The foundational problem of AI. It produces so much, so cheaply and in such volume, it would bankrupt any company to check the work. And most companies do not have the quality of employees available to check the work. https://www.ft.com/content/874e3f05-0be3-4a2d-b2a2-7b5823441794?syn-25a6b1a6=1

My recent trip to Berlin would indicate Germans do not even fathom an inkling of the pain that is coming their way. Hitler fought a war on two fronts, at his ultimate peril. Germany is now fighting a war on multiple fronts. I actually felt pain looking at the children playing on the streets, totally unaware of the terrible choices that have already been made by both business and political leaders: https://www.ft.com/content/ae311844-83e5-4612-8fa3-4c86f4c53b0e?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Your MasterPlan is not succeeding if you get promoted, make more money, have more assets and are learning more. None of that matters if you are unhappy. The goal of the MasterPlan is being happy. Period. Not happy about your career, or happy about your decisions. It's overall happiness downstream of everything you do, know, see and experience.

In a new 21 Day Program, linked to the MasterPlan and Midlife Strategy Update, I will introduce the concept of a happiness index and how to use it to make daily decisions. Its the only way to get consistent results and progress on your MasterPlan, without fatigue and feeling like you are floundering without much progress. It's only very easy to implement and use.

As part of Legacy, today, I will be answering the following question as a 21 Day Program. The question sits at the heart of what is broken with professional services firms (law, audit, tax, consulting, banking etc) and why it will likely become worse. This looks like a simple question, but essentially asks what is a partner, technically and morally, and what role they serve. It's a question that is very close to me and, I believe, these answers have been lost in the last few decades: "Dear Michael,

I have consistently delivered my sales targets at my consulting firm, often exceeding them by 40%, and I have done so four years in a row. I am a director, and I have been at the firm for nine years. Last year I brought in about six million dollars in new work.

Yet, I am not up for partner. Each year at review time my firm tells me I am not ready, and nobody gives me concrete things to fix. The last two partner classes included people who sold less than I did.

If things do not change, I have no problem going to rival firms. I have received lots of offers."

Its the 5th of November. There are only 56 days left in the year. This is the perfect time to pursue major goals because most of the world, aka your competition, gets tired and nostalgic for rest and what might/could/should have been. Ending the year on a rout is possible, and allows the next year to begin on a high. The best way to do this is to significantly narrow your goals for the year. 

Recorded and will be released shortly: "Dear Michael and Kris,

To give you context, this happened in the very selective gym I go to two days a week in Paris, generally on Wednesday and Thursday. I have been a member since July. From the beginning, and since that moment, I have been applying Michael’s networking techniques and guidance on having high standards when I am trained by my coach.

Since the beginning, high-end profiles at the gym have been impressed by how diligently I follow my nutrition, training and recovery, and by the other parts of myself that they discover when we talk. These include senior executives, investors and entrepreneurs, and the owners of the gym, who are professional athlete agents. I always have a book with me, and it intrigues them. Today it was the one you advised on Singapore, by Lee Kuan Yew. My coach, who is 62, has always told me, as a confidant, that all these people are impressed. Many people also think I am a new trainer and would like a session with me, and when I tell them no, I am a member, they do not believe it.

Today, when I arrived, my coach asked me what I did yesterday. I took my iPad Mini and opened an app, which I developed with an AI tool to log my sessions and track my progress. The owner of the gym was there, discussing with the coach as I arrived, and he said to me, “You write everything there?” I said yes, so that I can track my progress. He started telling me that he was thinking about having something like that, by asking someone to develop it for him. I do not know if it would be for the gym, for personal use or for his professional athletes. I then had to start my session, and he asked me if I could show him the app so he can have a look next time.

So here is what I was thinking for the call you, Michael and I will have. If you think it is appropriate and worth focusing on, I would like clarity and guidance on what is happening here and how to interpret it the right way. Based on the direction we should go, I can then have the right posture for the next times, to continue building the relationship."

The four below will be recorded on Monday and released shortly after.

"Dear Michael and Kris,

It has been a while, Michael. I hope you and Kris are well. I am now a partner at a global strategy firm in Chicago.

I know you and especially Kris are prolific writers and editors, and I recall several of her books becoming bestsellers. I recently co-wrote a book with a senior partner at my firm. It draws on our decades of research into why companies struggle to build on a hit product launch. We piloted the thinking through internal seminars, client projects and newspaper articles, and it was always very well received.

Expectations for the book were high, and my firm promoted it heavily. There was a launch event, a client mailing and a run of podcast interviews. We were very disappointed that it was not shortlisted for a prominent business book award.

I do not want to give up. I think a second edition is worth doing and worth planning now, even if it is two to three years away. What advice do you have for me? I also know Kris helps edit and write books, and I am wondering whether this is a project she would take on."