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An AI Conversation Exploring the Power of Tacit Knowledge

This post is part 2 of 2 related to tacit knowledge. Part 1 can be accessed here: Tacit Knowledge: Embracing Your Secret Weapon in Personal and Professional Growth.

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When I want further insight into a topic, I have developed the practice of collaborating with ChatGPT or Claude AI (LLMs) and having a back-and-forth conversation regarding my area of interest.

Please note I am looking for “directionally accurate” insight while understanding that LLMs can hallucinate or give me inaccurate responses that agree with my suggestion. Knowing this propensity, I will ask the LLM to take a contrary position and provide help regarding where my thoughts are off base or need further clarification.

My post presented here is a dialogue I had with ChatGPT about tacit knowledge. Below are nine prompts for which I asked ChatGPT for input. I thought the overall content was informative and helpful in understanding more specifics about tacit knowledge. 

I hope you find this dialogue helpful!

Before sharing the specific ChatGPT prompts and responses, I asked Claude AI to provide a summary overview of the dialogue. I was pleased with the result and here is the edited version to inspire you to read further and consider the power of embracing tacit knowledge in your life.

Introduction to Tacit Knowledge – Collaboration with Claude AI

As explored through the below conversation with ChatGPT, tacit knowledge is a powerful force that shapes our personal and professional lives in subtle yet profound ways. It’s the unspoken wisdom we accumulate through experience, the intuitive understanding that guides our decisions, and the unique perspective that allows us to connect dots in innovative ways.

Embracing tacit knowledge means:

  1. Valuing your experiences and reflecting on them deeply
  2. Recognizing that your unique insights are invaluable assets
  3. Actively seeking diverse experiences to broaden your tacit knowledge base
  4. Understanding that collaboration and long-term relationships build shared tacit knowledge
  5. Leveraging your implicit understanding to enhance creativity and problem-solving

By consciously developing and harnessing your tacit knowledge, you unlock a wealth of potential for personal growth, professional success, and innovative thinking. It’s the key to developing a “disproportionate advantage” in your field and life.

Remember, while explicit knowledge can be easily shared and documented, it’s your tacit knowledge that can truly set you apart. Embrace continuous learning, remain curious, and never underestimate the power of your lived experiences. Your journey in developing tacit knowledge is ongoing and boundless – it can your guide to a richer, more insightful life and career.

Listing of Nine ChatGPT Prompts

  1. When coworkers work together for a long time (several years), a good working relationship enhances their collective performance. I always referred to this as “they know my work preferences and how I think.” To me, this seems like a form of tacit knowledge that benefits an organization. Am I stretching too far with the concept?
  2. Everything that ChatGPT or other LLMs generate, would be explicit knowledge?
  3. However, how a person uses explicit knowledge and the creativity it may inspire can be triggered by an individual personal or career experience is then an example of tacit knowledge potential? Am I on track here?
  4. Thank you for clarifying! Thus the more varied our learning and experiences, the greater our potential to “connect the dots” in ways others cannot do. Thus tacit knowledge improves the value we can provide using explicit knowledge?
  5. Please provide brief encouragement for people to understand the importance of personal development. The process enhances the building of tacit knowledge, which then helps broaden the reach of working with explicit knowledge and connecting dots in ways that many may not, enabling greater creativity and innovative solutions.
  6. How does personal development contribute to building tacit knowledge? I want to be sure I understand your reasoning for your response.
  7. Please challenge my thought that a wide variety of explicit knowledge helps in connecting information that helps me develop tacit knowledge. Are you comfortable this is true, or am I following an inaccurate consideration?
  8. In a blog post I am drafting, I referenced the advantages that my twin Don and I have enjoyed throughout our personal and professional lives. We simply thought, “We have built a disproportionate advantage thanks to our experiences, curiosity, and willingness to be technology early adopters.” Now that I am aware and understand tacit knowledge, I believe this is exactly what Don and I share. Would you please interpret my thoughts and add further clarification?
  9. You are an expert in personal development and the benefits of developing tacit knowledge. Please review my questions and our conversation above. Are there any additional thoughts or emphasis you would add to the discussion? Our goal is to encourage and inspire our clients to actively embrace their own personal development.

Full Dialogue with ChatGPT: Prompts and Responses

Prompt1 – Working relationship building tacit knowledge:

When coworkers work together for a long time (several years), a good working relationship enhances their collective performance. I always referred to this as “they know my work preferences and how I think.”

This seems like a form of tacit knowledge that benefits an organization. Am I stretching the concept too far?

Response1 – Working relationship building tacit knowledge:

No, you’re not stretching the concept at all. When coworkers develop a deep understanding of each other’s work preferences and thought processes, they are indeed leveraging tacit knowledge. This shared, implicit understanding enhances communication, collaboration, and efficiency, leading to improved collective performance. This form of tacit knowledge is valuable to organizations as it fosters smoother workflows and better team dynamics.

Prompt2 – LLMs only explicit knowledge:

Everything that ChatGPT or other LLMs generate would be explicit knowledge?

Response2 – LLMs only explicit knowledge:

Yes, everything that ChatGPT or other language models generate would be considered explicit knowledge. This is because the information provided can be clearly articulated, documented, and shared with others in written or verbal form. Language models like ChatGPT process and output knowledge that is structured and easily communicable, fitting the definition of explicit knowledge.

Prompt3 – Explicit knowledge expanding creativity and then tacit knowledge:

However, how a person uses explicit knowledge and the creativity it may inspire can be triggered by an individual personal or career experience is then an example of tacit knowledge potential? Am I on track here?

Response3 – Explicit knowledge expanding creativity and then tacit knowledge:

Yes, you are absolutely on track. While explicit knowledge provided by ChatGPT or other sources can be clearly articulated and shared, how a person uses this knowledge, along with the creativity it inspires, can indeed be influenced by their personal or career experiences. This application and the intuitive, experiential insights that emerge from it are examples of tacit knowledge. It reflects how individuals integrate explicit knowledge into their unique contexts and practices, leveraging their own tacit understanding to innovate and solve problems.

Prompt4 – Connecting the dots of varied explicit knowledge:

Thank you for clarifying! Thus, the more varied our learning and experiences, the greater our potential to “connect the dots” in ways others cannot. Thus, does tacit knowledge improve the value we can provide using explicit knowledge?

Response4 – Connecting the dots of varied explicit knowledge:

Exactly! The more diverse our learning and experiences, the greater our ability to “connect the dots” in unique and insightful ways. This enriched tacit knowledge enhances our capacity to apply explicit knowledge creatively and effectively, thereby increasing the value we can offer. Varied experiences and continuous learning help us develop a deeper, more nuanced understanding that allows us to leverage explicit knowledge in ways others might not, leading to innovative solutions and improved performance.

Prompt5 – Personal development to broaden tacit knowledge:

Please provide brief encouragement for people to understand the importance of personal development. The process enhances the building of tacit knowledge, which then helps broaden the reach of working with explicit knowledge and connecting dots in ways many may not, enabling greater creativity and innovative solutions.

