Yesterday, I wrote about an important AI-related skill knowledge workers like me will need to develop in the next few years. Today, I’m writing not so much about a skill as a revelation. A big news story about ChatGPT has been the reaction of Google, with CEO Sundar Pinchai declaring a “code red” in response … Continue reading On using ChatGPT for A/E/C marketing, Part 2
Author: T Coe
On using ChatGPT for A/E/C marketing, Part 1
I recently wrote about needing to embrace ChapGPT (and/or its future competitors) as part of our future workplace. So I gave it a shot. And while the results weren't great, they were decent enough to confirm that there's an essential skill A/E/C marketers—and many other knowledge workers—will need to develop in the next few years: … Continue reading On using ChatGPT for A/E/C marketing, Part 1
On the back cover of digital documents
I'll admit it: I still think in print. We all do, to some extent—the default document size in our digital world remains an 8.5x11" sheet of paper. Open up Microsoft Word or a Google Document to see what I mean. A few years ago, I realized that I was generating proposals and qualifications submissions in … Continue reading On the back cover of digital documents
On what I liked last week (1/23/23)
National Western Stock Show Denver's annual celebration of all things farm and rodeo, the stock show is a blast when you're with a toddler. (And even when without one, to be honest.) Mad Men Season 6 Midway through Season 6 and nearly the close of this wonderful series. Very amused by all the late 1960s … Continue reading On what I liked last week (1/23/23)
On how it’s hard to listen to Frightened Rabbit
If you’d asked me my favorite band back in 2017, I’d have probably replied Frightened Rabbit. (Or maybe Drive-By Truckers.) But following the suicide of leader Scott Hutchison in 2018, I found it hard to listen to their work. If you don’t know Frightened Rabbit, think of a miserablist Arcade Fire, purveyors of anthemic indie … Continue reading On how it’s hard to listen to Frightened Rabbit
On struggling to consider sales goals
How should we think about sales? Our firm—and most professional services firms—consider sales as distinct from revenue. Sales. When our firm wins a new project, we negotiate a contract with the client. Usually, that contract includes a lump sum fee. Let's say the fee is $500,000. Once the contract is signed, we count this as … Continue reading On struggling to consider sales goals
On why teaching is a tough skill to learn in the workplace
The idea brought to mind a quote from management consultant David Maister: Knowledge is relatively easy to accumulate quickly, but it also depreciates quickly. Skills are hard to win, but keep their value a little longer. If we asked Maister our questions, I imagine he would say: It depends. What parts of your job rely … Continue reading On why teaching is a tough skill to learn in the workplace
On the foolish hope that remote work alone would improve webinars
When COVID happened, webinars were suddenly everywhere—an unavoidable part of our changed work landscape. Almost three years later, with in-person meetings possible and a diminished hunger for any kind of human interaction, the deluge of webinars in my life has slowed to a trickle. So what surprised me the other day, when I hopped into … Continue reading On the foolish hope that remote work alone would improve webinars
On making good use of your name
When I was growing up, my mom taught me how to answer the phone: Hello. This is the Coe household. Who am I speaking to? (If you were good at this, you could say the above as if a single word—HellothisistheCoehouseholdwhoamIspeakingto?—prompting callers to either say "Excuse me?" or ignore you altogether—"Is your mother there?") There … Continue reading On making good use of your name
On doom loop conversations
When I encountered the term "doom loop" in the Jim Collins book Good to Great, my brain filed the term away. And rather than apply it as intended—referring to a bad economic situation or aspect giving rise to another, then another, and so forth, in a "doom loop"—I started thinking about how certain conversations are … Continue reading On doom loop conversations
