2024 Weeknote 32 : Better late than never

August 5 – 11

My “weeknotes” capture events, thoughts, and other items from the past week, mostly focused on work.

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This is a much shorter update than usual this week. I got caught up working on 2025 budget stuff over the weekend and had much less time available to prep a weeknote post. Still, I don’t want to miss it, so I have a couple things to share.

[1] A bit of wisdom about writing, communicating ideas, and the risks of AI to thinkers

This recent post on Bluesky, referencing an LA Times opinion piece, really captured my thinking about where writing and AI intersect for most folks out there, whether they know it or not.

It also reminds me that “ready, fire, aim” is not a great way to develop blog posts, yet in the interests of speed that’s often when I do. I should instead be writing once to figure out my thinking, then re-writing, almost from scratch, to ensure I’m conveying my ideas to others effectively.

And all this matches up with storyteller David Hutchens’ take on AI writing he shared on LinkedIn over the weekend — one that makes a ton of sense to me. As I’ve been preaching, AI has far more limitations than possibilities, just as a hammer is a great tool, but it’s best used with nails, not screws or anything else.

[2] Miscellanea

• Our Delivery Services team spent nearly 3 days this past week working on “resetting” ourselves, our team, and our thinking about our role in the broader organization. We’re spending another 3 days next week, too. Some of my incomplete-but-evolving notes…

• We completed Session 3 of our Hack Your Bureaucracy book club. Still going good, but man, it’s a lot of work. It makes me wonder… why do I do this to myself? 🙂
• I’ve been keeping tabs on a colleague that went into the hospital more than 2 weeks ago and… as I type this… should finally be home. And that’s after another colleague got surgery recently and is taking a while to recover. Don’t get me started on my American healthcare system rant.

[3] Watch This

I saw this and enjoyed it. In this conception, leadership is just 2 rules:

1. It’s not about you
2. It’s all about you

I do enjoy those kinds of seemingly-contradictory rules, since life feels so often like it’s random or unfair and the rules are hard to understand. But that’s just an aesthetic appreciation. My practice appreciation is that these 2 rules are right on the money. Hard to live up to, maybe a little unclear to follow at times, but at least easy to remember.

Recommended viewing for anyone in management or leadership (or aspiring to it).

[4] Internet Funnies

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