I write/send “The Note” about once a week. (Past episodes here http://ReflectivePractice.space)

Y.5 N.14 - Books, Bots, and Building Leadership Skills

Hi ,

Hey from 37,000 feet, I’m en route to Seattle. 

This week … it's a big one:

I’ll spend two days with Airmen and Soldiers at JBLM and then I’ll participate in a buddy’s retirement ceremony in DC. 

Yup, that’s two Washingtons in 4 days!

So, three things to share about what I'm consuming and talkin' about these days.

1. Books: I read 3 books over the past week or so; one of them was a re-read from a LONG time ago, one of Erich Fromm's books. Of course, he's not for everyone. If you're looking for another way to think about some of the common current-event-type stuff that you're reading about, I recommend it. One of the things I hadn't realized (or remembered) was just how much a "Mexico" influence he had that showed up in his writings.

A recent fav quote (from On Being Human) is, “One must first become aware of who we are, what drives us, and where we are going.”

I love that! Here's another (longer) quote that has me reflecting on a couple of work projects I'm managing:

2. Videos: I am focused, more and more on consuming any short video that’s high in content regarding prompt engineering and building large language models. I am having so much fun practicing prompting different ideas and goals; I am confident that my question-asking skills have been tested over the past few months since experimenting with platforms such as Ask Sage, chat, and GPT.

I always hesitate to recommend videos for people to watch as I always encourage the starting point B algorithmic before directive. If you open any search engine, that you type queries into (a social media feed such as Instagram, Amazon, Google, or any other platform, you frequent) search for terms such as:

• “Prompt engineering”
• “Effective prompts for AI”
• “How do I prompt a large language model?”

I wonder what YOUR apps give you… If you’re up for it, take a screenshot after you type in the first query, I would love to see it.

3. Conversation: During a #CoffeeChat this morning with a group of college students who chose to meet up and talk about leading…themselves and others. While I used all my coaching skills to engage the small group, at one point a student looked at Jodi and asked, “What was the most challenging thing for you professionally?” I quickly added, “so far!” and we all laughed. 

Then, Jodi and I shared for a little while. I didn’t want to get too detailed or deep into a lot of the hardships, but I did talk about the decision we made to move to Alabama. Steve Jobs reminds us in his TED talk at Stanford that things can make more sense when we look backward. I had no clue - could not even have started to make it up – just how positive moving to Montgomery to teach at Air University would have on my life. It has changed me, shaped me, and made me a better man. As I looked out at these students while I was sharing a bit of our story. All I could do was smile with hope, thinking to myself how amazing it is that they were all there to develop themselves both personally and professionally. I know that my mentor, Frances, would be proud.

Ok, I’m callin’ it a night. Be well out there!

V/r,

JW

PS: I work with the Space Force now…and this article offers a “mid-level” review and update on what our branch covers. Basically: Everything!

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/magazine/space-force.html