Response5 – Personal development to broaden tacit knowledge:

Investing in personal development is crucial because it builds your tacit knowledge, enriching your ability to use explicit knowledge creatively. Expanding your experiences and learning enhances your capacity to connect the dots uniquely. This leads to greater creativity and innovative solutions, setting you apart personally and professionally. Embrace personal growth to unlock your full potential and make a lasting impact.

Prompt6 – Personal development contributing to building tacit knowledge:

How does personal development contribute to building tacit knowledge? I want to understand your reasoning for your response.

Response6 – Personal development contributing to building tacit knowledge:

Personal development contributes to building tacit knowledge through the following ways:

  1. Experience-Based Learning: Engaging in new activities and challenges allows you to gain hands-on experience, crucial for developing practical skills and insights that can’t be fully captured in written form.
  2. Reflection and Practice: Regularly reflecting on your experiences and practicing new skills helps internalize what you’ve learned, turning it into intuitive knowledge.
  3. Social Interactions: Collaborating with others, seeking mentorship, and networking expose you to diverse perspectives and approaches, enriching your understanding and problem-solving abilities.
  4. Continuous Improvement: Personal development encourages a mindset of lifelong learning and adaptability, which helps you continuously refine and expand your tacit knowledge.
  5. Real-World Application: Applying explicit knowledge in real-world situations helps bridge the gap between theory and practice, deepening your tacit understanding.

Focusing on personal development enhances one’s ability to integrate and apply knowledge uniquely and innovatively, ultimately increasing one’s effectiveness and creativity.

Prompt7 – Challenge thought that explicit knowledge helps develop tacit knowledge:

Please challenge my thought that a wide variety of explicit knowledge helps connect information that helps me develop tacit knowledge. Are you comfortable this is true, or am I following an inaccurate consideration?

Response7 – Challenge thought that explicit knowledge helps develop tacit knowledge:

Your thought that a wide variety of explicit knowledge helps connect information to develop tacit knowledge is well-founded and generally accurate. However, let’s explore a potential challenge to this idea:

Challenge:

Depth vs. Breadth: While a wide variety of explicit knowledge can provide a broad foundation, it may not always lead to deep, nuanced tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge often requires deep immersion and repeated practice in specific areas. Therefore, spreading oneself too thin across many areas might limit the depth of tacit knowledge one can develop in any single domain.

Counterpoints to the Challenge:

  1. Interdisciplinary Insights: Even with a broad base, the ability to draw connections across disciplines can lead to unique insights and problem-solving approaches, enhancing tacit knowledge.
  2. Adaptive Expertise: A variety of explicit knowledge can foster adaptive expertise, allowing individuals to apply their knowledge flexibly across different contexts, which is a valuable aspect of tacit knowledge.
  3. Complementary Skills: Different areas of explicit knowledge can complement each other, creating a richer, more integrated understanding that enhances overall tacit knowledge.

Conclusion:

While depth in specific areas is crucial for developing profound tacit knowledge, a broad base of explicit knowledge can still significantly contribute to the ability to connect the dots and innovate. Striking a balance between depth and breadth is key to maximizing explicit and tacit knowledge development.

Prompt8 – TwinzTalk Disproportionate Advantage is Actually Tacit Knowledge:

In a blog post I am drafting, I referenced the advantages my twin Don and I have enjoyed throughout our personal and professional lives. We simply thought, “We have built a disproportionate advantage thanks to our experiences, curiosity, and willingness to be technology early adopters.“

Now that I am aware and understand tacit knowledge, this is exactly what Don and I share. Would you please interpret my thoughts and add further clarification?

Response8 – TwinzTalk Disproportionate Advantage is Actually Tacit Knowledge:

Certainly! Here’s an interpretation of your thoughts, integrating the concept of tacit knowledge and providing further clarification:

My twin Don and I have enjoyed unique advantages throughout our personal and professional lives. We often reflected, “We have built a disproportionate advantage thanks to our experiences, curiosity, and willingness to be technology early adopters.” This advantage is deeply rooted in the tacit knowledge we’ve developed together.

Tacit knowledge refers to the intuitive, experience-based insights and skills that are difficult to articulate but are incredibly valuable. Our shared experiences, from tackling challenges to exploring new technologies, have fostered a deep, implicit understanding between us. This tacit knowledge enhances our ability to:

  1. Innovate: Our curiosity and early adoption of technology have allowed us to stay ahead of trends, adapt quickly, and find creative solutions that others might not see.
  2. Collaborate: Our strong, intuitive bond as twins allows us to anticipate each other’s thoughts and actions, leading to seamless collaboration and effective teamwork.
  3. Problem-Solve: Years of shared experiences have equipped us with a unique perspective on tackling problems, enabling us to draw from a rich pool of personal insights and practical know-how.

We’ve expanded our tacit knowledge by continuously nurturing our curiosity and embracing new technologies, creating a significant competitive edge. This shared tacit knowledge isn’t just a product of our skills but a synergistic outcome of our twin bonds, experiences, and mutual growth.

This clarification emphasizes how your shared experiences and behaviors have contributed to developing valuable tacit knowledge and enhancing your personal and professional capabilities.

Prompt9 – Inquire to ChatGPT – any additional thoughts or emphasis:

You are an expert in personal development and the benefits of developing tacit knowledge.

Please review my questions and our conversation above. Are there any additional thoughts or emphasis you would add to the discussion? Our goal is to encourage and inspire our clients to actively embrace their own personal development.

Response9 – Inquire to ChatGPT – any additional thoughts or emphasis:

Your discussion on the interplay between tacit and explicit knowledge in personal development is thorough and insightful. However, there are a few additional thoughts and areas of emphasis that could further enrich the conversation and inspire your clients:

1. The Power of Reflection

  • Emphasis: Encourage clients to regularly reflect on their experiences, as reflection is a critical practice for converting experiences into tacit knowledge. By analyzing successes and failures, clients can deepen their understanding and internalize lessons that enhance their intuitive decision-making and problem-solving abilities.
  • Actionable Tip: Suggest keeping a reflective journal where they note key experiences, what they learned, and how they felt. This practice not only builds tacit knowledge but also fosters self-awareness.

2. Learning Through Social Interaction

  • Emphasis: Highlight the importance of learning from others. Tacit knowledge is often transferred through mentorship, collaboration, and informal discussions. Encourage clients to seek out mentors, participate in professional networks, and engage in meaningful conversations with peers.
  • Actionable Tip: Recommend joining or forming mastermind groups or professional communities where members regularly share experiences and insights. This can accelerate the development of tacit knowledge through shared learning.

3. The Role of Curiosity in Tacit Knowledge Development

  • Emphasis: Curiosity is a driving force behind personal development and the accumulation of tacit knowledge. Clients who actively seek out new experiences, ask questions, and explore unfamiliar territories are more likely to develop a rich reservoir of tacit knowledge that fuels innovation and creativity.
  • Actionable Tip: Encourage clients to set aside regular time for exploring new topics, skills, or industries outside their immediate field. This can lead to unexpected connections and insights that enhance both their tacit and explicit knowledge.

