What does a failed lettuce shipment from a Steinbeck novel have to do with your AI strategy? Everything, as it turns out.

In this one, we're doing it, we're stepping into the world of AI adoption. I mean, surely someone should start talking about this AI thing?

Ahem.

We talk about why a bunch of what companies are doing with AI is ruinous efficiency theatre – and what they oughta learn from a hapless lettuce entrepreneur out of classic novel East of Eden.

We explore the parallels between infrastructure booms (railroads then, AI now), why 70% of companies see zero efficiency gains from AI, and how to avoid becoming the laughing stock of your industry.

• The "lettuce man paradox" - when you're right but early, you're wrong
• How 20% of bees ignore the waggle dance (and why you should too)
• The antifragile barbell strategy: boring investments + wild experiments
• Tom's "expert panel of dissenters" AI prompt that will tear your ideas apart (in the best way)
• Why setting up a fence around a playground is more important than setting up goals and objectives
• Container ships, steel plants, graphics chips and compute: what to do with what gets left behind after boom-bust cycles

References:

• East of Eden by John Steinbeck
• Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
• Dave Snowden's Ritual Dissent method https://cynefin.io/wiki/Ritual_dissent
• Ken Stanley's Myth of the Objective (playground thinking) https://youtu.be/VDuF4onPmuE?si=4vEfNLBIZyaDvB4h
• Strathern's reframing of Goodhart's Law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law
• Adam Mastroianni (of Experimental History) Bag of words, have mercy on us https://www.experimental-history.com/p/bag-of-words-have-mercy-on-us
• Episode 044: The one with the bees https://shows.acast.com/triggerstrategy/episodes/044-the-one-with-the-bees

For a copy of Tom's prompt, or with questions, comments, historical corrections or love notes, ping us at tentacles@crownandreach.com

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Why doesn't your company put the effort into things you KNOW would make a difference?

We feel our way through the murky waters of organisational priorities – from our own dance school advertising disasters to years of consulting war stories.

We talk through why even successful initiatives get shut down, how to influence up without planting flags, and what executives are really thinking when they say "not now."

• Why the person who thinks they can "see the whole elephant" is the most wrong of all (the trap that keeps smart people stumbling around in the dark)
• The hidden costs that aren't money ... and why they're quietly stifling your brilliant ideas
• The counterintuitive secret behind being more influential
• How Facebook begged us to double our ad budget – and we walked away
• The "hygiene factor" false belief that's a career killer (spoiler: your value isn't measured the same way as web hosting, unless you're a web host)
• What executives and cranky toddlers have in common ... plus the simple (but not easy) move that actually works on both
• How to validate someone's perspective without the performative nonsense everyone can smell a mile away
• Why brilliant experimentation programs get brutally killed off (it's not because they don't work)

"The only person who's definitely wrong is the person who thinks they can step back and get a holistic view of the elephant."

References

• Venkatesh Rao – "Portals and flags" https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2014/06/25/portals-and-flags/
• Venkatesh Rao – Don't Build a Hill To Die On from Art of Gig https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2022/11/17/the-art-of-gig-books/
• The "Four U" model: Unpack, Undergo & Unfold Uncertainty https://crownandreach.com/#resources
• Crown and Reach "Pitch Provocations" method – email us at tentacles@crownandreach.com

Find out more about us and our work at crownandreach.com

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What do falling trees in a scientific experiment have to do with failed startups, toddler tantrums, and why some ideas thrive while others collapse under pressure?

We start with a tale from the Biodome, and then try to connect the lessons to growth, resilience, and the need for stress.

• Why trees in paradise kept toppling over ... and why the same well-meaning mistake topples new products and services
• Why the "moat of low status" that separates you from your dreams might be the most important territory you'll ever cross
• The brutal truth about startup accelerators: how surrounding yourself with "supportive" peers can prevent your best ideas from germinating
• The delicate art of stress-testing your fragile creations without accidentally killing them
• Why your toddler's meltdowns reveal the same psychological trap that keeps adults stuck forever
• The 2,000-year-old mental trick that transforms paralysing anxiety into rocket fuel
• The gardener's dilemma: when coddling your ideas makes them weak ... and when exposure kills them outright

Recorded on Bournemouth Beach with the sound of actual wind and waves - because sometimes the best conversations happen when you're slightly uncomfortable.

Share your thoughts and questions with us: tentacles@crownandreach.com

• Biosphere 2 experiment (Oracle, Arizona, 1987-1991) - lack of wind stress prevented the development of "stress wood" - a different cellular structure that makes trees stronger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosphere_2
• "Shitty first draft" concept: https://triggerstrategy.substack.com/p/demolish-your-creative-block-with-graham-linehan-and-the-power-of-the-sfd-3841abe8a4fb
• Multiverse Mapping: https://multiversemapping.com
• Fear-setting (Stoic practice) as popularised by Tim Ferriss: https://tim.blog/2017/05/15/fear-setting/
• Antifragility as popularised by Nassim Taleb: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifragility
• Laura Klein's talk where she mentions Task Rabbit for actual rabbits: https://youtu.be/gbArObiU1Y0?si=m16794EohdbngxsC
• Sasha Chapin, who coined "the moat of low status": https://sashachapin.substack.com/p/the-moat-of-low-status-68a

Find out more about us and our work at crownandreach.com

Find out more about us and our work at crownandreach.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.