AI and I Had a Disagreement
I've been asking AI more and more questions lately.
What are 1-hour bike rides from Leuven, Belgium? What insurance coverage should 21 y.o. with a clunker have? What products help repair hair damaged from coloring?
Things I used to Google, now I throw into Gemini (Google's AI tool) - including this question about my retirement horizon:
I have $XX in invested assets. Assume a 6.2% return and $xx a year added in. Calculate ending amounts in 5 or 7 years.
This funny reply gives us two good lessons for managers.
LESSON 1
What you don't see here -- and is important -- are the 7 previous rounds Gemini and I had about my portfolio.
I gave it some information, and it replied. I tweaked the information, it replied. I forgot some information, added it, it replied. I forgot something else, added it, it replied. And again, and again, and again.
Then, I asked the question above. And got the answer above...a no.
Essentially, Gemini threw in the towel and replied: "No, Cecilia, I cannot answer your question for the 8th time. I'm sorry, but we're done here."
Raise your hand if you've ever felt that kind of exasperation . When you go in circles with an employee/partner/spouse/child/co-worker/parent/basically any other human being, at the end of your mental rope, and, ultimately, shut the conversation down.
See, we all have a conversation tolerance.
That is, the length of time you can tolerate a conversation going in circles with no resolution. At our breaking point, we desperately say things like, "Because, I'm the mom, that's why!"
As a manager, this is a good time to consider your conversation tolerance. Can you go 8 rounds before breaking or just 2? Is there one employee in particular who gets your goat? When you're pushed too far, how do you respond? Do you tend to shut things down with your final word, like "no!"?
AI management tip : Your leadership is tested when you are at the brink of tolerance.
LESSON 2
You see how Gemini thought the conversation was about financial advice, and I thought it was about math?
Their truth. My truth.
I'm fairly certain that every conversation you will ever have has the same two components: how one person views things and how the other does.
This is the essence of management, my friend! It's a never-ending test of your ability to maneuver through a gap in viewpoints.
Sometimes, it's a large gap (they'd like a $10,000 raise vs. you have $2,000 to give them); other times it's smaller (they'd like pizza for dinner vs. you'd like tacos). Nevertheless, it's a gap to be bridged.
My guess is that most managers don't know much about gap finesse - the ability to productively respond when two viewpoints come to a head: financial advice vs. math.
When challenged, most folks double down on their own viewpoint. "It's MATH."
Think on this: When your truth is challenged, does it become the only truth in the room? Do you have space to consider any other viewpoint? How adamantly do you defend your truth at the expense of others?
AI management tip #2 : Your truth is subject to challenge, change, and correction. Allow space for that to happen.
p.s. Gemini agreed ↓
About The Author
For the past two decades, Cecilia Gorman has helped advertising agencies and other creatively-minded companies fix costly communication and productivity issues by teaching managers how to become better connectors, motivators, and leaders. Cecilia is the author of Always Believe In Better, creator of the digital learning course for managers—Manager Boot Camp, and co-founder of the global training and support community for working women—Empowership.
Interested in growing your skills as a manager? Check out how Manager Boot Camp might help.
