Keep the music playing.
The professionals know how to do it.
For the last song of his last performance, Johnny Mathis chose the wise and wistful ballad “How Do You Keep the Music Playing,” by Michel Legrand and Marilyn and Alan Bergman. The choice telegraphs his priorities — a melody with a message, connection with listeners, meaningful delivery, an emphasis on what is true — elements on which he built a successful business. Along every path and in every life cycle, priorities are the pillars that support purpose and vision and values. These constant points of reference, at home and at work, help us stay driven in a world of distractions, and over and over again point the way to transformation. Experienced professionals have an intriguing opportunity: promote abundance for all generations and all industry through the integration of classic truths and evolving technology, exploring potential while standing firm on the elements that make life worthwhile. Perhaps this is a responsibility, too.
The Old Musician. Edouard Manet. 1862. Oil on canvas. Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art.
The first workforce trained on AI
Ella Trigiani: Successfully integrating AI into work isn’t about the technology…it’s about preserving what makes us human.
AI investors are in for a rude awakening
Roger McNamee: The former General Electric CEO Jack Welch made famous the notion that only two players can be profitable in a competitive industry. Below the top two, it is a struggle to survive. That means that at least three, and perhaps more, of the current players will be forced to write off their investments in LLMs. Each of the big tech companies has invested in the range of $100bn through this year, and by next year that number could easily double. If LLM technology does not improve rapidly, their corporate customers will also face write-offs.
The first principles of strategy
From Mary, in Branding Strategy Insider: Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Porter, Richard Rumelt, Margaret Heffernan, Jay Barney, Jack Trout, Al Ries, and Peter Drucker — among others — have addressed the corners of chaos through their examinations of strategy, from the military battlefield to academia to business. In their areas of emphasis, they have formed theses that have shaped the first principles of strategy — the fundamental truths that should be at the base of every strategic planning exercise, whatever the organization.
The sun flashed a giant heart
Michelle Starr: On the side of the Sun facing Earth, a giant coronal hole appeared in the shape of an enormous love heart, many times the size of Earth, blasting a powerful stream of solar particles across the Solar System.