI that needs to be resolved before it can grow further.

It’s a copycat. And perhaps the worst part of it is a good chunk of the stuff AI is copying is copyrighted, which is why there are at least 15 high-profile lawsuits against AI companies asserting copyright infringement.

To learn the other reasons by AI may be overrated, please read the rest of the article on the Planet Money website.

The Creative Power of Procrastination

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Have you ever put off doing something important?

There is a natural tendency to procrastinate even on things that we ostensively want to do, including creative projects. While most people view procrastination as a vice, what if there is actually benefit to gain from delaying?

In a recent post on his blog, Tiago Forte explores this topic by diving into the creative power of procrastination. To begin his argument, he first explains the origin of delaying work.

Procrastination stems from our urge to flee the discomfort of an unwanted task. In the brain, this plays out as a war between our logical prefrontal cortex — responsible for decision-making — and our hasty, pleasure-seeking limbic system. When the limbic system wins, we rebel against the undesirable task and choose the temporary dopamine hit of procrastination instead. 

Tiago believes that our creative endeavors can benefit from a little bit of procrastination. In order to reap this advantage, it is first important to reframe our guilt around it.

Shame is a common emotion when people procrastinate, but self-blame can sap your ability to be creative. Instead, build the habit of being compassionate to yourself when you procrastinate. The process of resetting how you think about procrastination takes time and effort, as you’re attempting to form new neural pathways — but by continually refocusing your thoughts on compassion, blame will cease to be the default emotion. 

When you feel the itch to abandon a task, observe the warring forces in your brain. You’re starting to procrastinate, and that’s OK because you’re about to maximize the benefits through active procrastination.  

He then proceeds to recommend specific strategies to maximize the benefits of procrastination. One of them is to bring structure to it.

If you have multiple projects, you can delay one by working on the other. Philosopher John Perry calls this structured procrastination, and it allows you to give in to the delicious feeling of avoiding your intended task while you make progress on something else. You might even find unexpected touchpoints: switching between different projects, aka “slow-motion multitasking,” is how some of the world’s greatest innovators sharpened their multidisciplinary ideas. 

To learn more about to turn procrastination into a creative advantage, please read the rest of his blog post.

Disney Magic @ the Library – An Interview with James Songster, Sue Schank, & Barbara Blake

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How can we develop better leaders, improve organizational culture, and create better teams? Perhaps it can happen through magic, that is Disney Magic!

Over its history, the Walt Disney Corporation has produced world-class effective leaders, highly creative and energetic teams, and a lasting culture of performance. In fact, the company has a teaching arm called The Disney Institute, which teaches the secrets of the company that have been discovered over many decades.

Recently I interviewed three former long-term employees of The Disney Institute to learn more about their experiences. Also, we discussed how they are bringing these best practices to libraries across Florida. The Better Leadership team includes James Songster, Sue Schank and Barbara Blake. In a wide-ranging interview, I asked them about their views on leadership, teamwork, and building a powerful culture. Below is an excerpt from the interview.

Doug: What were the key aspects for a successful teamwork and how you trained other people on how to build those key aspects of successful teamwork?

James:  My leaders were able to bring in people that were already in the right mindset. A big part of our philosophy was to choose for the mindset that complements our team and then teach skills, as opposed to somebody’s who’s got this great skill set and now we have to shape their mindset. I think another huge key factor was the way we benefited from being in an environment where we had an amazing collection of differences. We valued and craved diversity because we want as many different ideas, backgrounds and thoughts as we can. It’s a strategic advantage that is complementary to our mission. It gave us a greater ability to serve the clients.

Barbara:  In order to serve our education audience, we created a unique and diverse labor strategy.  In the 8-month season in which we offered our educational programs, we led close to 200 facilitators.  We utilized college interns for a semester experience, part-time staff and we “borrowed” staff from around Walt Disney World to teach our programs.  In this way, we were able to gain an immense range of diversity in our facilitation team.  To manage all these diverse cast members, we needed them to buy into our mission and vision.  They needed to know how to best represent The Disney Company to our audience!  The key to having a staff attuned to the same mission is on-going, effective communication.  All our staff were aware of our mission and values before joining the team, and were then given training to insure they also exemplified those values with every guest group they led.

Sue: I would have our trainer team instill to our trainees that everyone was there because they showed such enormous potential. Every single one was deserving of respect all the way around. It was vitally important that we respected each other. We knew everybody was different as we purposely hired a diverse team, but we respected those differences and respected those people. The talents and the gifts they brought to us were critical for me.

Read the entire interview on the Efficient Librarian website.

The Overlooked Secret for Work Satisfaction

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What drives people to do their best work every day? Is it a big paycheck? How about impressive benefits? Perhaps it is awards and other types of recognition? While all that is nice, none of these factors is the most important to a sense of meaningful work.

In fact, the secret to workplace satisfaction costs nothing.

It is simply a sense of progress.

There is an ancient Greek myth about a cruel king named Sisyphus, a mortal cursed by Hades to roll a boulder up a hill for all eternity. The catch was that just before he reached the top, the boulder would slip from his grasp and roll back to the bottom, forcing him to start over. For too many people their workday is Sisyphean in that they put in hours of effort with no sense of progress to claim for it.

