Blog – Richard Ian Porter

Another memorial day another reflection

Another Memorial Day is here and it is always a time of reflection for me. I’ve written on it several years the past.

Yes, I have friends who died serving in wars with me.
Yes, we lost those wars. And now I have friends who served alongside me whose families continue to be at risk from the loss in those wars.
Yes, I worked hard to try to change that, and though we made some progress as a team for others, I wasn’t able to help my friends’ relatives.
Yes, we have many causes of death that are unjust and we as a people could work to reduce them in many meaningful and valuable ways.

Yes, we should treat the day as an occasion be reflective.
To consider what we want as a people.
To be thankful of the actions of others in including the ultimate sacrifice – that of their lives and the lives of those they love in service of an ideal that should benefit others.

Yes, there are likely less expensive and deadly ways to have these impacts that people should know more about (like public health interventions).
Yes, we as a nation have a severe military-civil divide where each misunderstands the other.
Yes, it would be better if the oligarchs participated in the risk to life that their choices impose on others.
Yes, more public service and mixing of people of different backgrounds would likely benefit our nation, our society, and make us stronger.

But, for my part, I’m marking this day in smaller-scale contemplation, time with family, group texting old Marine Buddies, doing just a tiny bit of work for my employer, and writing this.

For me, this day serves as a reminder of all the people I have known and loved that have died. Not only those that served with me in the military, and died in service. Some might be offended by that but I think the sacredness of life and the meaning that reflections on death can offer is worth it.

So I’ve thought not only about my friends that died in a dusty village from enemy action, but also of one that died at home from alcoholism, one of the deaths of despair plaguing our nation.
I think of my father in law who died from a heart attack while working on his beach house eager to show it to his grandkids.

I think of my friend who recently lost his mother, and the conversation we had before that happened (but after the two above) in which he observed we as military veterans have seen death younger than most people tend to in our society, but that we will see it more and more as we age. This is a fact we may not like, but an immovable one.

I think too of near-deaths. My own – separated by feet from rounds or explosives. My wife’s from cancer that was responsive to treatment instead of not.
Of my youngest daughter’s whose little lungs worked hard and responded to the heroic efforts of the medical team that saved her. Who sleeps now in her room facedown on her bed. Exhausted from being ridiculous. And trying. And alive.

Its a rainy day so we’re mostly stuck at home. We cooked breakfast. We had deep conversations about life and the world, why Texas is a dangerous place to be as a woman, between my wife and our first grader. We had a dance party to one direction with the three year old. We had pillow fights. We read books.We sang and yelled and tickled. We got frustrated and exhausted and worn out. We changed diapers and dried tears and scolded and praised and laughed and teased. I argued with old Marine buddies about war and the world, and made fun of each other. We watched TV and screens and colored and built forts. We cooked more. We made plans, and changed them. We put the preschooler down for a nap that she resisted for hours. I got in a Peloton bike ride, joined a call for my employer and did 90 minutes worth of work even on a holiday because of timing issues. We discussed that one a bit too. And I sat down to write this.

And we are alive. And we wont be forever.
And you are alive. And you won’t be forever.

“It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.”
Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address

Memento Mori. Advance life.

P.S. I find this guide to reflecting on the meaning of life from death very meaningful.

Please give this a listen or watch?

Hi there, could you please do me a favor and listen to this brief 40 minute talk?

Or if you prefer video you could watch it?

Then tell me what you think?

Brilliance in the Basics – Leadership in Product Management

In the ongoing iteration and re-iteration of what I’ve learned, how I communicate it, what I learn anew and how I convey it, we have another release.

I was very lucky to get to speak on lessons in Product Management with Growth School. They kindly provided a recording link and password that I can share for anyone who is interested. The Growth School recorded live presentation is here on their Zoom. The Password to open it is “Jzrz0P@V”

It will shock no one to hear that in this session I emphasized Brilliance in the Basics. I shared that leaders must

Set the example
Outline the mission
Take care of their team
Use authority well

I shared that all must

Start with why then proceed to how and what
Measure what matters (likely using OKRs!)
Understand and meet the jobs to be done
Balance and keep your mind on money
Know a little bit about everything but be brilliant in the basics.

Here’s the final summary slide.

What do you think?

Do good with your career! 80,000 hours

As I’ve shared before I’m driven by a personal mission in life: to grow powerful people: to learn and teach so that others can better survive and thrive through understanding knowledge!

The video version of this call to action!

I’ve been very struck recently with the concepts of effective altruism, of doing good even better with careful consideration and measurement of impact.