4. Balancing Depth and Breadth

  • Emphasis: While broad knowledge is important, emphasize the need for clients to develop deep expertise in specific areas. A balanced approach allows them to apply explicit knowledge effectively while drawing on deep, tacit insights in their areas of expertise.
  • Actionable Tip: Help clients identify key areas where they can deepen their knowledge and skills while encouraging them to explore diverse fields. This balance can be a cornerstone of their personal development strategy.

5. The Continuous Nature of Personal Development

  • Emphasis: Stress that personal development and the growth of tacit knowledge is an ongoing journey, not a destination. Encourage clients to view every experience as an opportunity to learn and grow and to embrace change as a catalyst for development.
  • Actionable Tip: Suggest that clients set long-term personal development goals and revisit them regularly, adjusting as they grow and their understanding of themselves deepens.

6. Tapping Into Tacit Knowledge for Innovation

  • Emphasis: Reinforce the idea that tacit knowledge is a key driver of innovation. The more clients develop their tacit knowledge, the better they will be at developing creative solutions and connecting disparate ideas in ways others might not.
  • Actionable Tip: Encourage clients to engage in creative problem-solving exercises, like brainstorming sessions or design thinking workshops, where they can practice applying their tacit knowledge in innovative ways.

Conclusion:

By embracing personal development and understanding the role of tacit knowledge, your clients can unlock deeper levels of creativity, insight, and professional effectiveness. Encourage them to actively cultivate experiences, relationships, and practices that foster the growth of tacit knowledge alongside their explicit knowledge to truly maximize their potential.

Through my conversation with ChatGPT, I hope you are inspired to develop your tacit knowledge throughout your life. Stay aware and curious, and keep learning!

July 2024 – Tanmay Vora’s Sketchnote – Explicit and Tacit Knowledge
Dall-E #TwinzTalk Brainstorming

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Tacit Knowledge: Embracing Your Secret Weapon in Personal and Professional Growth

This post is part 1 of 2 related to tacit knowledge. Part 2 can be accessed here: An AI Conversation Exploring the Power of Tacit Knowledge.

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A theme that #TwinzTalk Don and I frequently touch on is the importance of giving yourself time and space to be aware of nuances in areas of importance to you. Notice something, sit with it, and ask yourself, “How might this impact my world?” Particularly in professional environments, it is too easy to be consumed with urgent matters all day, every day, and our actions become rote and automatic without giving much thought. We must be aware and catch ourselves when this is happening.

My weekend reading included a July 18, 2024, blog post by Tanmay Vora, The Iceberg of Organizational Knowledge: How to Unlock Tacit Knowledge.

Tacit knowledge.

While I am aware and believe in the build-up of [difficult to replace] knowledge based on years of experience, Tanmay’s blog post and visual sketchnote explained tacit knowledge, and this term articulated beautifully what I felt has been a strength for Don and me throughout our careers. We all have tacit knowledge, yet the key is understanding and appreciating where we gain strength to help our lives and others. Don’t take for granted the gift of experience, as it contributes to tacit knowledge that is unique to you.

Before diving into Tanmay’s blog post, I asked ChatGPT to provide a 50-word description of tacit knowledge:

“Tacit knowledge is personal, experience-based knowledge that’s hard to formalize and communicate. It includes intuitive skills, insights, and know-how gained through practice and social interactions, often unique to individuals and crucial for innovation and problem-solving.”

Below, I will share highlights from Tanmay’s blog and then present my further thoughts about tacit knowledge in personal development—beyond the resume (which is explicit knowledge).

Building from an original post from Nick Milton and an insightful share from Helen Bevan, Tanmay created his blog post and included a thought-provoking sketchnote.

Nick Milton’s post “Why you can’t solve knowledge problems with information tools alone” noted:

“Firstly much of the knowledge of the organisation is never codified as information. People know more than they can tell, and tell more than they can write. Maybe as much as 80% of the knowledge in an organisation is undocumented, and can only be accessed through networks, communities of practice, and conversational processes such as Peer Assist and Knowledge Exchange. Information tools leave this knowledge untouched.”

“Finally, many of the knowledge problems are cultural. People are incentivised to rush on to the next job rather than to spend time reflecting on lessons, no matter how important. They may not want to share knowledge, as they feel this knowledge is better kept to themselves in order to build their in-house status and value. People suffer from “not invented here” syndrome which leads them to prefer to reinvent than to reuse. There is no point in organising your project information if people do not want to seek for knowledge, and would not use it if they found it. I often use the analogy of teaching your child to read. The first thing you do is instil a love of books, so the child is eager for stories. Afterwards you can organise the book collection, but that comes later. Firstly we need the hunger for stories. Similarly we need to instil a hunger for knowledge as one of the first steps in KM, before organisation can be helpful.”

Up to 80% of organisational knowledge is tacit and undocumented. This observation was the highlight of Helen’s share on LinkedIn and led to Tanmay’s blog post. When I read his post, I could not stop contemplating the concept (and compelling value) of tacit knowledge! Tanmay notes:

“The hidden treasure of organizational knowledge is tacit knowledge that is deeply rooted in people, their experiences, skills, insights and judgements. Tacit knowledge doesn’t come to the fore easily because it resides in the minds of people. How to react to a specific situation? How to connect seemingly discrete dots? That’s all tacit and invaluable at the same time. Unlocking tacit knowledge is how organizations break past their internal barriers to improve and innovate.”

The sharing of tacit knowledge requires a strong culture. If an organization has high turnover or coworkers who don’t work well together, tacit knowledge will reside within individual workers (protecting their “value” by not generously sharing with their coworkers) or leave the organization through employee attrition. Let this thought sink in. In some organizations, how often does senior management take the perspective that workers are replaceable, not understanding the tacit knowledge that is being lost?

Tacit knowledge in personal development is the noodle I wrestled with all weekend and early this week. In collaboration with ChatGPT, I gained insight that deepened my curiosity. Please understand I was seeking “directionally accurate” information that could keep me thinking down the path of tacit knowledge present in my and Don’s lives when we were unaware of the concept of tacit knowledge. We simply thought, “We have built a disproportionate advantage thanks to our experiences, curiosity, and willingness to be technology early adopters.“

A second blessing in my career was having the privilege of years-long relationships with co-workers that greatly enhanced our professional value to each other and the enhanced performance we could bring to benefit the organization. Now I realize we were leaning into tacit knowledge!

Tacit knowledge represents a vast and valuable resource within organizations and individuals. It is the uncodified wisdom gained through experience, intuition, and practice that often drives innovation and problem-solving. Recognizing the importance of tacit knowledge is the first step in harnessing its power.

In my next post, I will explore cultivating and enhancing our tacit knowledge through intentional personal development practices. Please follow my curiosity in a dialogue with ChatGPT as I seek clarity on how our dedication to personal development can help us develop greater tacit knowledge and increase our value to the world. Let’s turn tacit knowledge into a powerful personal and professional growth tool.

