Renia (pronounced R-EE-n-a) Carsillo hates business silos and marketing hacks. So, she spends her days working with mid-size and small companies to integrate their business strategy with their impact strategy, design sustainable marketing frameworks, and find a growth cadence that works for their team and their lives. Renia believes founders are uniquely positioned to create a kinder, more equitable world. She is passionate about bringing C-level strategic support to the small and mid-size companies shaping their communities every day. Renia says, "Sustainable marketing is built on a solid business strategy. A solid business strategy is built on values-driven habits. Values-driven habits are built on healed/healing leaders. We can’t do these things separately. They’re all interconnected. ”
Skills You Can’t Afford to Outsource: Places AI Can't Help Your Business, Part 3 [Two on Tuesdays]
|
Happy Tuesday, Reader! We've been exploring where AI shortcuts can actually hurt your business. This week we’re focusing on the hidden cost of making your work too easy. Deep learning and maintaining creative skills require cognitive strain. If we’re not careful, what helps us in the short run (freeing up cognitive load with AI tools) can hurt us in the long run. It's crucial to make thoughtful choices about where the trade-off of short-term ease for long-term skill development is worth it, and where it's best avoided entirely. Realign with the Human Skill of Strengths Building Cal Newport puts it perfectly: "In a learning environment, the feeling of strain is often a by-product of getting smarter. To minimize this strain is like using an electric scooter to make the marches easier in military boot camp; it will accomplish this goal in the short term, but it defeats the long-term conditioning purposes of the marches." The newer you are in your career or the less you know about something, the more hazardous it becomes to rely on AI for support. This is especially true in areas where you need or want expertise. Before integrating an AI tool, ask yourself: How much does your work rely on that particular skill? For example, strategic thinking and storytelling are my most important skills when it comes to making the impact I want to make and earning a decent living. Therefore, it would be extremely hazardous to let those skills atrophy by relying too heavily on AI. On the flip side, I'm finally getting serious about developing my almost nonexistent graphic design skills. I'm using AI tools to help design a learning journey, but I'm doing the early heavy lifting of composition myself. Even though AI can do it faster and better, I can't reach a higher level of understanding without putting in the reps. Natural Ability + Practice = Strength When I am weighing the pros and cons of using AI for a task, I think of it like training in the gym: We only get the gains we work for, and we only keep the gains we practice with. Don Clifton, the founder of Clifton Strengths, offers this formula: Talent + Investment = Strength. Without practice (i.e., deep learning, putting in the reps, etc.), we lose what we've built. The key to deciding whether or not to use AI is being intentional about where you choose struggle over shortcuts. Where are the skills that define your unique value? Where do you need to maintain your competitive edge through human capability rather than artificial assistance? I'm very much in the process of figuring this out myself. We're working on a tool for choosing the best places to use AI versus where to avoid it in your work, and I'd love to know how you're navigating this balance today. Is your organization thinking about this strategic trade-off? Share your experience. When was the last time you developed a brand new skill? Reply to this email and tell me about how it started for you. Until next time,
|
Renia Carsillo
Renia (pronounced R-EE-n-a) Carsillo hates business silos and marketing hacks. So, she spends her days working with mid-size and small companies to integrate their business strategy with their impact strategy, design sustainable marketing frameworks, and find a growth cadence that works for their team and their lives. Renia believes founders are uniquely positioned to create a kinder, more equitable world. She is passionate about bringing C-level strategic support to the small and mid-size companies shaping their communities every day. Renia says, "Sustainable marketing is built on a solid business strategy. A solid business strategy is built on values-driven habits. Values-driven habits are built on healed/healing leaders. We can’t do these things separately. They’re all interconnected. ”
Happy Tuesday, Reader! It's not groundbreaking news at this point, but study after study shows us that digital-first relationships make us less happy and aren't fulfilling in the same ways as face-to-face connections. Despite being more connected than ever, we're in the midst of a loneliness epidemic, and AI tools only exacerbate the problem. This has a real impact on our humanity, which is (spoiler alert) also screwing over our work lives. The solution is simple, if not easy: Get...
Why Follow-Through is Still Human Work: Places AI Can't Help Your Business, Part 4 [Two on Tuesdays]
Happy Tuesday, Reader! Today’s AI tools make starting things easier than ever. For example, much has been written about how helpful ChatGPT is at getting from blank page to rough draft for writers. But here's what no algorithm can do for you: the discipline of finishing. There are 99 days left in 2025. We're in that magic momentum cycle where hitting those big goals and leaning into the intentions we set in our planning sessions becomes not just possible, but natural. Realign with the Human...
Happy Tuesday, Reader! Much has been written about AI's usefulness for evaluating work quality. But the more we experiment with it, the more we're realizing that quality feedback is still surprisingly difficult to get from a bot, especially for those actively trying to improve their skills. Effective feedback, particularly on creative work, remains inherently human. AI might eventually replicate it, but today it simply doesn't (at least not nearly as well as many believe) Realign with the...