For many of us, the most valuable thing we have to contribute is our working career – the 80,000 hours across our lives in which we are professionally employed – and we can leverage this to do good in the world. It’s very rare that someone has millions of dollars to give. Rare to have a position of leverage that can allocate the money of others or the power of a state. But we can all align our productive work to do more good in the world. If any of that resonates please give the book a read – its free! its fast! and I found it very helpful! (PLEASE don’t fall victim to the bias that something you don’t pay for isn’t worth your time and thought, I PROMISE this one is.)

Link to the book: https://80000hours.org/book/

Still on the fence? My book review: on G oodReads

Want to share the video above easily? YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/c5sbrzwNuRk

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and the Twitterstorm

One thing is for sure, people care more about Multi-factor Authentication than most people would have thought.

The (unending – but the latest) news about Twitter’s fast and likely ill considered changes continues. Right now they’re talking (and trending) about Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

In a nutshell, Twitter will be requiring anyone who wants to use SMS-based MFA to be a Twitter Blue premium subscriber. On net this is a bad thing, because the majority of people it affects are more likely to downgrade to single factor – no MFA. The users should, of course, upgrade instead toward using an authentication app (also known as Time Based One Time Password – TOTP) or ideally a Hardware Security Key (like a Yubikey.) I’ve been hassling friends and family about security and online security for about as long as I can remember. Ive written some harsh posts about it. I’ve even been very lucky to co-found and advise a startup that makes it easy for developers and builders to offer simple but powerful authentication and security that still surprises and delights their users.

There’s so much to say here, and its so hard to know what to say and in what order. There’s so many smart and well informed people making clear calls to action and explainers.

Perhaps one of the most striking is this point from Rachel Tobac

I have a clear curse of knowledge from thinking and caring about this so much and must admit that I also feel some apprehension of excessively criticizing or going too soft on the current CEO of Twitter given how mobs for and against him can swing wildly. I played back and forth with Chat GPT trying to think of what I could write on this and how to position it. I think some of it was useful and interesting, I discarded most of it but kept the funny fictional story at the end.

I think the work we must do includes:

Make it easy and secure for people to access their apps and accounts
Make it easy and secure for app developers, builders, companies to offer the right kind of security and user experience to their users
Make it easy to understand why this security stuff matters for normal people. Because they’re the ones who will get hurt by mistakes here.

We may not have the problems solved yet. But at least we’re working on it.

The funny fictional story that Chat GPT wrote and I decided to keep and Tweet:

Me: write a hilariously funny scene where a rash and impulsive Elon Musk as CEO of twitter removes SMS based authentication for all users, reserves it only for twitter blue premium subscribers – have him monologue in elons unique style about why he did this to a remaining security engineer at twitter, who fortunately preserves app based and security key based MFA for all users

Chat GPT:

Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, had just come back from his daily hot yoga session and was feeling particularly rash and impulsive. He had an idea that would revolutionize the way Twitter operated, and he couldn’t wait to share it with his remaining security engineer.

“Hey, you!” Elon exclaimed as he barged into the security engineer’s office. “I’ve got a great idea. We’re going to remove SMS-based authentication for all users except for Twitter Blue subscribers.”

The security engineer, who had just been in the middle of a code review, was taken aback. “What? Why would we do that?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Elon, who was now pacing back and forth, his mind racing with excitement, responded, “Think about it! We can make a ton of money by offering SMS-based authentication as a premium feature. And besides, it’s not like anyone actually uses it for security anyway. It’s just an extra step in the login process. Trust me, this is going to be huge!”

The security engineer, who was now growing increasingly concerned, tried to reason with Elon. “But what about the security risks? SMS-based authentication is still a reliable way to prevent account takeovers, especially for users who don’t have access to other forms of multi-factor authentication.”

Elon, who was now waving his arms wildly, exclaimed, “Oh, come on! We’ll just tell users to use app-based authentication or security key-based MFA instead. It’s not that hard. And besides, who cares about security when we can make a ton of money?”

The security engineer, who was now face-palming in disbelief, couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Fortunately, he knew that Elon’s idea was a terrible one and had already taken steps to ensure that app-based and security key-based MFA would remain available for all users.

As Elon left the room, still hyped up on endorphins from his hot yoga session, the security engineer shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe that man is in charge of a social media platform,” he muttered to himself. “We’re all doomed.”

Doing Good, Better.

I’ve finally read Doing Good Better. And I couldn’t recommend it more highly. I wish I had read this years ago (like many books.)

I’m sharing my review both here and where I wrote it on GoodReads.

