I'm dating myself bigly with this reference, but here goes: I used to have a car phone. It was bolted next to the driver's seat, with a cord and a cradle that locked the handset in place when not in use. The reception was spotty, and the sound quality varied from OK to marginal.
There were a lot of people at the time who shook their heads and thought a car phone was just an expensive toy.
It’s hardly a stretch to say that everyone one of those people who thought that way if they’re still alive, is now carrying a smartphone around in their pocket. A few of the dead ones may have been buried with their smartphone in their hands.
The iPhone reached 100 million users in less than two years. ChatGPT reached 100 million users in about two months.
Yes, ChatGPT and similar tools have problems. The lack of voice is a major issue, and not the only one. There's also bias, misinformation, and output that's just plain wrong.
But innovation and the refinement of new technologies evolve at an ever-expanding speed. What this means is that many of these problems easily identified today will be ameliorated. And yes, there will be other issues and concerns we as a species haven’t thought of yet which will have to be addressed.
All you can control is how you react to it all.
When you say that “[fill in the blank] will never happen,” you’re creating a fixed mindset for yourself and your business. That mindset is not only limiting, but creates a position you’re so wedded to that you’re defending your history and drawing a circle around what’s possible for you and your business.
Conversely, when you make it a practice to stretch your capabilities and those of your team members, you create more future possibilities than you can possibly recognize today. You’ll create the conditions for adaptation to change, and that’s an essential requirement for consistently offering value to your clients over the long term, whether in professional services or any other industry, for that matter.
Image created using Craiyon (Formerly DALL-E Mini)
(This blog post was also posted on LinkedIn.)
©Ray Business Advisors, LLC and John Ray
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About me: I help solo or small professional services firm owners with the confidence and positioning necessary to improve their pricing and change the trajectory of not only their business but their life.
I have a podcast called The Price and Value Journey, which features interviews with industry leaders and audio versions of my blog posts. You can find the podcast on your favorite podcast app.
I also have a book coming out in 2023: The Price and Value Journey: Raise Your Confidence, Your Value, and Your Prices to Grow Your Business Using The Generosity Mindset.
For more information, go to PriceValueJourney.com