Being a graduate student studying organizations — as well as someone who has often seen work problems in the context of the larger whole — has offered me plenty of time to think about what organizations can do to navigate disruption. It’s often assumed that organizations are likely to survive any issue within the marketplace because they have significant resources they can draw on to bounce back, even if they fall behind in the short term, but this isn’t always the case (as anyone who remembers Blockbuster can attest to).
With so much discussion around AI focused on the disruption at work, it’s worth considering how people can protect themselves at work from the negative effects of new innovations. Whether the goal is to protect your personal job or the organization as a whole, the focus should be on creating a system that remains responsive to new information. Smaller businesses tend to do this better than larger ones, but individuals can also create a system for themselves that remains resilient to disruptions that managers and leaders create for their teams when finding a new shiny object to pursue.
This system can be as complex or simple as you would like, but what’s served me fairly well is assuming that nothing within an organization is inherently sacred: no SOP must exist the way that it always has, no process can’t be changed just because it hasn’t been, and no investment is offering so large a return that it can’t be undone.
In some ways, that belief makes for a scarier world, because it’s harder to know what constitutes “solid ground” or “ultimate source of truth” when there’s no inherent reason to believe that something established must remain the way it is.
But it also means that people are able to give themselves permission to question, to understand why things are the way they are, and that may result in making any disruption a whole lot less disruptive.
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A Thought
Writing in the Age of AI
Along with disruption in organizations broadly, I have been reflecting a lot on what it means to be a writer in an age when people feel content with LLM outputs in their content and writing practices. The discourse has been far ranging, but it’s largely fallen into two major camps: LLMs are perfect tools to help me write more and LLMs are total garbage that you shouldn’t use for writing purposes ever.
Personally, I’m not a fan of using LLMs in my writing because I have seen enough evidence to suggest that it hampers and atrophies skills that I value as a writer. There are also ethical and economic quandaries that make me hesitant to rely on a tool that may not always be accessible.
It’s equally important to note that when new technologies are deployed, there’s always a use case for them that can benefit others, and I have seen discussions of how writers use LLMs to sharpen their arguments and improve their drafts, which struck me as a fascinating case study for how LLMs might be used in productive ways for people in their everyday lives.
Ultimately, I think it comes down to whether you view a use case as a task or a process, because if you’re focused on filling a word document with words — or getting a customer off the phone, processing more emails, or developing more code — then automation tools are almost required. However, if you see something as a process that must be navigated to get to the final product, then perhaps it’s worth forgoing the hype around AI and looking for applications elsewhere.
A Feel Good Place
A Modern Wine Experience with Historical Roots
Whenever my wife and I travel, we tend to explore the downtown sections of the places we go. It’s always fascinating to see the creativity of shops and restaurants in presenting their curated selection of goods and sometimes we come across gems that we didn’t know we were looking for.
Tomasello Winery is one such find when we came across their tasting room on a day wandering around Lambertville, NJ. When we were there, we got into a far longer conversation than we anticipated and discovered a new wine we hadn’t tried before, which was a pleasant surprise.
For a Feel Good Friday post, I took a look at the history behind Tomasello’s and found that it was created just after Prohibition, the owner’s great grandfather being one of the first standing in line to get their license to make and sell wine.
There’s more to the story in the article I wrote about it, but if you ever find yourself looking for a lovely tasting experience, Tomasello’s tasting room in Lambertville is a great place to enjoy an evening out.
Something Read
MY FRIENDS BY FREDRICK BACKMAN
Louisa is full of good ideas; they are what made it possible for her to see the painting of the sea that had captivated her dreams for as long as she could remember. But just because the idea was good didn't mean getting thrown out of the gallery she snuck into to see it was outside the realm of possibility. Though, if she hadn’t been thrown out, then she might never have met the man behind the painting, or discover the story — and the friends — behind it.
For Casual Readers: The book will likely appeal to anyone who’s enjoyed Backman’s works like A Man Called Ove or Anxious People, but it’s also likely to appeal to people looking for a feel-good story about friendship that doesn’t shy away from the darker parts of existence.
For Writers: The book offers a great example of how to play with the balance of levity and seriousness within a novel, particularly with a focus on dry, sharp humor that lives alongside difficult situations such as assault and abuse.
What Comes Next
Enjoyed this issue? Here’s what you can expect from the next newsletter:
Some notes about storytelling and its impact in the world today.
A breakdown of an ice cream shop that puts its money where its mouth is with its social advocacy work…and its love of ice cream.
A review of a book that was actually written to spite the author’s mother, but has quite a bit of humor to it that surprised me.
As always, while this project may be a space where I share some of the things I have been thinking of, I also want to make sure it delivers value for you. So if you have feedback on what you would like to see, let me know and your recommendation may make it into the next issue.