I also gave an intro to it and shared it on YouTube or sharing-ready on LinkedIn

Who should read this book: everyone.
You have an amazing opportunity. You can save a life. You can probably save dozens of lives. Odds are good that you can even save hundreds of lives.
If you had a life where you got a chance to kick in a door on a burning building and save a kid from a burning building, chances are that would feel very special. If the next year you pulled an injured adult out of a pool and saved them from drowning, that too would likely be a peak life experience. If you did CPR and restarted someone’s heart you would remember it forever.
Well the fact is, if you earn at or above poverty level wages in the United States or another comparable economy, and can discipline yourself to donate 10% of your lifetime earnings to the most effective charities, you will save more than three lives.

This is a difficult fact to absorb and understand, but I urge you to consider it, and to consider reading this book to truly understand it. Other amazing framings I absolutely loved from this book include:

Income inequality and the fact that doubling someones income is equally impactful on their happiness no matter what level its at means It’s as though you’re at a happy hour where you can either buy yourself aa beer for $5, or buy someone else a beer for $.05. Which one would you do?
Healthcare interventions that are done intelligently are extraordinarily valuable. The eradication of Smallpox when it was achieved saved 60-120M lives. That’s more than 5X the number that achieving world peace and forgoing all armed conflicts from that time forward would have saved.
Viktor Zhdanov clearly moved forward the timeline of this by showing what could be done and advocating for it, if we conservatively assume smallpox would still have been eradicated it is fair to assume he moved it forward merely a decade, that’s still 10-20M lives he saved.
Health and quality adjusted life years matter. The concept of risk in micromorts is powerful: one cigarette is .7 and shortens ones life by 5 minutes. Driving a car for an hour is .1 micromorts, about three minutes. An hour on a motorcycle costs you about 3.75 hours from your life.
Most American families can offset their carbon emissions through careful charitable giving. The average American adult could give $105/year (at time of writing) to the Cool Earth organization that partners with indigenous people in old forests in areas that might be targeted for deforestation to help them defend the forests and protect them from deforestation in ways that can be quantitatively backed and tracked.
The high level advice about choosing careers that matter and having impact with it (delved into much deeper in the purpose written book 80,000 hours. But in a nutshell: aim to build transferrable skills and carer capital, donate to effective charities, then consider switching to effective causes or seriously upping the donations during or after peak impact years (40-60s)
A donation of 3,400 (At time of writing) can buy and distribute enough anti malarial benders to save a life, deworm 7k children (And lead to much higher education outcomes) or double the income of 15 people for a year.

Every one of us has the power to save dozens or hundreds of lives, or to significantly improve the welfare of thousands of people. Want to learn more? Then PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!

What this Marine learns from Malala’s Children’s book: Malala’s Magic Pencil.

One voice can change the world.

A brief video version of the below text.

There are few books that choke me up and move me to tears. That cause a deep and aching sadness in me. There are even fewer children books that have this effect. Malala’s Magic Pencil is one of these. My oldest daughter has been getting more and more skilled cat reading. We practice together every night before bed. We’ve been making a lot of progress. We had been getting a lot of practice in reading fro cheer mythology atlas of the world. Sometimes she proudly reads a children’s book to me all on here own. The first she did the with was about a mouse going to a swimming pool. The first she specifically said she wanted to read all by herself was the new children classic the pigeon has to go to School. Most of the time we practice with her reading the first or last sentence of a paragraph or the shorter paragraph of the two pages. She always chooses what the book of the night will be.

Last night she chose Malala’s Magic Pencil. We’ve read it before, and I’ve actually forgotten who got it for her. But the last time I was reading all of it. And though I felt emotional when I was reading it before, this time she was reading large parts of it. To hear my first grade daughter reading words to me, written by Malala Yousafzi about herself when she was thee age my daughter is was striking. Malala writes of growing up less fortunate than most western children and how she wished for a magic pencil to draw nice little things for herself, an extra hour to sleep in, a lock on her door to keep her brothers out, flower gardens to mask the smell of the trash dump near their house. I asked my daughter what she thought of this, how it made her feel. She said sad that kids should be able to go to school. I asked her to imagine what it would be like if she had to work so that she and her sister could eat instead of going to school. I told her there are some kids for whom this is a reality.

Malala writes of wanting to draw things for others, dresses for her mother, fine school buildings for her father to teach in, a soccer ball for her brothers instead of a sock stuffed with rubbish to play with. Then she touches on seeing children her own age far worse off than she, sorting trash in the dump, picking out scraps, working so their families can eat instead of going to school. Her father explains this to her sadly. She imagines using her magic pencil to solve poverty, to build peace, to build equality between boys and girls. She wonders how free she can really be in her country, in her culture as a girl, despite her father’s wishes for her to be as free as a bird. Then she talks about dangerous men coming to her village, openly carrying weapons. She talks about the dwindling of girls in her school class and her father explaining that they no longer feel safe. She writes of how she chose to take up her pencil, to use her voice to tell the world about what was happening, about how girls didn’t feel safe seeking education. She talks about how her voice became powerful. So powerful that the dangerous men sought to silence her.

