What Human Challenges Could You Conquer If Freed From the Mundane? We will begin with a team leader role
In my article the previous week, I began to explore this journey of AI. “AI’s latest leaps are game-changing. Will we see this as losing jobs or freeing us to be creative & solve big needs? If we see our role as fixing human problems, AI becomes an ally.”
If we reframe our current role as not the tasks we do today, but the human problems we solve, we will see this as a great opportunity. The hard part is identifying what human problems we solve. I had promised to begin working through this with you, taking different roles, for example, one at a time. As we do that, in parallel, we will also work to build a framework that you could apply to any role.
To initiate this journey, I’ll start with my role as a prototype.
What human problems?
To get there I need to approach my role from different angles. Being a part of a company allows me to align my responsibilities with the company’s vision, mission, and objectives. I can connect with those to identify the human problems I love solving.
I manage multiple organizations, presenting an opportunity to connect my role with the value these organizations bring to customers, financial performance, and people in various teams.
My rich professional journey encompasses diverse industries, business domains, technologies, and leadership roles, forming a substantial foundation upon which I can build my role. Another area.
Throughout my career, I have encountered and successfully addressed a plethora of challenges faced by humanity. Should I compile a comprehensive list of these challenges and opportunities?
Should I come from the behavior side? My basic personality traits are often classified as “solid yellow”, introvert, direct, feeler, and so on.
Or maybe approach this from a different angle — identifying my strengths. I excel at problem-solving, finding solutions not problems, hiring, and developing exceptional leaders. I gave to list two things, they would my synthetic problem-solving abilities and my aptitude for leadership development.
Understanding Synthetic Problem Solving: For those unfamiliar with synthetic problem solving, it involves envisioning the future. This approach entails comprehending a problem and its potential solutions through a futuristic lens. It amalgamates perception, knowledge, and imagination to formulate comprehensive problem definitions and alternative solutions. In contrast, analytical problem-solving dissects intricate issues into smaller components, potentially resulting in unintended side effects. Synthetic problem-solving adopts a forward-looking approach, envisioning “what could be” and determining “what should be.” It assembles different components to provide a broader problem framing and alternative solutions, focusing on holistic, system-wide thinking.
What would be the Scope of Addressable Human Problems?
The scope of human problems I can address seems virtually limitless. I can choose any challenge, gather a team of skilled experts, leverage my synthetic problem-solving skills, agree upon a vision and approach, mentor and guide the team, and ensure the successful execution of the solution. The breadth of problems I can potentially address is astounding.
However, certain challenges resonate with me more strongly, igniting a passion to resolve them. Factors such as personal commitment, location, available time, and deep-rooted needs and concerns will influence my choice of challenges. Yet, within this vast expanse, there is ample room for me to focus on many problems and provide impactful solutions.
Then for me is AI an opportunity or concern?
Am I apprehensive about its implications? Not at all. The opportunities AI presents are too vast for any concerns to outweigh them. The plethora of options available to me ensures that AI does not limit me in any way, at least during my remaining lifetime.
While factors like location, time, financial resources, prior experiences, and network connections may impose certain constraints on my endeavors, the space within which I can operate remains substantial. AI doesn’t cause me worry because it cannot replicate what I do today. My steadfast adherence to the principles of learning, educating, and duplicating has fortified this belief to get me to this place.
Does AI aid me in my endeavors? Undoubtedly. Rather than allowing AI to dictate my future, I seize the initiative to wield AI’s potential in shaping my destiny. While I can work on numerous fronts, the limitations of a 24-hour day and the need for rest and sustenance necessitate efficient time management. Let’s delve into how AI can optimize my time.
How could I leverage AI?
A significant portion of my work entails communicating with various stakeholders using diverse channels like one-pagers, documents, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, and charts. Compiling my thoughts in one centralized location enables me to synthesize and document my expertise, learnings, and research data. I find it serene and peaceful to write my thoughts out.
However, the challenge lies in organizing this wealth of information, structuring it for diverse conversations, and rectifying grammatical errors. AI steps in to simplify this task. By inputting my content into an AI tool, I can generate a well-structured, grammatically sound document tailored to the intended audience. Then I can edit to ensure the output resonates with my voice and context, no AI-generated content, only my content. AI significantly expedites this process. Takes weeks off my plate!
More possibilities for the future!
Beyond communication, I invest considerable time in creating functional architectures, sourcing suitable images, and analyzing extensive datasets to refine my charts. Occasionally, collaboration with a BI Engineer or Data Scientist from my team is essential.
The promising AI tools I’ve experimented with, though in their nascent stages, hold the potential to handle these tasks effectively soon. With AI streamlining these operations, I anticipate saving a substantial chunk of time — potentially 25%-50% — which I can redirect towards brainstorming, mentoring, strategic planning, networking, and talent acquisition, ultimately amplifying my value proposition within the organization. I have already started reaching out to various peers and leaders, I have started to learn more so I can execute something new and duplicate someone new.
Let’s begin with that Framework that you could apply.
As I wrap up my analysis of my role, I look forward to engaging with various individuals both within and outside my company who are in many diverse roles. I will interview them, apply this framework, and share with you how each person in those roles, is thinking about this. I will also adjust this framework if needed based on those interactions.
Will try to update one article on this topic by learning from individuals in different roles every week.
I leave you with this MVP framework to apply to your role:
- Identify your core strengths: Recognize what consistently garners praise and positive feedback, defining your unique value.
- Link your strengths to higher human purposes: Understand how your strengths address universal human needs and challenges, making this connection explicit.
- Recognize the expansive opportunities at your disposal: Combine your strengths with your human purpose to envision the vast possibilities available to you.
- Leverage AI tools to streamline your work: Identify how AI can alleviate routine tasks, enabling you to focus on your strengths and the value they generate, fueling your enthusiasm for exploring available AI tools.
I hope this article has provided more specific and helpful insights to you.
Until next time, Cheers,
Amit
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