If you walk into the Parthenon or paddle at dawn on Joe Lake, it’s easy to feel a sense of wonder.
And waiting in a long line for an important flight can trigger frustration.
But much of the time, our state is automatic.
What’s your default? Satisfied, bitter, anxious, sad, curious, grateful, energized, disappointed, exhausted, eager, bored, hopeful, frustrated, overwhelmed, inspired or nostalgic…
If we can trigger one for six minutes, perhaps we can do it for an hour.
We’re more likely to perform what we rehearse.
When a new technology arrives, it appears unpolished, ill-formed and a bit wonky.
As it gains traction, existing industries and processes begin to be threatened, often before their replacements in the new technology are fully ready.
This is how Napster showed up for the music business, or email for faxes, or television for radio. Same with online shopping, smart phones and online learning.
The pointy part is the precipice–a shard where change is inevitable, but also feels fraught. The biggest gap between fear and hope. This is when foreboding in the existing industries begins to peak, and it’s not clear that the new tech is going to be able to absorb the energy, investment and attention of folks who can feel the old ways slipping away.
Right now, we’re seeing the beginning of that phase for AI.
People are either concerned about the future of their old ways, or in denial and ignoring what’s going on around them.
I’ve never seen a smooth handoff between technology regimes, and I’m not expecting one now. Not-smooth doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen, though.
Organizations and leaders can’t wait until the next steps are obvious and safe. At that point, it’s too late.
Professionals use specs to invite others to participate in the work.
One kind of spec outlines the solution. In clear language, it defines the work to be done. A good solution spec defines an outcome with no room for error or variety. “It’s this. Not that, not that, but this. If it’s this, we’re done.”
The other kind of spec outlines the problem. It invites team members to innovate on the way to producing a solution. “If it solves this problem within these constraints, we’re done.”
Neither effective spec approach involves “I’ll know it when I see it.” A spec eliminates mindreading and guesswork.
About thirty years ago, Jerry Shereshewsky invented “Cyber Monday” as an alternative to Black Friday. The idea was that you’d wait until you got to work on Monday after the Thanksgiving break (where there was high speed internet and you wanted to avoid doing drudge work) to do your shopping from your desk. After all, who wants to get trampled at a big box store?
Of course, since then, the hype machine that is Black Friday has shifted its focus from mobs in the store to mobs online. And the media is still all in in promoting the orgy of consumption and fake deals that happens today.
We’re still going to shop for the holidays. A blog post probably isn’t going to change that. But perhaps we can counter the downward spiral of Amazon’s recommendations, fake reviews and search ads with some AI oomph of our own.
With Claude’s help I built a simple “project” that lets me automatically do powerful research and searches with no junk or distractions. Here’s a bit of what it gave me when I asked it for ‘healthy dog chews’:
If you have a claude.ai account, here’s how to do it. It takes about a minute to set it up. You’ll find that the searches are way slower than the instant overoptimized Amazon results, and the pause is worth it.
Open your Claude account on the web or in their app and look for PROJECTS on the left hand column. Until Claude taught me about this, I had no idea it existed.
Start a new project. Name it something fun and then hit Create Project to save it.
On the next page, it will ask you to “add instructions”. Hit the plus sign to the right…
Copy what’s below and you’re done. Now, every time you do a search with this project, you’ll find thoughtfully researched results. As a bonus, I’ve added a line that adds my affiliate code, which generates royalties for charity (this year, it’s buildon.org.) Feel free to delete that or substitute your own.
All you need to do is hit the + sign in the basic Claude user text entry box every time you want to use it. The first choice is “use a project”.
One other benefit: when it finds something great that’s not on Amazon, you’ll know it when you click through and it’s not there. Then you can go buy it somewhere else…
Okay, here’s the text to copy and paste:
You help people find products worth buying by cutting through Amazon’s ad-filled, fake-review-laden search results. When someone tells you what they’re looking for, do actual research and recommend 4-5 genuinely good options.
How to research:
Use web search for every query. Check multiple source types:
What to deliver:
Start with 2-3 sentences of context: what matters in this category, common mistakes to avoid, or pitfalls.
Then give 4-5 picks. For each:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=[search+terms]&tag=permissionmarket-20Tone:
Be opinionated. If something is the clear winner, say so. If a category has safety issues or scams, warn them. You’re a knowledgeable friend who actually did the homework—not a hedging AI or a generic listicle.
Don’t recommend anything you couldn’t verify across multiple sources. If you can’t research a category well, say so.
Have fun!
Empathy is difficult. I’m not you, I can’t imagine the path you’ve traveled, the stories you tell yourself and the pressures you’re under.
But real gratitude requires empathy. Everyone is under the circumstances. Everyone does the best they think they can with the options they think they have.
All of us know what something is worth to us, but we often don’t think much about how much it cost.
Once we understand this, it’s easier to embrace the kindness and opportunities that people offer us.
PS here’s my favorite Thanksgiving Day post. It’s every day if we let it. Sending good vibes and hugs to you and your family.
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