She uses the effect of stark black for the page that describes this, with white text on it. My daughter said “oooh pretty dark page.” I asked her if she remembered what I told her about how the dangerous men tried to silence Malala. She said she didn’t. I told her that the dangerous men tried to shoot Malala. That they DID shoot Malala. My daughter looked surprised. And I hurriedly added “But she lived! She survived! That’s why the next picture is her in a hospital looking out the window, see the tag on her arm and the gown?”

Malala goes on to talk about how her raising her voice, the attack on her, her survival led to a swelling of support for her message for education and for more equality for girls. My daughter was happy with the closing message of the opportunity that education brings, and we ended on the high note that she and her sister both get to go to school tomorrow.

A previous time when I read the book to her she asked about the dangerous men, and if they’re still there. I said they were. And that ten year ago I was fighting men like them in a country that neighbored Malala’s. My time in Afghanistan was revelatory for me. It still provides a touchstone of the fortune we have to be born where we are. For my daughters to be born where they are. My heart continues to break for how we (the United States of America, the US Military, the west, the liberal world order) failed in Afghanistan. I hold onto hope that a we had some qualified successes. That we inspired and kindled enough flames of liberty, equality, learning that will eventually grow again. My heart is heavy for my friend whose daughter, though by rights an American Citizen, continues to be stuck in Afghanistan. For all the little girls who don’t even have that very good hope of eventual escape.

Though my efforts to help my friend in his effort to get his wife and mother and daughter out of Afghanistan have yet to bear fruit. Though the greater project of protecting and uplifting girls and boys and all people in that land is so far from finished. Still I have some hope that we can indeed do some good. This ties to both educating our own children about the variance in life experience in the world, but also in more concrete means like direct cash contributions to poverty reduction and health in the most effective charities.

The same night my daughter and I worked together to read Malala’s Magic Pencil, I also finished Will MacAskill’s Doing Good Better. I know for a fact that if my family and I can find a way to allocate 3% of our yearly income to one of the most effective charities, we could fund enough anti malarial treatments to save a life, enough de-worming medication to treat thousands of school children and 10x their educational achievement, or to double the
Yearly income of 15 people.

So lets get going.

If you are moved to take action by this you can do so here.

Much of this text is repeated in my book review here.

Strategy-Bot: Chat GPT

I asked Chat GPT to synthesize the competitive analysis frameworks that I have found most useful in my work as a Product Manager. It did a decent job of the summaries overall but made a critical error in part of its meta-analysis. Here’s what I think is the best it did:

As a new analyst, it is important to understand the different contexts in which each of these frameworks can be applied and the key insights they can provide. Here are some general guidelines for deciding when to use each of these frameworks:

Porter’s Five Forces Framework is typically used to analyze the competitive forces in an industry. It can be useful for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a company’s position in the market and identifying potential threats and opportunities.

Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma Framework is typically used to understand how established firms can be disrupted by new technologies or business models. It can be useful for identifying the potential risks and benefits of adopting new technologies or business models and for developing strategies to mitigate the risks of disruption.

Helmer’s Seven Powers Framework is typically used to analyze the competitive dynamics of a market. It can be useful for identifying the key powers that a company can use to gain an advantage over its competitors and for developing strategies to leverage these powers.

Thompson’s Aggregation Theory is typically used to understand how firms can create value by aggregating demand and using it to negotiate better terms with suppliers. It can be useful for identifying the potential benefits of scale and for developing strategies to leverage scale to create value.

When deciding which framework to use, it is important to consider the specific context in which you are analyzing a company and the key questions you are trying to answer. Each of these frameworks can provide valuable insights, but they are not necessarily applicable in all situations. It may be useful to consider using multiple frameworks in combination to gain a more comprehensive understanding of a company and its competitive environment.
Chat GPT

I’ll paste the full back and forth below as I usually do for this learning in public I’m doing. But here’s the critical point: of these theories, Helmer’s 7 Powers has quantified market results that it can demonstrate, he’s an academic and analyst but also an active investor and publishes results of his investing in his book. This lends additional weight to his framework that analysts and thinkers should be aware of, and it is a facet that Chat GPT confidently asserted was untrue, until directly corrected.

