I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
How to keep your job when AI takes over
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Hey Reader, What happens when AI gets better at what you do? You've probably heard people say, "AI won’t take your job, but someone who knows how to use AI will." I actually think AI will take your job. And mine too. But more on that in a minute. I mentioned a couple weeks ago that there are no more long careers. Careers used to last a lifetime. Now they might be more like 10 months. So how do you make yourself valuable at work? More essential? No matter what role you're in, you need to think about the outcomes your work creates. For example, say you're a content creator at a company. The micro outcome might be, "Get this post published by 3pm." But that's just a task. The real outcome is driving tens of thousands of potential customers to discover your company through social media. That's what actually matters to the business. You have to move up a layer—go from thinking about rote tasks to thinking about what outcome you're creating. Another example: we have a manager at Kit Studios who could focus on making the five creators in the studio happy each day. That's the immediate task. But if she wants to make herself essential, she'll think bigger about greater initiatives and outcomes. The entire initiative is about brand building, and creating goodwill for the company, and growing the company. Looking at it through that lens changes everything. Now she's thinking: How can we make sure the right people are here? How can we create such a good experience they tell their friends who then sign up for Kit? If you want to keep your job when everything else gets automated, you need to think about outcomes:
Pick one project you're working on right now and ask yourself: what outcome is this really trying to create? PODCASTFrom Jail to $30M: How I Rebuilt My Life and CareerRyan Beck went from a police raid at 18 to co-founding a $30M company. In this episode, he shares how Pray.com became a platform reaching 10M people a month and what modern creators can learn from the systems churches have used for decades. We cover:
If you want to scale community, content, and revenue, there's a lot to learn from here. Watch or listen to episode » ARTICLEThe State Change Method: How to deliver engaging live lectures on ZoomIf you've ever taught online and watched people's eyes glaze over, this article by Wes Kao has a simple solution: create a "state change" every 3-5 minutes. This could be breakout rooms, chat responses, or just having someone else talk for a bit. The idea is that humans naturally tune out during long monologues, but we perk up when something shifts. She breaks down the psychology behind this and gives practical examples you can use right away. JOIN ME IN BOISECome on my podcastI’ve got a couple slots for our next podcast recording event September 15th–16th. Want to come to Boise to join me on my show? You can also record some content at Kit Studios while you're here. Apply to be on the podcast » Have a great week! —Nathan |
Nathan Barry
I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
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Hey Reader, Imagine someone bought your business tomorrow. What's the first thing they would change? Maybe they'd raise prices. Or fire that team member who's been dragging things down. Would they automate the task you've been doing manually for years? Hire for the role you keep saying you'll fill eventually? When I ask creators this question, they usually know the answer immediately. They don't even need to think about it. The answer is already sitting there, waiting. You probably know what...
Hey Reader, "I will write 1,000 words every day." That's the commitment I made in 2012 that changed my life. I ended up writing 100,000 words in 100 days and went on to write 266,000 words in a year. I wrote every day for nearly two years before finally breaking the chain. Writing consistently continues to be one of the most important habits of my career. So when my coach asked me what I'd regret not doing the most if I imagined my life 5 to 10 years from now, my answer surprised me: writing...