June 26, 2024 | Don and Bill Tomoff at Maryland Government Finance Officers Association Conference
July 2024 – Tanmay Vora’s Sketchnote – Explicit and Tacit Knowledge
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Tiny Drips Creating Huge Impact: Unlocking Your Potential Through Daily Habits

Summary Overview – Collaboration with Claude AI

This post explores the transformative power of adopting small, positive habits and committing to them daily. Drawing from experiences as competitive distance runners, my twin Don and I share how our discipline developed through running, benefiting all aspects of our lives.

The importance of consistency and perseverance is emphasized, with personal examples of my habits intentionally cultivated since 2012. Examples include daily reading, planking, writing, and flossing. When practiced consistently, small habits can lead to remarkable results over time.

References to James Clear’s “Atomic Habits” and Seth Godin’s blog posts underscore the impact of showing up every day. A personal story about my son Ryan’s cancer diagnosis illustrates how life events can suddenly bring clarity to our priorities, highlighting the importance of focusing on what truly matters.

Readers are encouraged to reflect on their lives, make intentional choices about where they dedicate their energy, and consider adopting small, positive habits. The post argues that consistent practice not only leads to personal growth but can also inspire us to help others and approach life with gratitude and kindness.

Ultimately, the message is clear: small, daily actions compound over time, leading to significant personal development and positive life changes.

Full Original Writing

Adopt one small positive habit, and commit to showing up for daily execution.

For twin Don and I, our careers as competitive distance runners refined attributes within us that have benefitted our careers and lives. In high school and college, we developed the habit of incorporating our training regimen into every single day. Yes, off days were planned, but we learned the journey to being our best selves meant unwavering dedication and perseverance day in and day out, a lesson that has inspired us in all aspects of our lives.

Over many years, we achieved continual improvement and understood hard work and consistency win in the long run. Throughout college, in our careers, and our lifetime of personal development, consistency is woven into the fabric of “who we are.”

Of course, our distance running careers involved a commitment of a couple of hours per day, but we now prioritize [very] small habits daily. The practice of showing up and executing daily compounds in unimagined ways. Once the results are experienced with one habit, the desire and commitment build to adopt another habit, then another, and before long, a steady daily routine is built that can change your life!

You may think, “I don’t have time to fit one more thing on my list of priorities.” In a blog by Seth Godin, shared further below, he notes:

“Keep showing up. If it matters, keep showing up.” We often have the good fortune of deciding what matters to us and how to spend our most precious, nonrenewable asset: time. However, inevitably, we will also have priorities thrust upon us – the life-altering moment in my and my family’s lives was the 1996 diagnosis of my son, Ryan, with childhood cancer (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia). October 17, 1996, was a day that provided instant clarity about my swirling list of “important” matters. The only things that mattered were dedicating my time and energy to saving Ryan’s life and supporting my family. Terri Tomoff published a memoir, The Focused Fight, in March 2021, sharing our family and Ryan’s story of successfully battling cancer five times.

2004 – Bill and Ryan Tomoff – Bald heads before Duke PBMT trip

I do not want anyone to have clarity forced upon them. Yet, I want to encourage everyone to prioritize time for reflection and do the internal work of intentionally assessing their choices about where they dedicate their energies. Please.

James Clear’s book Atomic Habits is inspiring and I highly suggest reading and keeping a copy close by for future reference. A YouTube video, Tiny Habits that Create Remarkable Results, by After Skool provides a beautiful nine-minute animated summary. A key point (many discussed in the video!) is that we must realize that “Your outcomes in life are a lagging measure of your habits.” Thus, establishing positive habits that are small and easy (so small that you can tackle the habit(s) every day) is the key to making long-term progress. Consistent positive habits will inspire you and can snowball into other positive habits, which change your life dramatically!

Since 2012, I have intentionally focused on my personal development by making small changes one at a time. My progress and dedication have grown into several daily habits that, over the longer term (say 1,000 days, as Seth Godin discusses in the blog shared below), have rewarded me immensely. I also enjoy the discipline these habits have built into my daily life. The daily habits that I have built into my daily routine include:

  1. Tenacious reader and personal development advocate since September 2012.
  2. Planking daily since March 25, 2018.
  3. Morning reading since January 1, 2020.
  4. I have been writing daily or contemplating ideas for writing for 5 or 10 (often longer) minutes since June 8, 2020.
  5. Involved in writing communities of practice since June 8, 2020. Life-enhancing initiative shared with my wife Terri. These communities are the essence of “We rise by lifting others. (Robert Ingersoll).”
  6. Flossing teeth daily since June 1, 2021. Thank you, Susan Myhr Fritz, for the inspiration!
  7. Being kind and helping others through micro-moves. Approaching each day with a mindset of abundance. We all have gifts to share, and we must be generous with our talents.
  8. Pick up trash regularly. Inspired by the Litterati app initiative shared in this TED Talk.
  9. Pause and be grateful. I am grateful for the gifts in my life and happy for others’ achievements.
  10. Choose to lead. I strive to lead by the example of my actions.
January 19, 2019 – Bill Tomoff Plank at Arsenal Emirates Stadium (London)

Regarding helping others, please read this encouragement from the Daily Stoic, “If you want to feel better, do this.”

“So if you want to feel better today, if you want to find a bright spot in this dark landscape of uncertainty and fear, the solution is simple: Do good. Help others. Be of service. Think less of your problems and try to help others with theirs. You’ll be amazed at the happiness this brings… to you and to them.”

As I referenced above, Seth Godin often stresses the importance of the long-term persistence of showing up every day. Please read the following quick blogs of encouragement:

One thousand little steps

“And every one of those improvements was met with resistance. Every change was fought, tooth (!) and nail. Every one had critics and skeptics and hold outs.

That’s how the world changes. By drips. Persistent, generous, tiny drips.“

The drip

“Change, real change, is the result of focused persistence.”

“The challenging part, and the reason that change doesn’t happen as often as it should is that we get distracted. Today’s urgent is more urgent than yesterday’s important.”

“There are very few overnight successes. Very few… got there with thunder and lighting. It happens with a drip.”

“Keep showing up. If it matters, keep showing up.”

Think about a small, positive habit you can start today and commit to for the long haul. Consistency is key to unlocking your potential for success. While this concept is simple to grasp, the execution requires dedication. Be the person who perseveres.

When to start? Not “one day,” instead make today “day one.”

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Incremental Excellence: Compounding Personal Growth through a Daily Drip

We all have active schedules and tasks that “must get done.” Throughout our careers and lives, twin Don and I have too often seen folks prioritize and let the day-to-day urgent matters overwhelm the opportunity to do the more important work of the long-term potential of investing in their personal development. Our quest is to shine the light on the disservice we all do to ourselves (and others) when we do not prioritize the important work of investing in ourselves.

“But what does Socrates say? “Just as one person delights in improving his farm, and another his horse, so I delight in attending to my own improvement day by day.””