ME
explain the differences between Micheal porters five forces framework, clay christiansons’ innovators dilemma framework, hamilton helmers’ seven powers framework, ben thompson’s aggregation theory, and draw out the 3 biggest advantages and disadvantages of each in analyzing a modern tech company

ChatGPT
Michael Porter’s Five Forces Framework is a tool for analyzing the competitive forces in an industry. It helps firms understand the forces that shape their competitive environment and the strength of those forces. The five forces are:

Threat of new entrants: the ease with which new firms can enter the market and compete with existing firms.

Threat of substitute products or services: the availability of substitutes for a firm’s products or services.

Bargaining power of customers: the ability of customers to negotiate lower prices or higher quality.

Bargaining power of suppliers: the ability of suppliers to negotiate higher prices or reduce the quality of inputs.

Rivalry among existing competitors: the intensity of competition among existing firms in the market.
One advantage of Porter’s Five Forces Framework is that it is widely recognized and used by practitioners and academics. It is also relatively simple to understand and use. A disadvantage is that it may not fully capture the complexity of competition in an industry, as it only considers a few key factors.
Clay Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma Framework is a theory that explains how established firms can be disrupted by new entrants to the market. It argues that established firms often face a dilemma when it comes to adopting new technologies or business models that may disrupt their existing business. These firms may be hesitant to invest in new technologies or business models because they are uncertain about their potential success, and they may worry about cannibalizing their existing business.
One advantage of Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma Framework is that it helps firms understand the potential risks and benefits of adopting new technologies or business models. A disadvantage is that it may not fully capture the complexity of technological disruption, as it only considers a few key factors.
Hamilton Helmer’s Seven Powers Framework is a tool for analyzing the competitive dynamics of a market. It identifies seven key powers that firms can use to gain an advantage over their competitors:

Leverage: the ability to use one’s resources or position to influence others.

Scale: the ability to produce goods or services at a lower cost due to economies of scale.

Network effects: the phenomenon where the value of a product or service increases as more people use it.

Intellectual property: the legal rights to protect creative or innovative ideas.

Proprietary data: the possession of unique or valuable data that gives a firm an advantage.

Control of distribution: the ability to control the channels through which goods or services are sold.

Ecosystem advantage: the ability to create a network of complementary products or services that gives a firm an advantage.
One advantage of Helmer’s Seven Powers Framework is that it helps firms understand the various ways in which they can gain an advantage over their competitors. A disadvantage is that it may not fully capture the complexity of competition in a market, as it only considers a few key factors.
Ben Thompson’s Aggregation Theory is a theory that explains how firms can create value by aggregating demand and using it to negotiate better terms with suppliers. It argues that firms that can aggregate a large amount of demand can use this to their advantage by negotiating better terms with suppliers, which can lead to lower costs and higher profits.
One advantage of Thompson’s Aggregation Theory is that it helps firms understand how they can use their scale to their advantage. A disadvantage is that it may not fully capture the complexity of competition in a market, as it only considers a few key factors.
In analyzing a modern tech company, Porter’s Five Forces Framework may be useful for understanding the competitive forces in the industry in which the company operates. Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma Framework may be useful for understanding

ME
continue to draw out the 3 biggest advantages and disadvantages of each in analyzing a modern tech company

ChatGPT
the potential risks and benefits of adopting new technologies or business models. Helmer’s Seven Powers Framework may be useful for understanding the various ways in which the company can gain an advantage over its competitors. Thompson’s Aggregation Theory may be useful for understanding how the company can use its scale to negotiate better terms with suppliers and create value.
One of the advantages of using Porter’s Five Forces Framework in analyzing a modern tech company is that it can help the company understand the competitive forces in its industry and how these forces may impact its business. A disadvantage is that the framework may not fully capture the complexity of competition in the tech industry, which is constantly evolving and may be influenced by factors beyond the traditional five forces.
One of the advantages of using Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma Framework in analyzing a modern tech company is that it can help the company understand the potential risks and benefits of adopting new technologies or business models. A disadvantage is that the framework may not fully capture the complexity of technological disruption, which can be influenced by a variety of factors beyond those considered in the framework.
One of the advantages of using Helmer’s Seven Powers Framework in analyzing a modern tech company is that it can help the company understand the various ways in which it can gain an advantage over its competitors. A disadvantage is that the framework may not fully capture the complexity of competition in the tech industry, which is constantly evolving and may be influenced by factors beyond the seven powers identified in the framework.
One of the advantages of using Thompson’s Aggregation Theory in analyzing a modern tech company is that it can help the company understand how it can use its scale to negotiate better terms with suppliers and create value. A disadvantage is that the theory may not fully capture the complexity of competition in the tech industry, which may be influenced by a variety of factors beyond the ability to aggregate demand.

