I was recently reading about the failure of the Humane AI Pin, and it made me think of Jeff Hilimire’s new book “Dream Small“, which is being released today.

The book is fantastic, and is a very short read (77 pages). It shares how “the smallest of actions can create the largest ripples” and it’s well worth an hour of your time to read it. Here’s a good snippet that showcases the focus of the book, from the middle of a conversation between “Charles” and “Will”:

“One thing that Stanley pointed out to me was that when they helped a nonprofit, no matter the size of the effort or the charity itself, he felt like he was doing purposeful work. He said he tried to get other agencies to do the same, but they’d always start by focusing on how big of an impact they could have, and they’d spin up a committee and make plans, and … it would never happen.” “Interesting,” Will said. “So the fact that they were thinking so big ultimately stalled them from making any progress at all. That’s part of my problem, too.”

Big dreams can be amazing, but it’s often better to start small and build from there.

The Humane AI Pin

The Humane AI Pin had some bold ideas, and that’s essentially what killed it. They tried to replace your phone instead of working with it, but it wasn’t nearly capable enough to do that. As a result, you had a separate device, with a separate phone number, and a separate monthly bill. I appreciate what they were trying to do, as some day there may be a device like this that indeed replaces your phone, but it’s far too early for that. Their bold approach simply wasn’t applicable today.

Humane should have taken the better approach to “dream small”.

The Meta Ray-Ban glasses are a perfect example of this. They’re fantastic glasses with great features, but they work with your phone instead of trying to replace it. When I’m wearing them I get a handy camera, speakers, and AI tools, all working in conjunction with my phone. For this day and age, that’s perfect.

We’ll see what comes in future years for tech, but for today I encourage you to grab a copy of Jeff’s book and appreciate the amazing power in dreaming just a little bit smaller.

Writing down your processes is the key to effective work, but it’s increasingly becoming a sign that your job might not be AI-proof.

In some ways it’s been trending this way for years, well before AI even took off. Seth Godin wrote the book “Linchpin” back in 2010, but even then he said:

“There are no longer any great jobs where someone else tells you precisely what to do.”

That was less about your job being taken than it was about a job where you could really stand out, but those are quickly becoming one and the same. The key is being able to respond to issues and solve problems in a way that simply can’t be written down. Seth gives this example:

“Your restaurant has four waiters, and tough times require you to lay someone off. Three of the waiters work hard. The other one is good, but is also a master at solving problems. He can placate an angry customer, finesse the balky computer system, and mollify the chef when he’s had too much to drink. Any idea who has the most secure job?”

Being the troubleshooter wins. Again from Linchpin:

“Troubleshooting is never part of a job description, because if you could describe the steps needed to shoot trouble, there wouldn’t be trouble in the first place, right? Troubleshooting is an art, and it’s a gift from the troubleshooter to the person in trouble. The troubleshooter steps in when everyone else has given up, puts himself on the line, and donates the energy and the risk to the cause.”

We’ve all worked with people like that, and they’re amazing! Following processes for your job is very important, but those that can go off-script to solve unexpected problems that appear will always be the most valuable in any organization.

It’s often true that pain can make you a better person. Even with your body, broken bones end up stronger than they were before the break (at least for a while).

However, sometimes intentional pain can be a good thing. In his book “Secret Tradecraft of Elite Advisors“, David C. Baker explains how professionals can be like physicians, saying:

“I want you to be like the physician who (hesitantly) hurts patients in pursuit of making them well. I don’t want you to be the money-grubbing, power-loving consultant who wants adoring followers.“

Or, as I’ve heard elsewhere, “surgery is simply hurting your body in a very specific way“.

In Baker’s case, he was sharing how professionals need to push hard in order to help their clients succeed. Strategies need to be set, tactics need to change, and you’ve got to work hard. The end result will be a successful engagement, even if the middle gets a bit painful.

It’s fun to think that our ideal clients are out there thinking about us and wanting to work with us, but it almost certainly isn’t true.

In her book “The Revenue Engine“, Kara Smith Brown put it simply:

I tell all my clients, “Unless you work for Apple, none of your prospects wake up thinking about you.”

This is why it’s so important to stay in front of them. Share compelling content on social media. Reach out appropriately via email. Rank well in Google.

They don’t wake up thinking about you, but you can certainly take steps to make sure you show up during their day so that they’ll think about you when the need arises.