Making it seem simple

Today’s 5MSM contains something truly amazing. Read on and click the link below!

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Real conversations

I wrote a few months ago that AI tools, be they ChatGPT or Spotify’s playlist generator, were 80% good enough. That left me to do the remaining 20%.

Well, my opinion on this is already shifting. That is, we’re probably at 90% and, in some cases, even higher. All because the robots are learning to have real conversations with us.

Two points of evidence, from my recent daily life:

1. I bought the new iPhone 16 last month specifically because it’s equipped with “Apple Intelligence”. It builds AI into its operating system and does two things really well. Siri (Apple’s voice activated assistant) is now properly conversational. On my way to a strategy workshop with the Australian Physiotherapy Association, I had a genuine dialogue with Siri, while driving my car, about the history of physiotherapy. It will also ‘look’ (via the camera) at any object, and tell me what it is, what to do with it, and answer questions.

2. Google’s new NotebookLM platform is slightly different to ChatGPT in that it lets you upload material and then ask it to critique, rewrite, or distill it. But, here’s the amazing thing: it also lets you make a podcast (with TWO hosts, in conversation!) about the material. So, I uploaded my book, From Impossible to Possible, and asked it to create a 20 minute podcast. Voila!

I’ve played this to at least a dozen people and asked them to guess which podcast this was from. Only one immediately detected it was AI. The giveaway is its occasional cheesiness — but that’s only because it’s attempting to replicate real Americans.

Question: What are you doing to keep up with the monthly advances in AI and making those applicable to your work life?

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Overheard

While we’re talking AI, I overheard this conversation during the week.

Manager 1: “AI is revolutionising everything”.

Manager 2: “No it’s not. Think about it. It makes the really complex stuff simple. And, it makes the really mundane things fast. But, the stuff in the middle just stays the same”.

Question: What complexity can you simplify, and what mundane tasks can you cut 95% of the time requirement from?

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The rule of three

You know what’s unique about ice hockey? It has three time periods. Each is 20 minutes. Why? The only person who knows is the same person who knows why tennis is scored 0 - 15 - 30 - 40. Or why a goal in Australian Rules Football is worth 6 points.

The Rule of Threes is pretty powerful in strategic facilitation. I use it all the time. Here are three (!) examples:

1. Most processes involve divergent (ideas generation), emergent (arriving at themes) and convergent (focussing on resultant action) discussions. Structuring it this way gets great results.

2. Most proposals garner three responses: “I like it”, “I can live with it” or “I loathe it”. Being able to discern which "L” each person aligns with helps you improve group decisions. How? Because the ‘loathed’ group can be asked “What would need to happen for you to live with this decision?”. The adjustments, if possible, generally improve the result for everyone.

3. Most teams of people can be sorted into three categories by their leader: “People I’d fight to keep”, “People I’d fight to lose” and “None of the above”. The trick is to ONLY have the first group, and convert the third group to the first.

Last month, I was working with two boards who have been through feasibility and due diligence on a merger, and are now on the precipice of transitioning their two organisations to one. I used the ‘rule of three’ to design a joint board “transition readiness” workshop:

1. 4.30pm - 6.00pm: “What we aspire to achieve as a result of our merger” (This was a discussion about impact creation, growth prospects and synergies).

2. 6.00pm - 7.30pm: Drinks and dinner

3. 7.30pm - 9.00pm: “What we will do to transition our two organisations into one” (This was a discussion about people and systems integration, and how the merger will be communicated, and migration to new governance structures).

These two organisations are both involved in a relational business (I won’t specify which sector), so you can guess which of the three segments was actually the most valuable. In fact, one director said, “Andrew, perhaps we should all have just gone out for dinner!”

Question: How can you use the rule of three to design good group process?

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I’d love it if you clicked the heart to tell me you’ve enjoyed reading this week.

And, if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, enjoy the warmth while I’m freezing my fingers off in New York. We’ll have the Summer Edition of 5MSM here to keep you company while I’m gone, so do enjoy those ‘best of’ segments from the past few years.

I really appreciate all the interest and support you and others here have shown, by simply reading, but also reaching out with comments, engaging me in lengthier conversations by email, and even inviting me into their organisations to work with them. I love you all for that. Thanks.

Have a safe and enjoyable festive season and see you (in person) again in 2025,

Andrew