ME
explain to a new analyst how they would decide when to use one of these frameworks instead of another

ChatGPT
As a new analyst, it is important to understand the different contexts in which each of these frameworks can be applied and the key insights they can provide. Here are some general guidelines for deciding when to use each of these frameworks:

Porter’s Five Forces Framework is typically used to analyze the competitive forces in an industry. It can be useful for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a company’s position in the market and identifying potential threats and opportunities.

Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma Framework is typically used to understand how established firms can be disrupted by new technologies or business models. It can be useful for identifying the potential risks and benefits of adopting new technologies or business models and for developing strategies to mitigate the risks of disruption.

Helmer’s Seven Powers Framework is typically used to analyze the competitive dynamics of a market. It can be useful for identifying the key powers that a company can use to gain an advantage over its competitors and for developing strategies to leverage these powers.

Thompson’s Aggregation Theory is typically used to understand how firms can create value by aggregating demand and using it to negotiate better terms with suppliers. It can be useful for identifying the potential benefits of scale and for developing strategies to leverage scale to create value.
When deciding which framework to use, it is important to consider the specific context in which you are analyzing a company and the key questions you are trying to answer. Each of these frameworks can provide valuable insights, but they are not necessarily applicable in all situations. It may be useful to consider using multiple frameworks in combination to gain a more comprehensive understanding of a company and its competitive environment.

ME
which companies best exemplify the value of using one framework over another to explain their success?

ChatGPT
It can be useful to consider specific companies that exemplify the value of using one framework over another to understand their success. Here are a few examples of companies that may illustrate the value of using each of the frameworks you mentioned:

Porter’s Five Forces Framework: Amazon is often cited as a company that has effectively used Porter’s Five Forces Framework to analyze its competitive environment and gain a competitive advantage. Amazon has used its scale and network effects to create a strong competitive position in the e-commerce industry, and it has also effectively leveraged its proprietary data and control of distribution to create value for customers.

Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma Framework: Apple is often cited as a company that has effectively used Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma Framework to navigate technological disruption and maintain its competitive position. Apple has consistently embraced new technologies and business models, such as the iPod and iPhone, which have disrupted traditional markets and allowed the company to maintain its market leadership.

Helmer’s Seven Powers Framework: Google is often cited as a company that has effectively used Helmer’s Seven Powers Framework to gain an advantage over its competitors. Google has leveraged its scale, network effects, and proprietary data to create a strong competitive position in the search and advertising markets. It has also effectively used its ecosystem advantage to create a network of complementary products and services that give it an advantage over competitors.

Thompson’s Aggregation Theory: Netflix is often cited as a company that has effectively used Thompson’s Aggregation Theory to create value by aggregating demand and using it to negotiate better terms with content providers. Netflix has leveraged its scale to negotiate favorable deals with content providers, which has allowed it to offer a wide range of content to its subscribers at a relatively low cost. This has helped the company to create a strong competitive position in the streaming video market.

ME
which of these theories has the most convincing real world evidence for being accurate and strong in predictive value

ChatGPT
It is difficult to determine which of these theories has the most convincing real world evidence for being accurate and strong in predictive value, as each of these theories has been applied in different contexts and has been successful in explaining certain phenomena.
Porter’s Five Forces Framework is widely recognized as a valuable tool for analyzing the competitive forces in an industry, and it has been applied in a variety of contexts to understand the competitive dynamics of different markets.
Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma Framework has also been widely recognized as a valuable tool for understanding how established firms can be disrupted by new technologies or business models. It has been applied to a range of industries, including tech, and has helped firms understand the potential risks and benefits of adopting new technologies or business models.
Helmer’s Seven Powers Framework is a newer framework, and there is less evidence available on its predictive value. However, it has been applied to a range of industries and has helped firms understand the various ways in which they can gain an advantage over their competitors.
Thompson’s Aggregation Theory has been applied to a range of industries and has been successful in explaining how firms can create value by aggregating demand and using it to negotiate better terms with suppliers.
Ultimately, the usefulness and predictive value of these theories will depend on the specific context in which they are applied and the questions being asked. It may be useful to consider using multiple frameworks in combination to gain a more comprehensive understanding of a company and its competitive environment.

ME
have any of these theories or frameworks demonstrated quantifiable unique business value compared to the others?

