Glass Half Full
The entire internet was just translated in 18 days. Thank you Nvidia. Debates continue about where defensible moats will be in an AI era where 90% of content generated becomes generated by machines.
One man says community. One woman says data (as long as the data isn’t commoditized, needs to be continuously refreshed, and isn’t all over heck and back on the open web.) In truth it’ll probably be both. But it will not be in content generation.
No sooner had we written about the new paradigm called ‘answers’ and complete industries going through sea change the Wall Street Journal reports on news sites getting crushed by Google. And then the CEO of WPP stepped down .
This has been a humdinger of a week.
Closer to home yours truly ended up flat on my back for the better part of a week coming off CEO meetings in NY heading to London for the next round. I never made it to the meetings there, to client visits, or to see our team. Devastating. Instead, I took 3 covid tests (ah the beauty of instant info at our fingertips) which were all negative and slept the better part of the week. I am still not ok and am figuring out how to muster getting home across an 11-hour flight and 2-hour drive home when I can barely stay vertical.
And in this hubbub when I was feeling the sting of another PE-backed client company summarily dismissing us (a story for another day but let’s just say it’s been a battering since 2023) there was goodness.
- Three clients offered to bring (or send to my hotel) anything I needed. Their messages were sincere and the offers heartfelt. It was touching. In our small world of CEOs some still look out for one another cultivating relationships that have been intact for 20 years. I have never gotten sick like this so far from home. These clients’ small gesture reminded me that many PE-owned CEOs (and they are literally owned) have lost the big picture.
- My team got to experiment with a new meeting format. One meeting facilitator was in Nova Scotia for the summer; one came down with Covid and then there was yours truly out of commission entirely.
- We were able to model agility; put our trust in improv to work and try something new. It gave us an opportunity to learn and gave our clients that spirit too.
- And in and around all this, a message from one of my favorite artists — Hass, Founder of Danyaki Art Studio. Do good, make a difference. Go out and solve a problem, live with purpose. I absolutely LOVE this guy and have purchased the magic of his work for gifts — newlyweds, home chefs, those who cook in families and bring color to the table each and every day through the nourishment they provide. That day brightener pretty much summed up one of the craziest weeks I’ve had this year, and it’s been a wild year. But, here we are.
So, let’s try it on and do our best. In the words of one member last week it’s easy to share small acts (and words) of kindness. Thank you, Mike for letting us know we made a difference last week.
The kind messages, the spreading of positivity, amazing art on something as mundane as an apron. That is what makes the world go around.
It’s not about Elon and Trump and their bro-break-up.
It’s not about China and tariffs (though that would help sort quite a few things.)
It’s not about AI obliterating industry after industry and hoovering up the internet in 18 days.
Nope it’s about real people doing real things to keep life real and to living a glass-half-full life. Happy Father’s Day to the dad’s out there. Ask someone you care about to treat you to one of Hass’s aprons and have a wonderful BBQ!