What Will Never Change at Work

Maybe it’s just my algorithm. But it feels like the hate for AI is rising. AI CEOs are being booed at events. Someone lobbed a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman’s house. 

I’m not bearish on AI. I see where it’s useful and where it’s a waste of my time. 

But I also understand the negative sentiment: How long can you expect a message to work when that message is “AI will take all your jobs; here, you should use it?” 

If you use fear in your marketing, don’t be surprised when people respond to your product with anger.

Anyway, I thought I’d invert the AI conversation and instead talk about the things at work that will never change. Lean on these if you want to bolster your career.

The essentials

Let’s get through the obvious stuff first. Founder, freelancer, team member: The role doesn’t matter. If you bring these three characteristics to work, your career will have incredible staying power: 

• Do good work: The best defense against AI slop is good design, storytelling, movies, products, and businesses. To be exceptional, by definition you must deliver work that isn’t average. Good work in every form is still rare today. Put in the work to master your craft. The rewards will find you.

• Be easy to work with: I’m talking basic conscientiousness. Deliver work when you say you will. Respond to people promptly. Accept feedback without emotion and provide it to others with consideration.  

• Be kind: Work is tough. Make it a little brighter by being the sort of colleague, manager, freelancer, or owner that everyone wants to work with. 

Think back to group projects in high school. Be the person you always wanted on your team. Deliver good work on time and make the work itself more fun for everyone. 

Something extra

The three points above are the essentials. Nail those and you’re ahead of most people. But the forest of career effectiveness is deep. Let’s wander a few steps further. 

Go big

You should assume a simple human tendency: Most people deliver small projects frequently rather than large ones occasionally. It’s hard to stick to a project longer than a few days, so fewer people do it.

This is good news for anyone willing to stick to large projects for the long haul. 

Anyone can fire off a tweet. The execution is measured in minutes. Fewer people will write a blog post. Even fewer people will write a researched article and pitch it to editors. Even fewer people will author a book.

You can extend this thinking to almost anything. The longer a task takes to accomplish, the fewer people there are doing it. Every increase in difficulty or longevity represents a thinning out of your competition. 

Launch your business. Write your book. Release your documentary. 

Ignore your dopamine demands. Go big. 

Experiment and ask

The best things in life come to those who experiment. 

You experiment by just doing things. When you have an idea, act on it. The easiest experiments are just asking for things you want. A few years ago, I wanted to attend a large conference that I couldn’t afford. Since I have a lot of media experience, I requested a media pass from the conference organizers. I was granted a free ticket within hours. 

I’ve met many famous business leaders by simply interviewing them for media projects. Some of those meetings were just short interviews. Others translated into direct opportunities and powerful referrals. 

Experimentation sounds like a big word. But it’s really just creating and asking. Publish the story and send it to someone you think would love it. Go on a pitching blitz to talk on podcasts, speak at conferences, or write a guest post. 

You have not because you experiment not. 

Click publish

Here’s the greatest advantage of my business: All my freelance clients find me. They read one of my articles somewhere, end up on my website, and decide I’m the person they want to write their book, quarterly report, or article. 

I just write for me and then people hire me to write for them. It’s amazing.

The best thing I’ve done for my career is write and publish all the time. Writing pays my bills. It also helps me make countless friends. Writing has helped me appear on podcasts and in newspapers. 

I don’t even have a massive audience. But my work has become a magnet on the internet, as the cliche goes, for people with my shared interests.

Worth mentioning: This worked for me through blogging. But my friends have achieved the same things through videos, podcasts, public speaking, and journalism. 

Choose your form. The point is to click publish. 

Be outrageously curious

The best thing you can do is lean into the weirdness. Pick up the book outside your field. Ask someone about a topic you know nothing about. Host a party and insist your friends invite people you don’t know. 

Your work expands to the level of your curiosity. 

I believe this with all my being. What do I mean?

I mean that playing tennis makes me a better writer. Combing 10Ks to invest my money makes me a better freelancer. Reading history and science gives me a richer vocabulary when I sit down to write for tech CEOs. Watching horror sharpens my storytelling. Enjoying long philosophical conversations with friends over wine makes me a better marketer.

I’m also convinced that following your natural curiosity does more for your career than reading productivity books or binging Alex Hormozi videos. 

Work weird

Speaking of productivity… 

Stop looking for the universal secret potion. The best productivity hacks are unique to the individual. At best, they are weird.

I love breaking away from the internet to work. Often I write freehand. I process client call transcripts on my Kindle. The most productive and prolific year in my business was the year I gave up social media entirely. 

Do I go around prescribing Kindles and social media breaks and internet fasts to every freelancer? No. 

Some people would lose all their productivity if they followed what works for me. So find the weird things that work for you. And just work weird. No one needs an explanation.