Tom Markiewicz

Calling all CEOs and tech enthusiasts! I'm thrilled to announce our latest episode at the Scaleup Valley podcast with none other than Matt Desch, the CEO of Iridium is finally live! Tune in now to listen to Matt share his best leadership tips and strategies. It's a can't-miss listen for anyone in the tech world looking to level up. Check out the link in the comments now to listen on your favorite podcast platform. Don't snooze on this one! #ScaleUpValleyPodcast #CEOLife #TechInsights 

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Great article defining an MVP in detail from Ben Yoskovitz. Also gives a solid argument against the "L" of my SLC (https://lnkd.in/g9yRi9-B).

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Some Tuesday morning business strategy musings. Endeavor Labs is an AI-focused consultancy and development agency. The success and ongoing existence of such a company depends on "AI consulting" being something decision-makers will continue to buy. The skeptical, no-nonsense engineer in me has placed a big question mark next to that premise, wondering if it will survive the current hype cycle. Is "AI" really a viable service category? As some of the "GenAI" hype has arguably started to cool over the last few months, I've become more optimistic that it can and should be. Why? Because companies are learning from their initial failures and disappointments deploying AI. And the lesson learned is generally not "AI doesn't work". It's been that "AI is harder and more expensive than I thought." And despite those learnings, those companies are still anticipating a growing role for AI in their industries. Just over a longer timeframe, with a bit less "low hanging fruit" then they were expecting. So yes, AI can be hard and expensive. It can also be easier and cheaper than it otherwise would be, if you work with an experienced partner who can help you focus on what matters, avoid technical dead ends, and access high-end global talent to help execute. (Even better if that partner is not also a major AI infra/tooling vendor, who will just invent problems that their product can "fix" for you.) So yeah, we'll keep being an "AI-focused consultancy and development agency" for now. It seem to be working.

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Our friend Julio Mario Ottino recently published a thought-provoking essay called "Amazing Possibilities Ahead: But beware the hidden dangers of prediction without understanding." We interviewed Julio on the podcast about his book, The Nexus, in June 2022 and that has led to a continuing friendship. Julio has started publishing on his own site and we're enjoying reading more of his work. A brief quote from this essay: "It used to be that predictions depended on understanding. For the last two centuries or so, that has been the unstated foundation of most advances in technology. But we should recall, as well, that for hundreds of years, we were designing systems that worked well without having the scientific bases to understand their functioning. But the advent of A.I. represents a seismic shift in enabling prediction without understanding. A.I. can make accurate predictions and achieve remarkable results without necessarily grasping the underlying reasons or mechanisms. On one hand, this could be a boon. An age of prediction free from understanding. On the other, our lack of understanding could mean we lose control of the outputs altogether." #ai #artificialintelligence #generativeai #airesearch #complexity #chatgpt #complexchange #changemanagement #futureofwork #artificiality #mindforourminds

Here's a quick sneak preview on how Innit is enabling Trusted AI at the intersection of Food x Health. Thanks to The Spoon team for sharing!

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Internal Documentation In Space Lately I've been watching a lot of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The story revolves around a strategically important space station. Its chief engineer, a human named Miles O'Brien, prefers to fix things personally without delegating it to other engineers. You would say it is just a plot device – the audience doesn't need to follow a whole engineering division, one engineer is quite enough. But though O'Brien may have a crew hidden behind the scenes, how he organizes the engineering affairs bothers me deeply. Every once in a while, when O'Brien is sent on a mission, something on the station stops working. Weaponry is busted, people can't replicate food, the bar owner cannot rent out his glitching holosuite, etc. Why? Because nobody but O'Brien can fix it. Yeah, yeah, we hear that the technology used in Deep Space Nine is alien, hybrid, and obscure. But that's not the reason why no one else can fix it! The reason is... *O'Brien never documents what he's doing.* He may have never heard of the bus factor, which is a risk every team is subjected to. Had O'Brien maintained internal docs, his subordinates would be able to keep the station running smoothly, even when he's away on a mission. Don't be like O'Brien. (Or be like him as a person – a competent engineer and a good friend – but also please maintain internal documentation to ease the life of those around you.)

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Anyone else addicted to listening to podcast ads, all-day-every-day? And I mean the good, the bad, the ugly (and worse - the forgettable!). I feel like I'm putting Magellan AI's servers on overload today! #indiepods #independentpodcasts #podcastlife

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Is this research on Communication Effectiveness dated? This 7-38-55 rule was developed by UCLA Psychology Professor Albert Mehrabian in the late 60s, and it's been a circling rule of thumb since then. While I agree: "It's not just WHAT you say, it's HOW you say it..." 7% has always been shocking to me - that's all our actual words contribute? I used to have an infographic like this in my office to remind myself to be less cerebral and more warm in action (especially when I had conflict with people on the team.) I was advising a CEO candidate this week, and this 'old rule of thumb' came to mind again. In this Zoom world, do we get to have our verbal message count for more? Or maybe it's our production quality that gets a new category. #Leadership #Communication #ConflictResolution

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Check out this incredible map of non-compete laws across the US. (https://lnkd.in/dJb8U-jW) The law surrounding non-competes is so complicated. It's not just "how long" a non-compete can be. There are also layered restrictions on when they can used. And limits on the geographic scope. The FTC ban on non-competes may take effect soon, but likely will not due to court challenges. Expect a lot more chaos in this area.

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Turns out, chilling out with a good book can prime your memory. 🧠 (Check out Rutishauser et al., 2010, in Nature.) So, although I'm bullish on AI summer, I’m doing my reps with human creativity (and avoiding the Destin sharks). 🦾 These books are reminding me that the most brilliant breakthroughs come from the messy, complex, and oh-so-human mind. Hit me with your must-reads—I need at least 10 more books on my stack! 👇 #SummerReading #Creativity #Innovation #AI #Neuroscience #CognitiveScience #BeachReads #Entrepreneurship #Productivity

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