ChatGPT
It is difficult to determine which of these theories or frameworks has demonstrated the most quantifiable unique business value compared to the others, as each of these theories has been applied in different contexts and has been successful in explaining certain phenomena.
Porter’s Five Forces Framework is widely recognized as a valuable tool for analyzing the competitive forces in an industry, and it has been applied in a variety of contexts to understand the competitive dynamics of different markets. Companies that have effectively used Porter’s Five Forces Framework to analyze their competitive environment and gain a competitive advantage have likely seen a positive impact on their business.
Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma Framework has also been widely recognized as a valuable tool for understanding how established firms can be disrupted by new technologies or business models. It has been applied to a range of industries, including tech, and has helped firms understand the potential risks and benefits of adopting new technologies or business models. Companies that have effectively used Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma Framework to navigate technological disruption and maintain their competitive position have likely seen a positive impact on their business.
Helmer’s Seven Powers Framework is a newer framework, and there is less evidence available on its impact on business performance. However, it has been applied to a range of industries and has helped firms understand the various ways in which they can gain an advantage over their competitors. Companies that have effectively used Helmer’s Seven Powers Framework to gain an advantage over their competitors may have seen a positive impact on their business.
Thompson’s Aggregation Theory has been applied to a range of industries and has been successful in explaining how firms can create value by aggregating demand and using it to negotiate better terms with suppliers. Companies that have effectively used Thompson’s Aggregation Theory to create value by aggregating demand and negotiating better terms with suppliers may have seen a positive impact on their business.
Ultimately, the unique business value of these theories will depend on the specific context in which they are applied and the questions being asked. It may be useful to consider using multiple frameworks in combination to gain a more comprehensive understanding of a company and its competitive environment.

ME
have the creators of any of these theories publicized financial returns demonstrated by investing following the principles of their analyses?

ChatGPT
I am not aware of any of the creators of these theories publicly disclosing financial returns demonstrated by investing following the principles of their analyses. These theories are primarily intended as analytical tools for understanding the competitive dynamics of markets and industries, and they are not necessarily intended to be used as investment strategies.
Porter’s Five Forces Framework is a tool for analyzing the competitive forces in an industry and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a company’s position in the market. It is not intended to be used as an investment strategy.
Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma Framework is a theory that explains how established firms can be disrupted by new technologies or business models, and it is intended to help firms understand the potential risks and benefits of adopting new technologies or business models. It is not intended to be used as an investment strategy.
Helmer’s Seven Powers Framework is a tool for analyzing the competitive dynamics of a market and identifying the key powers that a company can use to gain an advantage over its competitors. It is not intended to be used as an investment strategy.
Thompson’s Aggregation Theory is a theory that explains how firms can create value by aggregating demand and using it to negotiate better terms with suppliers. It is not intended to be used as an investment strategy.
It is important to note that these theories are not necessarily intended to be used as investment strategies, and it is not recommended to base investment decisions solely on these frameworks. It is always important to carefully consider all relevant factors and to seek professional financial advice before making any investment decisions.

ME
your above answer is factually incorrect, Helmer’s Seven Powers framework has been used by Helmer in investing and he has published his quantified business results using his theories to guide his investments in his book 7Powers.

ChatGPT
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. You are correct that Hamilton Helmer has used his Seven Powers Framework as a guide for his investments and has published his business results in his book “7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy.” I apologize for any confusion my previous response may have caused. It is important to note that the Seven Powers Framework is primarily intended as an analytical tool for understanding the competitive dynamics of a market and identifying the key powers that a company can use to gain an advantage over its competitors. While it may be useful to consider the insights provided by this framework when making investment decisions, it is not recommended to base investment decisions solely on this framework or any other single theory or tool. It is always important to carefully consider all relevant factors and to seek professional financial advice before making any investment decisions.

ChatGPT: cant chat for me (-yet on LinkedIn)

A good friend of mine raised an interesting point on LinkedIn:

I drafted my genuine thoughts on the response, then fed that to Chat GPT to see if it could strengthen the point. Instead it made it more wordy, fluffy, omitted what I saw as the most insightful point, and took it in a few likely unproductive directions. This took more time, redirecting and editing from me than the original post. Could it get better? Yes. Classic innovators dilemma stuff – not serving the specific needs I have at this moment in this context, but definitely might be usable for others and improve to overtake here.

It just isn’t there yet.

ME
take the following LinkedIn Post and response and expand my response to emphasize and grow the points I made and add at least four new additional and separate points: His Post: “Will ChatGPT and AI make LinkedIn nothing more than a virtual Rolodex (showing my age lol)? I have seen some exciting and powerful demos of new products that are rolling out that generate very smart AI-generated LinkedIn comments and even entire posts. If the content we are reading AI generated and the proportion of the comments we receive are AI-generated, is there still more profound utility on this and other platforms? In the past, you could gage interest by a thoughtful comment or a message, but if those are all personable, well crafted, and thoughtful, what is the new test for sincerity?” MY Response: “The killer feature of LinkedIn is the rolodex. It is the way to overcome Dunbars number. Delegate to a machine the human-difficult task of remembering your (professional) connection with everyone, allow people to update you on what’s changed in their lives professionally. Sure it’s missing a “notes” feature (how I know you, whats important to you, the nuggets you shared with me last we talked etc.) but that may (-and should- change soon eh J. H.? 😉) the virtual water-cooler that the feed creates has value in keeping up with one anothers thoughts and public participation but mostly, I suspect, in that it keeps us engaging and checking in and being present to get notifications about changes or to share them ourselves.”

