Lauren and I moved to the mighty City of Steel (aka Sheffield) in March.
Everything was ticking along smoothly until a couple of weeks ago. That was when I wandered downstairs to
Chateau Grundy’s kitchen and heard a strange noise as I passed the lounge.
It was a “drip, drip, drip” sort of noise. Which was odd, as I didn’t think there was anything in the lounge which could drip.
I rounded the
corner, pushed open the lounge door and to my horror, I could see muddy water seeping down the lounge wall. On the floor was a musty, brown coloured puddle which was growing bigger and bigger by the second.
Chateau Grundy had sprung a leak.
Now, being useful around the house isn’t exactly my forte. But I knew this wasn’t a moment to dilly dally.
Quick as a flash, I whipped out my phone, fired up ChatGPT and typed:
Hey ChatGPT.
Chateau Grundy has sprung a leak! What do I do?
Turns out ChatGPT knew exactly what to do.
After taking pity on me (which was kind), ChatGPT helpfully told me to lay out some towels, find the stopcock, turn off
the water, take a photo of the damage and then call a plumber.
Which is exactly what I did.
Honestly, I'm so tempted to fire up ChatGPT any time I have a dilemma on my hands. It’s like having the Encyclopaedia Britannica
and the world’s most organised project manager rolled into one.
But always resorting to my digital friend like this might be a mistake.
Not for plumbing or other practical stuff where there’s a clear process to follow
(there’s no way I’m not going to use ChatGPT the next time Lauren asks me to grab my toolbox and do some home renovations).
But it’s definitely a mistake when it comes to the questions which keep us up at night.
Take career dilemmas.
To my mind, asking ChatGPT whether you should quit your job is like asking Google Maps which town you should live in. You're asking a search engine for something that isn’t searchable.
Sure, ChatGPT might have access to every word of wisdom ever written.
But that’s irrelevant because none of that wisdom is yours. Only YOU have access to that. It’s not like your career is a set of plumbing instructions where there’s a “correct” answer waiting to be found in a huge database somewhere.
When it comes to your job, the only thing that matters is the working life that you want. Not the working life your boss, your colleagues or ChatGPT want you to have.
Thus the only way you’ll ever answer questions like this is by
deciding for yourself.
This is one of the reasons I created my new group coaching program, The Inside Job.
I don’t have the answers to your career questions and ChatGPT certainly doesn’t.
But you already have access to more wisdom about your career than ChatGPT ever will. Which means the trick isn't finding the "right" answer. The trick is seeing your situation clearly enough for your next step to become obvious.
That's
what we'll be exploring together inside the program.
If you’ve been reading my emails for a few weeks or months and wondering what it’s actually like to work with me, The Inside Job is a great place to find out. It's less than the price of a pint each month, it's a good way to get a feel for how I coach and, if you like, you can bring your own
real-life situation or questions onto the calls too.
If you’re ready to sign up to The Inside Job, here’s the link:
The Inside Job
I’ve also popped some more details about the program below (as well as a bonus which has your name on if you sign up before 7.30pm UK time tomorrow).
If you have questions, please don’t be shy in hitting reply.
To fulfilment,
Tom