Find an expert that knows less than you, not more
What most of us get wrong about AI, and what it can teach us about scaling a business
The future of your business has never existed before.
Think about that.
That vision you have in your head about what you want your business to become has never existed before in the history of humanity.
Some of you might read that and think, “there’s plenty of businesses out there that are doing just what we do and kicking ass at it. I want to be like them.”
This message is not for you.
But for those of you who are carving your own path and creating something different, you’re not trying to be like everybody else. You started your business because you have this vision of the way you want your life to be, or even the way you want the world to be.
You want to make your dent in the universe, and nobody has ever done that before.
And that begs some really important questions.
How can you create something that's never been created before?
How can you see something that's never been seen before?
How can you know what's never been known before?
To answer these questions, I want to tell you about a story I read in The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin. A story about artificial intelligence that hit me so hard with its profoundness that it nearly brought me to tears.
And it left me questioning the role that outside experts play in helping founders grow and scale their business.
How AI Changed the Game of Go Forever
In 2016, there was a famous match between an AI called Alpha Go and the reigning grandmaster of the ancient strategy game, Go.
In the 37th move of the game, the AI had a choice to make between two apparent moves. One would indicate it was playing an offensive game, the other a defensive one.
Instead, the AI made a move that nobody had anticipated.
A move so stunning that it caused the grandmaster to leave the room, and after ultimately being defeated, he retired from competitive play entirely.
The AI had devised a move that nobody had ever seen or made in thousands of years of play.
How did that happen?
Was it because Alpha Go knew more than the grandmaster, having played more iterations of the game than any human in history?
Or was it actually because it knew less?
It was the latter.
Having learned the game from scratch, Alpha Go wasn't constrained by the history and traditions of the game. It didn't accept the narrative of how the game was supposed to be played. It wasn't held back by limiting beliefs.
With a clean slate, Alpha Go was able to innovate, devise a completely new strategy, and changed the game forever.
“To see something no human has seen before, to know what no human has known before, to create as no human has created before, it may be necessary to see as if through eyes that have never seen, know through a mind that has never thought, create with hands that have never been trained.”
This is Beginner's Mind
You've probably experienced Beginner's Mind before. Perhaps it was when you first started your business, and you saw nothing but potential and possibilities in front of you.
You didn't know what you didn't know, and that was precisely what led to your early success. You took risks. You innovated. You created without constraints.
But over time, you spent more and more time in your head. And the more you did, the more all this stuff started piling up.
The limiting beliefs of the things you're "supposed to" do as a founder.
The assumptions about the way that your business is "supposed to" work.
The messages you’re bombarded with (including from yourself) about the strategies, tools, and tactics you’re “supposed to” use if you want to be successful.
These are the same mental constructs that tell us in a game of Go that we only have two moves to make.
And it’s holding you back.
Choosing Who to Work With
Seeing the third choice is nearly impossible for most of us. We're just too in it to see it.
But just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
You already have most of the answers. The path forward is right in front of you. You just can’t see it because there’s all this mess in your head blocking your vision.
And that’s why it’s so valuable to work with an outside expert or an advisor, right? Someone who's walked in your shoes. Who knows what's what and will show you the way.
Yes, but...
Before you pick that person, think carefully about where they will lead you.
Had Alpha Go been trained by the grandmaster, it never would have played the game it played.
Someone who has walked the path you're on, and knows more about your industry than you do, is likely to have all of the same assumptions and constraints that you have.
They can only take you one place. And that's where they've been before.
Is that where you want to go?
Or do you want to go to the place that doesn’t exist yet? The place you've envisioned for years and inspired you to start your business in the first place?
For that, you need someone that knows less about your business than you do, not more.
Someone that isn't constrained by the standards and norms in your industry, or distracted by all the noise in your head.
Someone that has more questions for you than answers. That isn't afraid to say "explain it to me like I'm five."
What would it feel like to be unencumbered by all the complexity and limitations you’re wrestling with? To be confident in the path you’re on?
What would it feel like to see the things you cannot see?
My clients tell me it feels freeing and exciting. Like they can get back to the fun part of growing their business again.
And that’s because I’m not the one that has the answers. The answers are already there. It’s my job to help you uncover them by seeing what you can’t.
And sure, I’ve got a track record and a toolbox filled with strategies and tactics to find the answers and bring them to life, but they’re all in service of the ideas and vision that you already have. That future of your business that has never existed before…
…but one day will.
Are you ready to get out of your head and start having fun again? Are you ready for your vision to finally become a reality?