Why Are We Here? Seems like a good set of people, but everyone is looking at each other, wondering what is happening. It’s nefarious; it’s just.. confusing and agenda-less. Why Am I Here? It seems like a good set of people, but I have no clue how I’m relevant to this meeting. I will sit… more
When your favorite software tool receives a major update, it’s all dread. It’s not you expect them to ruin the application (although possible); it is because it’s your favorite tool, you know all the intricacies of how it works, and you know exactly how you need it to work. This is not a casual tool.… more
You’ve had a small number of career-defining moments. These are the select few moments in time when the trajectory of your career changed instantly and drastically. I have two buckets of these: ones I expected and ones that completely blindsided me. While the surprise and subsequent scrambling involved in being blindsided are chock full of… more
In the hallway, late on Thursday, someone tells a bit of information about your product that is 100% provably not true. You laugh, wink at the person, and say, “That’s goofy. What reasonable human would believe that?” And that conversation moves on. Two hours later, different locations, different humans, and different contexts. Same exact piece… more
One of my least favorite moments as a leader, specifically your leader, is when you ask me to make the decision. First, yes, I know it’s my job to make these decisions, especially the complicated and high-risk ones. Second, it’s true I’ve acquired ample experience over the last thirty years, and the chance I can… more
In our 76th episode, we freestyle a list of the seven types of managers on the planet. There are more, but here are seven. Enjoy it now, or download for later. Here’s a handy feed or subscribe via Overcast or iTunes. https://traffic.libsyn.com/rands/theimportantthing0076.mp3
In our 75th episode, we’re talking shoes. Only 25 episodes left… and we’re talking shoes. Ok. Enjoy it now, or download for later. Here’s a handy feed or subscribe via Overcast or iTunes. https://traffic.libsyn.com/rands/theimportantthing0075.mp3
In our 74th episode, I swear we are only talking about one Important Thing, but I may be AI hallucinating. Enjoy it now, or download for later. Here’s a handy feed or subscribe via Overcast or iTunes. https://traffic.libsyn.com/rands/theimportantthing0074.mp3
Gruber alerted me to the new beta of Photoshop with a compelling name: generative fill. The pitch: ask the robots to fill in parts of your existing photograph with, well, whatever you want. Yes, I am not showing these initial trials deliberately. The first case I tried was inserting an object into a photograph. A… more
Everyone has AI fever in our 73rd episode where — and you better get used to it — we are talking about those robots again. Enjoy it now, or download for later. Here’s a handy feed or subscribe via Overcast or iTunes. https://traffic.libsyn.com/rands/theimportantthing0073.mp3