—Epictetus, Discourses, 3.5.14

When we think of “investing,” the common thought turns to investing money or saving for our future. Taking care of our financial needs is another critical topic, but here, the emphasis is investing our resources into ourselves toward developing our best talent and potential. There are no shortcuts to improving ourselves. We must show up daily and persist in doing the work required to refine our talents. The excellent news is that daily small incremental investments in ourselves compound exponentially over time.

“Every small positive change we make in ourselves repays us in confidence in the future.”

—Alice Walker

Seth Godin, in the blogs shared below, makes compelling observations:

Where are your assets?

“Do work and get paid once. Build an asset and get paid for as long as it lasts.“

The drip. In this post, Seth shares the magic of showing up and persisting to make real change.

“Change, real change, is the result of focused persistence.”

“The challenging part, and the reason that change doesn’t happen as often as it should is that we get distracted. Today’s urgent is more urgent than yesterday’s important.”

“Keep showing up. If it matters, keep showing up.”

Several benefits of prioritizing personal development include:

  1. Building an asset: As Seth notes, building an asset for ourselves is valuable and something you own.
  2. Leading by example: When we challenge ourselves to grow, we can inspire others to do the same.
  3. Help others: We are better positioned to help others as our skills increase. We must not lose sight of developing ourselves to contribute more to the world.
  4. Increased adaptability: Personal development enhances our ability to adapt to changing circumstances, making us more resilient to challenges.
  5. Enhanced self-awareness: By investing in personal growth, we gain a deeper understanding of our strengths, weaknesses, values, and motivations.
  6. Improved decision-making: As we develop ourselves, we refine our critical thinking skills and gain new perspectives, leading to better decision-making in various aspects of life.
  7. Greater sense of fulfillment: Pursuing personal growth often leads to a stronger sense of purpose and satisfaction in life.
  8. Better relationships: Personal development can improve our emotional intelligence, communication skills, and empathy, leading to healthier and more meaningful relationships.
  9. Increased productivity: By honing our skills and improving our habits, we become more efficient and effective in our daily tasks.
  10. Expanded opportunities: As we grow and develop new skills, we open ourselves to new career paths and life experiences.
  11. Continuous learning mindset: Embracing personal development fosters a lifelong love of learning, keeping our minds sharp and engaged.
  12. Increased self-confidence: Our self-confidence naturally grows as we overcome challenges and achieve personal goals.
  13. Enhanced creativity: Personal growth often involves exploring new ideas and perspectives, which can boost our creative thinking abilities.

Personal development is not just a luxury; it’s necessary for anyone seeking a fulfilling and impactful life. The benefits we’ve explored – from building valuable personal assets to enhancing our adaptability and creativity – demonstrate the profound impact that consistent self-improvement can have on our lives and those around us.

I hope my thoughts help inspire you to reflect on how dedicating time daily to personal development, learning, and growth can exponentially improve your day-to-day performance and provide you with much fulfillment. Remember, as Epictetus wisely noted, there’s a unique delight in attending to our improvement day by day. Keep showing up, stay persistent, and witness the small, daily investments in yourself compound into remarkable transformations over time. Choose the steady drip of daily personal development. Don’t say “one day” instead, make today “day one.” Your future self will thank you!

Continual Education – 5 Hour Rule (Compounding impact)
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Choose Possibility: How Small Shifts in Thinking Can Create Big Changes

Over the past five years, my daily reading of the Stoicism philosophy has often reflected the importance of managing our minds. How we think, interpret, and respond to external events.

Am I prioritizing my efforts to use the gift of my mind and the opportunity for rational thought? I contemplate this question daily as I strive to bring my best talents and abilities to the world.

In this post, I focus on shifting our mindset to one of possibility. Here are a few resources to inspire you to approach your life through a lens of possibility:

In his blog post, A Commitment to Possibility, Seth Godin notes:

“So many people to connect with, so many things to learn. Doors to open, helping hands to be offered.

The magic of our time is that forward motion multiplies and ideas can be shared like never before.”

The second resource comes from the twinz book recommendations – The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander. Read and share this book. Inspiration guaranteed!

Bill Tomoff with book The Art of Possibility

In this three-minute video, Ben shares examples of the power of possibility.

“You can choose one of two ways of being every single moment of your life. You can either be in what we call “the down spiral” or radiating possibility.”

“Radiating possibility is a discipline. It’s a rigorous discipline. That is why you have to practice, and practice, and practice, and practice. [Have people in your life who are open to possibility]”

James Clear, author of the book Atomic Habits, wrote this review of The Art of Possibility. Highlights I especially enjoyed:

  • Everything in life is based on your reference frame. Look at things in a new way and suddenly your problems fade away.
  • Instead of focusing on how you measure up, focus on how you contribute to the world around you. Contribution is not measured based on other people. It’s only measured based on what you put into the world around you. That’s it. If you add something, you contributed.
  • The conductor can lead the most powerful orchestra in the world, but does not make a sound. His or her only power is in getting the players to produce the beautiful sound they are capable of.
  • Rule #6: Don’t take yourself so damn seriously. [Bill and Don #TwinzTalk LOVE this rule!]
  • The more attention you shine on a subject, the more evidence of it you find. This is how downward spiral talk escalates into a reality.

As we navigate life’s challenges and opportunities, adopting a mindset of possibility can profoundly impact our experiences and outcomes. By embracing and practicing possibility, we open ourselves to a world of potential. Possibility is a practice, a discipline that requires consistent effort and mindfulness. By cultivating this mindset, we can enrich our lives and contribute to a more optimistic world. The choice is yours every second of every day: will you spiral downward or radiate possibility? Choose possibility!

Possibility Coffee Mug
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From Tasks to Transformation: Redefining Leadership in the Modern Workplace

“𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨.”

Throughout our careers, Don Tomoff, MBA, and I have prioritized and felt responsible, as part of our leadership goals, for developing the people we work with daily. How can we help others grow through micro-moments of engaging in a learning opportunity and pausing for 5 or 10 minutes to slow down and talk through a challenge or difficult concept?

Over time, everyone becomes stronger as the learning moments compound and then build exponentially over the long haul. Too often, we rush through our days, exclaiming (unfortunately, often proudly), “I am busy! I have too much to do to allow the luxury of slowing down to prioritize learning.” This is shortsighted and a colossal mistake.

Seth Godin recently released a Udemy course, “This is Strategy with Seth Godin.” In Lesson 27, “Toward a Strategic Practice,” he challenges us to think about how we spend our professional time. “We only get today once. It is the asset that each of us gets to deploy once—today. Is it possible to develop a practice of being strategic?”

Seth argues that there are three choices for how we spend our time at work:

* 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 (most people) that can possibly be outsourced.

* 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲. We can be writing specs and managing people who are following the specs (outsourcing possible – not done often enough).

* 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿. “To confront resistance. To become incompetent in the face of learning.” When we lean into these moments (maybe 5 minutes a day), we are truly being strategic.

Exerting emotional labor is the most important work. This is the 5 or 10 minutes that Don and I frequently encourage and challenge others to embrace the discomfort of learning something new. 𝙄𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙐𝙉 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮. Pictured below is a moment of celebration of learning with a previous coworker. Helping others enhance their skills is very gratifying!