ChatGPT
“I agree with you that LinkedIn’s rolodex feature is a valuable tool for professionals to connect and stay in touch with each other. However, I think that the introduction of AI-generated content on the platform does not necessarily diminish its utility. In fact, it could potentially enhance it by allowing for more personalized and relevant content to be shared and recommended to users.
Additionally, the virtual water-cooler aspect of the feed can be a great way for professionals to stay up to date on industry news and trends, as well as exchange ideas and engage in discussions with their peers.
That being said, I do understand your concern about the potential for AI-generated content to potentially blur the lines between genuine and insincere interactions. However, I believe that there are ways to mitigate this risk, such as by clearly labeling AI-generated content as such and allowing users to easily distinguish it from human-generated content.
In terms of the test for sincerity, I think that there are still ways to gauge genuine interest and engagement on the platform, even if AI is being used to generate some of the content. For example, the number and quality of likes, comments, and shares on a post can be indicators of the level of interest and engagement it has received.
Another point to consider is that LinkedIn is not just a virtual Rolodex – it is also a platform for professionals to showcase their skills, experience, and accomplishments, and to find new job opportunities. AI-generated content could potentially help users to more effectively highlight their strengths and skills and stand out in the job market.
Finally, it’s worth noting that LinkedIn is not the only platform that is exploring the use of AI to generate content. Many other social media and communication platforms are also experimenting with this technology, and it will be interesting to see how it evolves and impacts the way we interact with each other online. “

ME
make this more concise, maximum of 2 paragraphs, remove filler words and reincorporate my point about scale and how LinkedIn helps people overcome their brains limitations on remembering a specific number of people – AKA dunbar’s number

ChatGPT
“I agree with you that the rolodex feature on LinkedIn is a valuable tool for professionals to connect and stay in touch with each other, especially given the limitations of our brains to remember a specific number of people (known as Dunbar’s number). In fact, I believe that the introduction of AI-generated content on the platform could potentially enhance its utility by allowing for more personalized and relevant content to be shared and recommended to users.
However, I do understand your concern about the potential for AI-generated content to blur the lines between genuine and insincere interactions. To mitigate this risk, it would be important for LinkedIn to clearly label AI-generated content and allow users to easily distinguish it from human-generated content. Additionally, there are still ways to gauge genuine interest and engagement on the platform, such as through the number and quality of likes, comments, and shares on a post.”

Goodbye 2022, Hello 2023

Change of year reflections

Instead of New Years resolutions or even advice for the year as Ive done before. I thought this year I would reflect some on things I did that have served me well, things I would like to do more of, and things that maybe I should leave behind as much as possible.

What went well that I want to keep:

Most things honestly went pretty well.
Getting on the Peloton daily sometimes multiple times a day. Very convenient and easy to do.
Getting a good amount of sleep 7-8 hours. Very helpful.
Shutting my mouth. Both breathing through my nose (including mouth taping) and trying to listen more.
Getting outside with the kiddos just to wander and let them play in the parks.
Recording quick video clips for colleagues in Slack to share more context of a take than a text message will allow.
Getting a high quality webcam that makes these videos better.
Consistently encouraging family to wear high quality respirators (KF 94 for kiddos, N95 for me and KN95 for wife)
Reading to the oldest every night and encouraging her to read more and more, reading to the youngest when she wants it too.
Accepting a lot of how things are, and recognizing how they will change, with patience.
Listening to good podcasts and audiobooks, reading a few good books of my own.
Using items well past when most people would, replacing slowly not quickly.
Evaluating if/when to take action to change something, if I can.
Looking for efficient, affordable, simple as much has possible.
Working to live, not living to work.
Working from home.

Some intentions I’d like to do more of:

More formal meditation practice. Id like to build a habit toward a daily brief practice for this.
More routine food prep so there’s boiled eggs on hand for breakfast, quinoa and beans for lunches and dinners.
More regular talks about money and money planning with wife.
Writing more in my blog.
More playing with AI.

Some things I would like to do less of:

Twitter
Re-watching television
Worrying about things I cannot change
Bringing sugar into the house
Drinking alcohol