GarthBox

If you’re creating or innovating a service or product that leverages AI, I implore you to include a toggle ability.

The Smart Nest Thermostat is always learning your temperature habits, but will 1. override your settings for the vacation you plan on taking and 2. if you edit it multiple times while on vacation, it’s going to learn from that.

Spotify is always learning what you like to listen to and will try to give you more of what you want to listen to, but perhaps you have a kid that you want to play children’s music for temporarily or you just feel in the mood for some polka music – guaranteed you’ll have a very different Release Radar populated for you next week than weeks prior.

Driverless vehicles are learning your routes, but one override to take the longer scenic route home forces the AI to question itself: maybe the path that has been taken up to today isn’t the right path.

What a beautiful thing having a widget to toggle the learning on and off would be.

Stay Positive & Don’t Wait For Suggestions For This To Reach Your Threshold, Build It In From The Beginning

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Keeping the status quo is dangerous.

Letting bad things happen is dangerous.

Not holding others accountable is dangerous.

All these are certainly more dangerous than leaping, trying something new, holding yourself accountable, going out of your way to do good deeds and righting things when you see they are wrong.

Stay Positive & Put Dangerous In Perspective (What IS Dangerous And What FEELS Dangerous)

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An entrepreneur isn’t really an entrepreneur until she has a few failed experiences to talk about.

A writer isn’t really a writer until he has a few rejection notices from publishers to show for it.

A hockey player isn’t really a hockey player without a scar somewhere to show for it.

Every profession has marks of someone who is experienced.

And my favorite thing about it? It’s really really hard to fake them.

Marks off all sorts (good and bad) signal to others that you are who you say you are, that you can be trusted.

That trust is how you become more of an entrepreneur, more of a writer, more of a hockey, more of a professional.

Stay Positive & You Build Trust By Doing

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Frequent pivots isn’t a sign of half-haphzard decision making or worse, indecisiveness; it’s often the sign of a master with foundational knowledge about the task or project.

Why?

Because one thing is true. What’s working smoothly today won’t be the same tomorrow.

Different influences, variables, stakeholders, requests. The list goes on on how tomorrow will be different.

(Heck, even later today might be a different situation entirely.)

Note: It’s not the goals that change, but the course on which one is on to achieve them often can.

Stay Positive & Pivot And Proceed

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Commodity goods will hang in for awhile, but they won’t thrive.

Not as much as the brands that find a network to tap into (or build) around the commodity, which, by extension, no longer makes it a commodity.

It’s only a matter of time before a competitor finds a way to connect their consumers to each other in a meaningful way.

Stay Positive & You Can Only Be In The Lead For So Long Sans Network

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One mindset to have that best builds momentum with a project is to imagine that you’re one domino away from starting the unstoppable chain of falling dominoes.

You might be one newsletter away from it really taking off.

You might be one pitch away from getting VC buy-in.

You might be one campaign away from catching consumer loyalty.

Certainly you can push through for one more, right?

The truth is, at some point in time, you really will be just one away.

Stay Positive & Keep Doing What’s Working

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Tighter copy packs more of a punch than lengthy copy. It appeals to the short attention span of a reader or browser. It’s good practice.

On the other hand, lengthier copy sends a signal. It’s perceived as you being invested in telling a story. Lengthier copy is more convincing at face value –that is, even without reading it.

If you’re unsure which length makes your audience more responsive, don’t go with your gut. Test it.

Then you don’t have to argue about cutting copy or adding more story; the data will direct you.

Stay Positive & Last Thing You Want To Do Is Assume

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