But we don’t need to feel the weight of all existence bearing down on us. We don’t owe the past, and the future is uncertain. We only know history to the extent that it is meaningful to us now. And we only know the future as a set of possibilities determined in some small, unpredictable (albeit significant) part by what we do in the moment.
Continue ReadingAuthor: Timothy Harfield
What is Intelligent Automation? How getting it wrong can stifle Digital Transformation
TRUE Intelligent Automation is more than RPA. It involves RPA, to be sure, but in a way that acknowledges that RPA (even if powered by AI) is only the first step. TRUE Intelligent Automation is (1) an organization’s ability [the people part], (2) to use a single, flexible, and resilient low-code development environment [the technology part] to automate business processes with smart, integrated enterprise applications that can be built quickly, and that are easy to maintain over time and in the face of constant change.
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Three things that community is not: Or, why community is not a toothbrush
It is remarkable how many people with careers in community management don’t actually have a clear idea of what community is. Without a clear working definition, there is a tendency to simply do some stuff that involves some people, slap the word ‘community’ on what they’ve done, and call it a day. As if simply calling something a community is enough to make it happen. Like magic. If only community was that easy.
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Are robots slaves? On the contemporary relevance of Čapek’s R.U.R.
In reading R.U.R. we are forced to acknowledge that human-centered technology can’t mean freeing humans from work, because there’s something about work itself that is an inextricably part of what it means to be human. Čapek asks us to be more nuanced in how we view the relationship between human beings and technology, and to carefully consider how technology might complement work rather than replace it entirely. And it is here, in this call for nuance in support of a truly human vision of technology that R.U.R. is as relevant today as it was when it was first performed in 1921.
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On Leadership and the Liberal Arts
Among the greatest contributions of Plato was his recognition that the training of true leaders requires a broad rather than narrow and strictly practical education. Plato’s ‘Academy,’ which some consider the first European University, was founded with the understanding that a narrow course of study with a focus on politics alone creates opportunists and demagogues…
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Speaking Market into Product. Speaking Product into Market.
In answer to the question: what is product marketing? Product Marketing speaks market into product, and product into market. The role of the Product Marketer is as an expert and advocate for a product’s market. Whether they own or inform commercial strategy, the product marketer works to discover, describe, and define a population of buyers…
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Product Roadmaps: Just One Damn Thing After Another?
Without vision, there is no roadmap. There is no beginning. There is no end. Without a clear vision framed in terms of what a product is, and what it aspires to become, a ‘product roadmap’ is simply one damn thing after another.
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