❯ Man vs Machine: Vision Principles

Man versus machine. Neurons versus silicon. Myself versus Chat-GPT.

Chat-GPT has taken the world by storm. So much so that it's even passed the critical Crocs test. The thunder and lightning of GPT has been met with equal parts excitement and fear; excitement for the possibilities it brings, fear that the possibilities would replace entire careers.

Can Chat-GPT beat a human? With the launch of GPT Plus, it's the perfect time to put GPT to the test. In the last post, we talked about principles to create a compelling vision. Here's a summary of those principles:

• Tension-Intention
  Name the tension you're currently facing, then highlight the aspirational, intended outcome of solving that tension.

• Direction with Digression
  Keep your vision directional, high level, and with a consistent flow.

• Strategy Said Simply
  Provide the basic outline of your strategy. Keep it brief and without jargon so it's easier to recall, repeat, and execute.

• Provocative Phrases
  Use words, pictures, and phrases to evoke specific reactions. These phrases set the culture and indicate the work ahead (e.g. Amazon's "Day One" or LinkedIn's "Global Economic Graph").

• Match the Culture
  Your vision is only as valuable as your readers find it. Match the delivery of your vision against the audience's cultural codes.
  

ROUND ONE

The general prompt structure was to explore different possibilities, condense the possibilities down to five principles, and tweak the given titles to be memorable and catchy. Here's the results from round one:

• Crystal Clear Vision
  A vision should be clear, specific, and easily understood.

• Vision with a Fire
  A vision should inspire and motivate employees and customers towards a common goal.

• Vision with a Purpose
  A vision should be relevant to the target audience and relevant to the company's stakeholders.

• Trackable Visions
  A vision should have a way of measuring progress and success towards achieving the vision.

• Flexible Future Focus
  A vision should be flexible and adaptable to changes in the market and industry.

ROUND TWO

Not bad, GPT. Generic, but with good basics. For round two, I asked GPT to synthesize and summarize my reference list of fifteen from the previous post. The end result:

1. Clarity Leads Vision
   A good business vision should be easily understandable and inspire others to support it.

2. Embrace Change
   Anticipate and adapt to change in the market and industry.

3. Customer Focus
   Focus on solving a specific problem or filling a gap in the market: A good business vision should be driven by a desire to address a particular challenge or opportunity, rather than simply seeking to make money.

4. Innovation Differentiation
   A great business vision should prioritize the development and implementation of new, cutting-edge technologies and ideas.

5. Bold Action
   A great business vision should strive to change the status quo and challenge the limits of what is possible, with a focus on the long-term.
   

This round felt like an improvement. GPT's second set of principles felt more unique and memorable than the first. The principles from this session took longer to generate and required some human intervention—the thread of 'thinking' in a black-boxed AI is much harder to follow. That said, GPT's response was certainly better than the first result from search.

So, who won: man or machine? You be the judge.

As for me, I learned a thing or two in working with the Large Language Model.

MORE EFFICIENT, LESS EFFECTIVE WITH CHAT-GPT

GPT's superpower is efficiency. It provides a broad and superficial view into endless topics. In minutes, I can get a baseline knowledge on topics that took early civilizations years (or lifetimes) to collect. Yet, it falters on anything beyond surface knowledge or linking ideas together. It's known to bluff its way through conversations. There's already work happening to differentiate AI versus human output. Information that leads to effective insights and action is still generated by people.

ALL ABOUT LEVERAGE: AUGMENT WITH AI

AI will be most powerful where personal skill doesn't differentiate. Said another way, if you do not need to be effective (or an expert) in a particular area, apply AI to it. It took 15 - 20 hours to research, reflect, and write about crafting compelling visions. That would have been a waste of time—if I wasn't trying to grow my leadership skills. Instead, I am. Dedicating that time to in-depth learning (versus Chat-GPT'ing an answer) was the right leverage of time.

Snapshot:

The unplanned moments end up forming the strongest memories. This particular one was filled with joysticks and bumpers, racing cars and jousting knights. Not to mention the dancing. Who knew you'd come away with the higher score by the end of the night?

Striving for better,

Justin Pichichero