According to Teresa M. Amabile, and Steven J. Kramer, authors of The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, the best way to find satisfaction at work is to have a sense of daily, meaningful progress. In their surveys of workers, they found that 76% of people’s best days involved progress, while only 13% involved setbacks. As they summed up:

“Of all the positive events that influence inner work life, the single most important is progress in meaningful work.”

What was more surprising to them was how little management understood and appreciated this fact. According to their surveys, a sense of progress was dead last in a list of possible motivating factors. This demonstrates a strong disconnect between perceived and actual reality. On the positive side, it means that managers who pay attention to workflow, clear barriers and set out clear goals will help their employees feel more successful and fulfilled.

A sense of progress is important to authors. There is an old adage that authors succeed by writing something every day. Even if the work they produce is ultimately not used, the dynamic of forward progress in the task of writing is essential to eventually finishing that novel or long essay.

To learn more about how a sense of progress can improve your everyday work, read The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work.

Favorite David Allen Quotes

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Getting Things Done was a book that changed my life. David Allen’s seminal work on productivity provided me with the skills I needed to succeed in knowledge work. With it being one of the bestselling businesses books of the last 25 years, its impact on millions of people around the world is very apparent.

For this post, I am simply sharing some of my favorite David Allen quotes. Enjoy!

“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”

“If you don’t pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more of your attention than it deserves.”

“You must use your mind to get things off your mind.”

“Sometimes the biggest gain in productive energy will come from cleaning the cobwebs, dealing with old business, and clearing the desks—cutting loose debris that’s impeding forward motion.”

“Things rarely get stuck because of lack of time. They get stuck because the doing of them has not been defined.”

“There are no problems, only projects.”

“There is usually an inverse relationship between how much something is on your mind and how much it’s getting done.”

“There is no reason to ever have the same thought twice, unless you like having that thought.”

“(1) collect things that command our attention; (2) process what they mean and what to do about them; and (3) organize the results, which we (4) review as options for what we choose to (5) do.”

Learn more about David Allen by visiting the Getting Things Done web site.

Team Knowledge Management

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What is the best way to share knowledge within an organization?

Most organizations have never thought about this problem. Those that have often use solutions such as virtual discussion forums or open office spaces that they hope will naturally bring people together. However, these attempts seem to rarely create the sharing synergy needed to move the organization forward. What can be done about this?

Tiago Forte has studied this challenge and believes his PARA system can be used to address it. In a recent posting on the Forte Labs website, he shares that a bottom-up approach is more likely to succeed.

All of this leads to my conclusion that modern organizations need to take a “bottom-up” approach to knowledge management instead of a top-down one. It can’t be about “extracting” knowledge from their people; it has to be about empowering them to do their absolute best work.

He then shares five recommendations on how to create this team knowledge management environment. The first step is getting clear on the organization’s flavor of PARA.

Even if you’ve decided you’re going to follow my advice to the letter, there is always a “flavor” of PARA that makes sense for your culture. This can include decisions such as:

  • What is our definition of a “project,” “area of responsibility,” “resource” and “archive”?
  • What needs to happen when we kick off a new project for it to be considered “active”?
  • What needs to happen when a project gets completed, put on hold, or canceled (for it to be considered “inactive”)?
  • Who is responsible for maintaining the standard for each shared area of responsibility?
  • What are the officially supported platforms on which PARA will be used?
  • What are the strict rules, softer “rules of thumb,” dos and don’ts, and cultural norms that govern how people will use PARA?
  • Who will be the “PARA Champion” who oversees its implementation and makes sure the guidelines are being followed?

Learn the other four recommendations at the Forte Labs website.

ChatGPT Guest Post – How to Reduce Stress at Work

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Today I decided once more to test the ChatGPT AI to see how it reacts to writing a blog post with references to recent articles. The topic I gave it was to: write a blog post using recent article references on the topic of how to reduce stress at work

Below is what it generated. I’ll provide my thoughts at the end of the post.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Start of Blog Post:

Stress at work is a common problem that affects millions of people worldwide. From deadlines to heavy workloads, it can be challenging to manage stress levels when working. The good news is that there are practical steps you can take to reduce stress at work and improve your overall well-being. In this blog post, we’ll explore some recent article references on how to reduce stress at work.

  1. Take breaks regularly

One of the most effective ways to reduce stress at work is to take breaks regularly. According to a recent article by Harvard Business Review, taking short breaks throughout the day can help to reduce stress levels and increase productivity. Research has shown that taking a 15-minute break every 90 minutes can be highly beneficial for both mental and physical health. So, make sure to schedule regular breaks throughout your workday.

  1. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness has become increasingly popular in recent years, and for a good reason. According to a recent article by Forbes, practicing mindfulness can help to reduce stress and anxiety. Mindfulness involves paying attention to the present moment without judgment. There are various mindfulness practices you can try, such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, or yoga. These practices can help you to stay calm and centered when faced with stressful situations at work.