2019 – Don and Bill Tomoff with coworker celebrating a learning session!
Continual Education – 5 Hour Rule (Compounding impact)

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Beyond Publication: Embracing the True Value of Writing for Personal Growth

Why do I write?

An unexpected life-enhancing change occurred for me starting on June 8, 2020, when my wife Terri and I enrolled in a community of practice (Writing In Community) dedicated to writing a book over a six-month period. We committed to showing up daily for at least 15 minutes. The process took hold of us, and we both fell in love with writing, which helped us bring clarity to our world. Writing helps us make sense of our thoughts, and we both advocate for encouraging others to adopt regular writing practices!

In my blog post Discovering Myself Through Memoir: A Journey of Self-Reflection and Gratitude, I noted the gift of four unpublished memoirs I completed:

“My efforts have resulted in four unpublished memoirs that I have completed. I have gained tremendous enjoyment from writing these memoirs and fulfillment knowing the thoughts, appreciation, and memories I ultimately leave for my family. The four memoirs have now made it possible to think about and more clearly articulate my body of work through the blessing of my 65-plus years of life.”

Conveying the value that writing has brought to me is difficult to explain. I recently read a beautiful Substack post from Jennifer Loudon that resonated with me. In her post, It’s a Beautiful Thing So Many People Want to Write a Book (or anything for that matter), Jennifer notes:

“A few years ago I was at a dinner party and another woman went on a rant about how people who weren’t talented at writing and hadn’t been published by “real” publishers had no right to call themselves writers. All I could think as she blathered on was, “You poor thing. How badly you must want to write and how harsh someone must have been to you once upon a time.””

“When you use writing to pass what’s in your mind and heart to someone else’s mind and heart, that’s amazing. It’s magic as far as I’m concerned. When you carve meaning out of this chaotic cacophony of life, I applaud you. When you dare to be seen in your own writing, to be seen by you or someone else, what you believe, what you know, what you’ve experienced, that’s glorious. When you offer a hand made of words to another person or yourself, a hand that says, “Take this, use what you need. You are not alone,” that’s making a miracle.

Nobody gets to stop or judge your desire to write and create. And those that try are most likely like the woman at the party — terrified they will die without having declared their stories, their ideas, their spirit. Terrified by the ghosts of judges and gatekeepers and other stifled creatives into a silence that chokes.”

Writing isn’t just for published authors – it’s for everyone. It’s a gift you give yourself and others. So if you want to write anything, please write. You don’t need a published book to be a writer. You need only the courage to put words on a page.

Through writing, I found clarity I never knew I lacked. You, too, will uncover hidden depths within yourself, illuminating your thoughts and experiences in ways you never imagined. Whether you share your words with family and friends, on a blog, or in a book, you’re offering a precious gift.

As Jen beautifully puts it, “When you offer a hand made of words to another person or yourself, a hand that says, ‘Take this, use what you need. You are not alone,’ that’s making a miracle.”

Don’t let anyone discourage your dreams. Don’t let fear silence your voice. Write for yourself, for others, and the sheer joy of creation. Go now and start making your miracle. The world is waiting for your words.

December 2021 – Terri and Bill Tomoff with Books Written
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Beyond the Resume: Embracing the Whole Person in a Work-Life Integrated World

“Everyone has a story.”

There are differing thoughts on how much our personal and professional lives should be balanced. I have evolved through my career to firmly believe in “Work/life integration” vs. “Work/life balance.” The conversation and prevalence of integrating our work and personal lives have been more acutely discussed since the escalation of remote work resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020. In my life, work/life integration was the key to my survival. My son Ryan’s diagnosis of childhood cancer in 1996 demanded a personal commitment and an understanding from my employers and colleagues that is unthinkable in most professional environments. Yet, I was profoundly blessed to have the necessary professional support to survive personally and professionally.

A byproduct of the support I received was that In my leadership roles, I have always sought to understand that we all have stories and challenges in our lives that no one knows about. Caring about others and the macro-level demands they are facing in their lives is an intelligent business strategy, but more importantly, it is the right thing to do. We all are in this life together. In my in-person and social media interactions, I strive to understand the “complete person” regarding their interests, personality, and demands outside their professional roles. A resulting benefit is the building of more productive and genuine relationships. This is the world I want to live in.

As you will note in my blog posts, I fully embrace and share my life experiences. These experiences have shaped me into the person I am today, and they enhance my personal and professional lives.

Through my blog at BillTomoff (dot) com, I have written 71 blog posts from 2017 through July 1, 2024. I share personal and professional thoughts and am interested in helping others. The posts have been compiled in a PDF document, and then I collaborated with Claude AI to summarize “my story” based on my blog content. Anyone desiring to learn more about me could gain insight into my interests, expertise, and personal beliefs (i.e., let’s be kind to each other), and my style may resonate with others. These are the people I want in my tribe to engage and collaborate with!

#TwinzTalk Encouragement – Always be learning and do your best!

Below are my prompt and Claude AI’s [edited] response. Claude did an incredible job providing me with content to start working with. The summary shared is the essence of my life and beliefs, which I am dedicated to living and practicing for the rest of my life.

Prompt:

“Please read and review the attached PDF of blog posts. You are an expert ghostwriter, and I would like you to tell me what is important to the author based on his writing content. Take a deep breath and take your time responding.”

Response:

“Based on a thorough review of the blog posts, here are some key themes and values that appear to be important to the author, Bill Tomoff:

  1. Personal Growth and Continuous Learning: The author emphasizes personal development, lifelong learning, and consistent dedication to improving oneself. He regularly encourages reading, attending courses, and seeking new knowledge.
  2. Family: Family is a central priority for the author. Many posts reference his wife Terri, son Ryan, daughter Olivia, and twin brother Don. His family’s journey through his son’s cancer diagnosis and five-time cancer battles and treatment has profoundly shaped his worldview.
  3. Resilience and Post-Traumatic Growth: The author often discusses the concept of growing stronger through adversity, particularly with his son’s cancer experience. He believes in the possibility of emerging from difficult experiences as an improved, kinder, and more compassionate person.
  4. Kindness and Compassion: Treating others with gentleness and kindness is a recurring theme. The author frequently encourages readers to be tolerant, patient, and understanding of others, as everyone is fighting their own battles.
  5. Gratitude: The author emphasizes the importance of a grateful outlook on life, even during challenging times.
  6. Time Management and Prioritization: Many posts discuss the importance of using time wisely, focusing on what truly matters, and learning to say no to less important commitments.
  7. Stoicism: The author frequently references Stoic philosophy and its principles, which he strives to apply to challenges in his daily life.
  8. Helping Others: There’s a strong emphasis on using one’s skills and experiences to benefit others, whether through professional work, volunteering, or everyday interactions. “We rise by lifting others.”
  9. Technology and Innovation: The author and his twin are passionate about leveraging technology to enhance personal and professional effectiveness and create a greater possibility of making a more significant contribution to the world.
  10. Health and Self-Care: Physical health and mental well-being are recurring themes, with the author emphasizing the importance of self-care practices.
  11. Professional Excellence: The author does not prioritize career over family but values doing one’s best work and continually improving professional skills.
  12. Community and Connection: The author values and encourages participation in supportive online and in-person communities (social media and communities of practice).
  13. Writing and Reflection: Writing itself is an important practice for the author, serving as a tool for processing experiences and sharing insights.

