The Soul of Enterprise: Business in the Transformation Economy by THRESHOLD

The hosts discuss a cautionary tale about AI, the value of a machine for writing stories, recognizing obvious ideas in business, the importance of simple and obvious solutions, finding overlooked opportunities, and the concept of obviousness in hindsight.

Ron and Ed conduct an interview with an AI incarnation of Peter Drucker. Topics range from knowledge workers to annual appraisals and AARs. They explore the legacy and impact of ideas on management and leadership. The conversation delves into the knowledge economy and the role of knowledge workers. They discuss the interconnectedness between organizations and individuals in effective management. Additionally, they explore the impact of administrative tasks on professionals and the evolution of performance appraisal systems.

Ron and Ed interview Seth David who excels at explaining complex financial concepts. They discuss the evolution of internet browsers, the impact of sentiment analysis and AI tech on organizations, Seth's personal journey from a creative to an accountant, the advantages of virtual meetings, transitioning to advisory services, the relationship between accounting and advisory work, agility and specialization in the accounting career, and the potential of AI and a game-changing app in accounting.

Ron and Ed usually wait six months before having a previous Guest reappear on the show. This is one of the exceptions. Our conversation today focuses on a new conference that Hector and his team are developing, Business Models of the Future Knowledge Worker. Hector will share his thoughts and we will have a live brainstorming event around topic for conversation at the conference. Participate live by posting on X to @asktsoe.

Diving into topics like education reform, immortality, history lessons to prevent atrocities, China's potential decline, benefits of a multi-party system, the future of the car industry, psychological safety in the workplace, and the role of timesheets in revenue generation for professions.

Ron and Ed welcome Bryan Caplan, professor of economics at George Mason University. Bryan is a prolific author and speaker on wide range of economic and other fantastically nerdy topics from voting to role playing games. Bryan's substack, Bet on It, has addressed the following topic in the month of July alone: * Cars and convenience * An offer to illustrate a book of his using AI * Abusers giving vice a bad name * Non rival assets for the poor * Open borders on trial * The status of women Prepare to be impressed. If you have question or comment for Bryan, please email us at asktsoe@verasage.com or tag us on Twitter (soon to be X.com) using @asktsoe

Blair Enns is the founder of Win Without Pitching, the sales training organization for creative professionals. He is the author of two books, The Win Without Pitching Manifesto and Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour. He is the co-host, along with David C. Baker, of the podcast 2Bobs: Conversations on the Art of Creative Entrepreneurship. Best of all, he is the guest on this week's show with Ron and Ed. A good portion of the show will be spend talking about The Innoficiency Principle. Blair laid out the thoughts behind this principle at this link and described it quite succinctly. From Blair: "The Innoficiency Principle states that innovation and efficiency are mutually opposable goals. In any reasonably functioning organization, one cannot be increased without decreasing the other."

Join Ed and Ron as they discuss the book William Donaldson, PhD: Simple_Complexity: A Guide to Systems Thinking. Systems are both simple and complex, which contain amazing constructs that one often must marvel. Systems also have a mind and a rhythm of their own. The parts do not exist independent of the whole, and you can't understand the parts without understanding the whole, and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Your organization's culture is an emergent property of your system. If you want to change the culture, you have to change the system, which is comprised of three components: Elements; Interactions; and Purpose. Hat tip to Mark Gandy at CFO Bookshelf for interviewing the author of this excellent book.

For the third time, Ron and Ed will welcome back Tim Williams, one of the foremost thinkers about professional firm strategy and positioning. Tim thinks deeply about these topic, but has the ability to simplify and communicate complex topics to us and his audiences worldwide. We will also ask him about his thinking with regard to generative AI and the potential impact on advertising and marketing. If you have a comment or question for Tim, please tag us at @asktsoe on Twitter or send an email to asktsoe@verasage.com.

In this episode Ron and Ed will dissect a recent blog post by Marc Andreessen entitled Why AI Will Save the World. It is a deep and thoughtful piece by someone who has done some very deep thinking. We will discuss the items upon which agree and those with which we quibble. The post can be found here - https://a16z.com/2023/06/06/ai-will-save-the-world/ - and we welcome any thoughts or questions you might want us to explore. Hit us up on Twitter @asktsoe.