  1. Get enough sleep

Getting enough sleep is essential for reducing stress levels. According to a recent article by Sleep Foundation, lack of sleep can lead to increased stress levels, decreased productivity, and impaired cognitive function. To improve your sleep quality, try to establish a regular sleep routine, avoid caffeine and alcohol before bedtime, and create a comfortable sleep environment.

  1. Communicate with your colleagues

Effective communication is crucial for reducing stress at work. According to a recent article by Psychology Today, communicating with your colleagues can help to reduce misunderstandings, resolve conflicts, and build stronger relationships. When you feel stressed, don’t hesitate to reach out to your colleagues for support. Discussing your concerns and sharing your workload can help you to feel less overwhelmed.

  1. Prioritize self-care

Finally, prioritizing self-care is essential for reducing stress at work. According to a recent article by Harvard Business Review, practicing self-care can help to improve your overall well-being and reduce stress levels. Self-care involves taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional health. Some self-care practices you can try include exercise, healthy eating, spending time with loved ones, or pursuing a hobby you enjoy.

In conclusion, reducing stress at work is crucial for maintaining good mental and physical health. By taking regular breaks, practicing mindfulness, getting enough sleep, communicating effectively with colleagues, and prioritizing self-care, you can reduce stress levels and improve your overall well-being. Remember to make these practices a regular part of your routine, and you’ll soon feel more relaxed, focused, and productive at work.

End of Blog Post

My Thoughts:

The post did indeed generate a simple blog post focusing on stress reduction techniques, which was created in under ten seconds. Along with the quick turnaround, a few things caught my eye.

First of all, while it made references to recent articles, it did not provide a link or notation about the date the articles were published. Therefore, the reader has to do the legwork to track them down.

Second, three of the five tips were not specifically work related. “Taking breaks” and “Communicating with Colleagues” were the only two workplace specific items. The other three were broad suggestions, that while useful, did not exactly match my initial prompt.

Third and final, none of the stress reduction tips had in-depth steps on how to do them. For example, the section on self-care provided basic ideas, but was entirely generic. This could be a function of my initial prompt. Experimenting with the instructions to the AI could guide it to fix the problems encountered above.

Go over to ChatGPT to give it a try for free.

Thriving in Uncertainty

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With all the rapid changes happening around us, it seems like the only certainty is more uncertainty. While some enjoy the chaos, the everchanging landscape makes it hard to set worthwhile goals that can be realistically achieved. Rather than give up, is there a way to cope with uncertainty?

Tiago Forte explores this question in a recent post on this website titled How to Thrive in a World of Uncertainty. It is part of his exploration of the concept of 12 Favorite Problems. In this piece, he shares an important shift to our thinking that makes all the difference.

Goal-setting was once central to our conception of what it means to navigate the future successfully. But goals can no longer serve as guides to an unfolding future that we have so little control over.

But this doesn’t mean that we have to throw up our hands in defeat. It doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do to influence our fate. It just requires us to make a shift from leading with goals to leading with questions. 

What does he mean by this? In essence, he proposes a way to embrace the uncertainty and use it as a force for creativity and accomplishment.

Questions ask you to start with what you don’t know but would like to discover. They draw in others to pitch in and make their own contributions. They serve as open invitations to collaborative projects, versus the solitary path of individualistic achievement envisioned by goals.

In a world of uncertainty, questions are more powerful than answers. Answers serve you for a season, but a question lasts forever.

Read the posting to learn more about this shift in perspective, including three values proposed by physicist Richard Feynman that can make the transition smoother and more enjoyable.

Being Thankful at Thanksgiving

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Of all the holidays celebrated in the United States, Thanksgiving may be the most universal. After all, not everyone enjoys the gift giving bonanza at Christmas. If you are not in love Valentine’s Day is painful and many people sleep through New Year’s Eve. Thanksgiving offers everyone a chance to share a meal with friends and loved ones for one quiet day.

As you gather around the table this week, I suggest you take time to share something that you are thankful for from this past year. Think of it as a preventive measure. After all, it is too easily to fall into the negative, whether around politics or personal preferences, and no one enjoys arguments over mashed potatoes and stuffing. Keeping the discussion focused to the items we are thankful for may offer a great boost of joy at the table and beyond. This is because gratitude has many positive benefits.

According to an article on Healthline, written by Bethany Fulton, gratitude offers many scientifically proven benefits. One of them is improved relationships.

Gratitude not only improves your physical and mental well-being; it may also improve your relationships.

Gratitude plays a key role in forming relationships, as well as in strengthening existing ones.

When it comes to romantic relationships, gratitude can help partners feel more satisfied with each other. One 2010 study showed that partners who demonstrated gratitude toward one another reported increased relationship satisfaction and improved happiness the following day.

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Additionally, being grateful also increases your optimism.

Being an optimistic person can have plenty of health benefits, including healthy aging, according to a 2019 studyTrusted Source. If you’re not naturally optimistic, gratitude practice can help you cultivate an optimistic outlook, as suggested by a 2018 study.

In an older 2003 study, it took just 10 weeks of regular gratitude practice for participants to feel more optimistic and positive about their present lives and the future.

Learn more benefits by reading the whole article. And to everyone celebrating this week, have a very happy Thanksgiving.