These themes interweave throughout the blog posts, painting a picture of an individual deeply committed to personal growth, family, kindness, and positively impacting the world around him.”

Through sharing my story in my blog posts, I’ve realized that our personal and professional lives are intricately intertwined. All of our experiences can bring more value to our lives and others. The experiences that have shaped me have profoundly influenced my approach to work and life. Being open about these experiences will inspire a world where we see each other as individuals with meaningful lives beyond our professional roles. We can create more genuine connections by embracing kindness, continuous learning, and a willingness to help others. As we move forward, let’s remember that everyone has a story – and by taking the time to understand these stories, we can build a more compassionate and integrated world, both in and out of the workplace.

What is your story?

2024-03-13 – Bill Tomoff with Four Memoirs Written
April 15, 2023 Family in London Attending Tottenham Spurs EPL Game
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The Power of No: Reclaiming Your Time Through Intentional Decision-Making

Let’s empower ourselves by recognizing the critical importance of our choices with the time we are blessed with. In my blog post, Time Wealth: Prioritizing Mental Bandwidth in the Knowledge Economy, I discussed my time crisis and the resulting awareness that my choices of priorities were essential to surviving my son Ryan’s battles with childhood cancer and beyond.

Shortly after, a Daily Stoic email resonated deeply with the core of my message. The post, titled ‘Do You Dominate the Battlespace?‘ by Ryan Holiday, echoes the importance of our mental battlespace. He urges us to take control. He explains:

“All of these things are vying for what military strategists today would call “the battlespace.” Our mind is a contested bit of territory, with many people seeking to control what we call “the empire between your ears” – Why? Because your brain, your attention, is valuable. People want you to think about certain things and not think about certain things–because it’s good for business, because it makes you easier to control.”

“So you must dominate this battlespace. It is you who must assert yourself over yourself.”

“We too must grab the reins of our mind, set up boundaries against distraction, push away intrusive thoughts, tune out nonsense and noise. That’s what Stoicism is, as we wrote recently, it’s the gladiator stepping out into the arena of the mind, dominating the battlespace, controlling their own mind…because the alternative–letting the enemy dominate, letting your mind be controlled by someone or something else–is just unthinkable.”

This passage sums up well that our mind is under our control. Yet, too often, we give away our time by allowing our minds to be engaged in meaningless or dangerous activities. This is why we must be aware and establish boundaries to protect our mental well-being.

In addition to maintaining healthy boundaries around where we are willing to apply our precious time and minds, we must strive to continually learn and grow in ways that permit us to maximize the use of our time and mental bandwidth.

I have discovered several posts that resonate with the importance of managing our minds and being judicious about where we prioritize our time. Rajesh Setty is a favorite follow on my LinkedIn. This post, “One Approach to Cultivate a Beautiful Mind Garden,” was inspiring and thought-provoking. I encourage you to follow Rajesh and read his entire post, but consider this insight he shared:

“A beautiful garden has good plants and trees that bear fruits and flowers. It also lacks weeds that grow easily on their own. Removing weeds takes effort. If you don’t maintain the garden, weeds will grow, requiring more time to remove them. This means less time for nurturing the beautiful parts of the garden.

The same goes for the mind. Information doesn’t come with nutrition labels. When information enters your mind through news, ideas, conversations, projects, and work, there’s usually no filter. Your mind will use it’s previous capacity to process this unfiltered information even to determine the nature (good, bad, relevant, irrelevant etc.) of it. In the world where both people and machines are creating content at breathtaking speed, you can easily get carried away in one or the other content rabbit holes.

To make a beautiful garden of the mind, use the power of curation. In my life, I prioritize curation highly. I don’t watch news or read newspapers unless someone points out something relevant to the projects I am involved and something that’s within my sphere of influence. Occasionally, I let my mind wander by design to ensure that there is room for some surprise and serendipity.”

In addition to remaining aware and informed of our choices to prioritize our mind share, we should filter what we dedicate our time and energies to as best as possible. Here are a few steps to quickly help in assessing choices:

  1. Do I need to be involved? Eliminating unnecessary involvement of your energy is the number one time hack.
  2. If I need to be involved, how can I maximize my impact with the least mental energy and time commitment?
  3. Will my involvement allow me to grow and help others in the future? Note that having opinions, being judgemental, and expending energy toward gossip and mainstream news are time sucks, taking away from making a meaningful contribution to ourselves and others.
  4. Once I dedicate my time, am I prepared to make the best use of it, or am I doing something I love, like spending time with family and hobbies? Think of the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule.

A few additional resources that have resonated with me:

A Learning a Day blog shared two concepts that are worth understanding. For many decisions, we must be aware of the time we commit and contemplate, “What is the minimum viable information I need to get moving and get comfortable with a decision?“

Directional Answers and Precise Answers

“I use a simple rule of thumb for the difference between attempting to convert a directional answer into a precise answer—10x+ time investment.”

In our lives and with our #TwinzTalk initiative, Don and I have given ourselves a disproportionate advantage by seeking directional answers to get us moving forward. Technology testing and adoption have always started with a vision of the potential rather than a precise answer to the ultimate benefit. Seeking directional insight vs. [often unattainable] precision, we can reach more learning opportunities and possibilities to leverage technology.

Tanmay Vora Sketchnote – Move and the Way Appears

Satisficers and Maximizers

“Barry Schwartz’s research showed that people tend to fall into one of two groups when making decisions – he called these groups satisficers and maximizers. Maximizers desire the best possible result, while satisficers desire a result that is good enough to meet some criterion. That doesn’t necessarily mean satisficers settle for crap. Their criteria could be lofty – but, as long as it meets that criteria, they don’t care about it being the best.

Barry Schwartz argues that satisficers tend to be happier than maximizers as maximizers spend a lot of time and energy on many decisions that just don’t matter as much.”

Don and I both share the satisficer tendency. We have saved ourselves time and energy, while also being content with our decisions. Talk about a win-win!

Maximizing everything is time-consuming. The number of choices available to us is overwhelming. Settling on “good enough” is a gift we can give ourselves. If you have yet to see Barry Schwartz’s TED Talk, The Paradox of Choice, prioritize time to watch it. I guarantee a few laughs and several “aha” moments.

In today’s world, where information is everywhere and everything moves fast, managing what we think about and focus on is important. By understanding how valuable our time and attention are, setting clear limits on what we let in, and being careful about what we think, we can live a more focused life, get more done, and feel more satisfied. The secret is making smart choices on purpose. Our most valuable thing isn’t money or material possessions – it’s our limited time and brain power. If we focus on what’s really important and let go of the rest, we can build “time-wealth.” This means we have time to grow, do good things for the world, and live happier lives. We all have the power to control what goes on in our minds – so let’s make wise choices. 

