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."
"I have been following Michael and Kris for almost 16 years, and I may have posted one of the first comments on the website when it was just a blog. Michael coached me in 2011, and I still follow the site.
I have since moved into government, where I am a senior director for policy in Canada. I manage about forty analysts, most of them under thirty-five. They are talented, but they lack the drive and enthusiasm to think big and do big things. In meetings they wait to be told what to work on, and when I ask for ideas I get careful, small ones.
How do I do for them what Michael and Kris do for me, which is to inspire me to believe I can change the world?"
We are under tremendous pressure at my firm, and all my colleagues feel the same way. There have been staff cuts. My team went from fourteen people to ten this year, while more work has been added to our plates. We are also expected to find the time to master AI to handle the additional work.
Right now, most of what we do is heavily tracked to train the AI. Every review note, query and tick mark is logged, and we are told it feeds the firm’s audit tools.
My question, if it is a question, is why management does not realize they are forcing us to use AI to sign off audits. There is no other way for us to handle the workload. And why do they not understand that training and using AI is not the same as becoming a better auditor?
At this stage I am no longer an auditor. I am training an AI system and answering random Q&A prompts, and that is not what I want. I cannot see myself following the trajectory of the typical audit partner."
I will be responding to this Legacy question in the next day or two, and post the other questions I will be answering. "In The Masterplan, Michael always reminds us that health, happiness, wealth, relationships, and life purpose are important areas to focus on. I was wondering how to prioritize among them. Is there one we should focus on more than the others, depending on our situation and where we are in life? Or should we try to dedicate an equal amount of time, energy, and resources (financial or otherwise), even if progress and results end up unequal across each of these dimensions?"
