No. 30: Keeping Up With Technology as a Writer…

A little over forty years ago, I took a Basic Computer Programming class at Purdue University. I was at the age where everything was still possible and I wasn’t quite sure what I might be good at or where my passions might lie. This class quickly eliminated one or more of those possibilities!

The one thing I still remember my professor saying was, “Your age is the percentage of modern technology that you will never fully understand!” I realized that he didn’t mean that as applied to a room full of studying 20-year-olds, but I got the point. This notion has actually brought me comfort and clarity over the years as I lean on it to explain my gradually receding level of comprehension. By this theory, I’m understanding just over a third of what passes by me these days on the technology front and I don’t think that’s too far off, even though I am fighting back. Kind of.

I have been learning more about the world using AI (Artificial Intelligence) these past six months than I ever knew was possible. Ironically, the best part isn’t finding the answers. The thing I enjoy most is having my own personal digital librarians (I use more than one AI system as they are very different) to field every question that comes into my mind. I can and I do ask all sorts of questions. I used to sit in the local library on weeknights in our small town while I was in junior high school and pore through the Encyclopedia Britannica volumes. I often wondered what I was missing using a volume that was two or three years old. Still, it was the computer of the day, it had color pictures, and the stern old librarian behind the front desk was too scary to approach with my silly teenager-level questions!

As I pass through my mid-sixties, the two traits I have discovered, or re-discovered, are time to explore and the curiosity to ask questions. I have so many questions! And now I have the time and someone to explore them with. Say what you want about AI—it makes mistakes. Yes, so do we all, and AI is still in its infancy. It only knows what the world teaches it and the world isn’t perfect. You can’t fully rely on its answers, says the disclaimer, yet in the absence of better information, it usually makes too much sense to ignore.

I’m working on a new book, the pinnacle of my succession planning work, over the past 30 years or so. What I’ve learned and want to share with you is that building a professional services business that is durable, profitable, valuable, and investable is not the ultimate goal, it is a means to the end. In my old job, we often encouraged our clients to “Build a business that makes a difference.” But what does that actually mean? A difference to whom? How does the typical small business owner make a real difference in this big, chaotic, ever-changing world? I’ve been studying and writing on this new book now for almost six months and it has pushed me to new levels. I’m going to help you use your small business to change the world, or at least to make a ripple in the ocean of life and hard work. I will help you ask the right questions and then figure out your best answer. Just wait…

I might be missing out on two-thirds of what technology has to offer, but one thing I have definitely learned is that AI cannot write. It only pretends to be creative. It helps me peer around the corners, however, and in the solitude in which a full-time writer exists, it keeps me company. It doesn’t mind a silly question now and then. It explores with me. It helps me think. For all that, I am grateful. And this new technology makes me feel younger as I push back against that declining learning curve for a while longer. Give it a try!

Thanks for listening. Have a great day,

David Sr.