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Personal Connection: How One Question Transformed an Advanced Excel and Generative AI Presentation

I have joined an initiative with Katy Dalgleish, Julie Rains, and my wife, Terri. We meet virtually once or twice weekly to discuss Seth’s lessons in “This is Strategy.”

While we quickly cover a lot of ground, and Seth’s messages deserve greater focus and discussion, I enjoy the process from the perspective that “we never know where thoughts/ideas will collide,” and a practical use application will surface.

During a drive to Ocean City, MD, for the Maryland Government Finance Officers Association (MDGFOA) conference, I was contemplating Seth’s video five, which highlighted “16 questions to begin” as we approach the work of strategy.

While Don and I find our personal development work very compelling, convincing others of the value of committing their time to investing in themselves is a huge obstacle. As Seth notes in video five, “They don’t know what you know. They don’t want what you want.” These two sentences sat with me while we were driving and talking about the presentation Don would share over three and one-half hours starting at 1:00 PM.

How could we modify the presentation to turn the attention of the attendees and emphasize our mission is to enhance their professional performance and ability to contribute exponentially?

June 26, 2024 | Don and Bill Tomoff at Maryland Government Finance Officers Association Conference

Within the 16 questions, the following five reminded me that answers to these questions might help inspire the attendees to dedicate themselves to embracing personal growth. With each question, I have added brief thoughts on how our work impacts those on the receiving side:

Am I changing someone’s status quo?

Learning and development do change someone’s status quo. Embracing the initiative of personal growth is a commitment and a change that many find difficult. It often involves discomfort and requires time prioritization involving tradeoffs we would rather not deal with. The easy answer is to avoid changing anything in our daily lives that is already working for us.

Why would anyone voluntarily choose to be part of this work?

If you ask anyone, “Would you like to improve your critical thinking, skill set, and ability to contribute more significantly?” Most people would respond with a resounding “YES!” Choosing this more challenging yet rewarding path of personal development will change your life as the daily effort compounds over time, and the gratifying reward of growth becomes a part of your daily life.

What will they tell their colleagues?

Don and I think the magic can begin when word of mouth spreads to colleagues. As we learn and experience the rewards of learning, helping others must become an individual practice. Avid learners love to help others by sharing their expertise. And when we teach, we learn more.

Who gains in status, affiliation and power by supporting this work?

When personal development is embraced, the enhanced talents are noticed in the long run. By their example, learners inspire others to learn and can be recognized for their contributing abilities. The learner reaches levels of performance that are noticed by others. As learners are noticed, their status, affiliation, and power will grow.

Will early support translate into more support later?

Early support and the possible success that others achieve can elevate word-of-mouth and create a snowball of support as even more learn about successes achieved because of an individual decision to invest in themselves. Witnessing the growth of others and the successes they reach is very gratifying for Don and me. 

We hoped to change the “vibe” of the presentation, so we started with a heartfelt question. This start was as if we were sitting down and sharing a sincere conversation, saying, “We are on your side, and we want to help you.”

“Before we get started, I would like everyone to take a minute and reflect on the following: “What are two or three of the most important things in your life? Not only professionally, but overall.”

Posing this question and the ensuing brief conversation about “What is important to YOU?” made the audience more curious and receptive.

The responses we have received were in line with our thoughts and included the following:

  • Family
  • Focusing on self-care
  • Enjoying hobbies
  • Making a difference
  • Feeling a greater purpose

“Our goal today? We want to help you reclaim your time to enable you to prioritize more time for the most important aspects of your life.”

Then, towards the end of the day, to wrap the session, Don reiterated:

“Remember, the overall theme of what we are doing today: We want to help you reclaim your time for the most important things in your life.”

The session and the audience engagement were inspiring. Had our last-minute modification to starting the presentation made a difference for the entire day? We believe so and plan to continue using and refining this change in future presentations!

During our debrief of the presentation, Don and I agreed that starting with the personal question, “What is most important to you?” changed the tone of the entire day. The attendees’ engagement during the session and one-on-one discussions afterward led us to conclude that we must build this momentum into the future!

To help evaluate and evolve the approach in the future, I collaborated with ChatGPT to assess our thoughts and then asked for suggestions for improvement. The response from ChatGPT has spurred our creativity. The prompt and response are provided below.

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Collaboration with ChatGPT

Prompt:

My twin Don and I are working on modifying the kickoff to our discussions about technology and gen AI adoption (e.g., ChatGPT) when making presentations. Focusing on the audience and asking them to consider what is most important in their lives is a way to increase interest and curiosity and ultimately encourage the adoption of our suggestions.

Please read the revision below and let us know your thoughts. You are an expert presenter who can inspire others to take action. Please take a deep breath and carefully think before you respond. This change is significant, and we want it to have the maximum effect on the success of our efforts.

“Before we get started, I would like everyone to take one minute and reflect on the following: “What are two or three of the most important things in your life? Not only professionally, but overall.”

Started the session with this question. Posing this question and the brief conversation about “What is important to YOU?” made the audience more curious and receptive.

Responses included:

  • Family
  • self-care
  • hobbies
  • greater purpose

“Our goal today? We want to help you reclaim your time to enable you to prioritize more time for the most important aspects in your life.”

to wrap the session:

“Remember, the overall theme of what we are doing today: We want to help you reclaim your time for the most important things in your life.”

Response:

Your revised approach for the kickoff of your technology and AI adoption discussions is well-crafted and focuses on what truly matters to the audience. Here’s a refined version to enhance clarity, engagement, and the impact of your presentation:

Opening:

“Before we get started, I’d like everyone to take a moment and reflect on this question: ‘What are the two or three most important things in your life, not just professionally, but overall?'”

Pause for reflection.

“Take a minute to think about it. What truly matters to you? Responses included:

  • Family
  • Self-care
  • Hobbies
  • Greater purpose

Starting our session with this question often makes everyone more curious and receptive.”

Transition:

“Our goal today is to help you reclaim time to prioritize what’s most important in your life.”

Wrap-up:

“Remember, the overall theme of what we are doing today is to help you reclaim your time for the most important things in your life.”

Thoughts and Suggestions:

1. Engagement: Starting with a reflective question is a great way to engage the audience and make the session personal. This strategy fosters a connection between the technology you’re discussing and the audience’s personal lives, making your message more relatable and compelling.

2. Clarity: By clearly listing typical responses, you guide the audience in their reflection and make it easier for them to relate.

3. Consistency: Repeating the theme of reclaiming time throughout your presentation reinforces your message and keeps the audience focused on the ultimate benefit of adopting the technology.

4. Empathy: Your approach shows empathy and understanding of the audience’s needs and values, which can increase their openness to your suggestions.

This refined structure ensures your presentation is engaging, clear, and impactful, helping you achieve your goal of fostering curiosity and adoption of your recommendations.