Inside the Mind of the Man Behind ChatGPT and the Impact of AI on the Business World
Greg's Words
Up until last month, I had never even heard of the guy. But just this week, I stumbled upon a conversation between Lex and Sam on YouTube - and let me tell you, it was two and a half hours of content that left a lasting impression. I'm talking pivotal, historic, "mark your calendars" kind of stuff.
Sam Altman's story reads like a tech entrepreneur's dream. The guy was programming computers at the age of 8, and by 19 he had already founded and launched multiple successful software companies. He's a genius, hobnobs with the likes of Musk and Friedman, and has even made appearances on some of the biggest talk shows out there.
"Please State the Nature of The Medical Emergency"
About a year ago, the owner of an office equipment dealership rang me up asking for advice.
His largest "managed print services" (toner) account was being threatened by an IT company offering a full range of IT services including supplies and service delivery on 'his' printers.
He was in a panic.
Like dozens before him, he wanted somebody to say it was going to be okay; that what he was doing today, "building long and deep relationships with his customers", providing "the best service at the lowest price", was enough to save the patient - his 20-year-old, $5 Million, family-owned business.
I told him to change.
I told him hope resided in a future with fewer technicians and reduced overhead. I repeated the "change your business model" mantra, begged him to exit toner delivery and get into the IT side of the world. I offered contact information at Collabrance; urged him to reach out to a little know company called PrinterLogic and talk to his customer about reducing costs by eliminating print servers.
He fought me.
Of course, I proposed taking a quick look at his operation, giving some basic recommendations, and making the necessary connections for him to explore - all for $2,500.00. No warranty or money-back guarantee, but for the price of a trip to ITEX, he could have gained a fresh perspective and possibly made some profitable connections.
He didn't.
I have no idea if his business still feeds families or drifts on the waters of denial.
Here we are on the edge of 2016. The copier industry insists on fooling itself into relevancy as small dealers are gobbled up and bigger ones sell out to investment groups. The OEMs? Splitsville.
Today, if you were to ask, "Greg...what the hell can I do now? I've social media'd up my company, I'm first in google search, but MpS flopped, managed IT services are not working and the only people buying copiers are schools, churches, and the government!"
You've tried digital signage
You've looked at water service
You're not sure about managed services
Your managed print services program is not delivering 42% GP
3D Printing looks cute, but you can't seem to get your head around a profit model
Now what?
One word, kid - "TeleHealth"
I'll let you do the googlitizing. The fastest-growing area for technology and monthly recurring revenue is the healthcare arena and has nothing to do with printers or copiers. I'd think about assembling and supporting connected, healthcare devices.
Not heart monitors - think bigger. Think about this:
It's connected, contains technology components, requires assembly, and clients might pay for 24/7 monitoring and service. Relevant. Expanding. Service-based.
What if one day, while staring out your parent's window, watching retirees water their lawns, you realize that after everything, all the adventures, meetings, and journeys of the previous years, you've become a cliche, irrelevant? The world stops and you're alone - moving through a bad dream, in slow motion. Stunned.
Nobody wants to be forgotten, cast aside, wounded, not even dead. But it happens. Has it happened to you? Hurts? Don't it?
For CIO's and IT Departments, this could be your future. Irrelevancy. Once you see 'the retirees watering their lawns' can you adjust your unit, make the changes and move through the worst?
Maybe...
If you've made the jump from ambivalent ignorance, also known as "bliss", to hard, 12 degree below freezing, self-recognition, reality, here are some ideas that might warm you up:
Help formulate the organization's long term business goals.
Back in olden-times, knowing the difference between EBCDIC and WYSIWYG meant something important. Today, its EBIDA.
Look for 'partners' instead of 'vendors'.
'Partners' are shoulder to shoulder with you during tough times; 'vendors' sell out of a hotdog cart. Search out deeper relationships, not discounts.
Walk a mile in your end-user's shoes.
Cross training doesn't only refer to athletic programs - consider spending time at a nurses station or in Revenue Cycle. Insight is guaranteed.
Three simple ideas that promise significant impact for your staff, executive management and end user community.
"Humanizing Healthcare Technology"(H2T) is a rallying call from a minority of professionals in the healthcare niche. "Kindred spirits" evangelizing the transformation of healthcare into a more 'human' approach - sounds odd until you hear the stories. Don't doctors deliver bad news in a compassionate manner, empathize with each patient and provide conversations filled with hope all the time?