I use GPT & Copilot a lot for brainstorming and a sounding board to refine ideas. One thing that's bothered me is when it comes to generating images (for example ideas for logos) it can suddenly slow me down as I wait for an image to render. And then I make individual refinements and iterate much slower than if I were doing it independently. Today, I tried something different which worked spectacularly well: "Given the description, and aesthetic, generate 10 different possible logos all  within the same image so I can look at them all and compare." Ignoring the fact that it only provided me with 9 (where's #7??? 😅) I was then able to make targeted refinements and iterate faster. "I like number 8 - adjust the colors so the hand is more like the colors in #6 (but keep the lightbulb yellow and turn the element into a leaf)" A reminder that AI can multitask in ways that are typically harder for people.

I came across this article about how middle management is dead. While it reads a bit as an "advertorial" it does make a compelling argument. The future is not about building skills in managing people. Growth is not about how many direct reports you have. Orgs trees are flattening and growing wider. AI (+ plenty of productivity technology, and the many years of learnings from the evolution of Waterfall to Agile to Kanban/Continuous Improvement) has made the direct management (as in the organization, coordination, and progress measurement) less and less a thing needed to be done by people.  People Management is increasingly becoming unnecessary overhead while  Management of Tools, Processes, Strategy, Products - with a clear end goal of a value focused impact is what matters. That being said - Management and Leadership are two very different things. People Leadership still matters and, arguably, it matters more. We need to think more about how we probive guidance, mentoring, t...