January Check-In: Are We All Just Making It Up?

[00:00:18] Hello everyone, it's Wednesday 29th of January 2025 and I am Andy coming to you from the United Kingdom. And I am Scott coming to you from Toronto where it is also Wednesday January the 29th. And what a winter wonderland it is here today. Got any snow over there Andy? Sadly no snow, just grey skies and cold air.

[00:00:45] But we've had lots of wind recently which has been interesting and getting the season ready. Hey I was on a call yesterday and somebody's connection died because the wind had knocked over the utility lines in their neighbourhood. Anyway, good to see you again. Likewise, likewise. So this is the Tea and Timbits podcast, Global Perspectives on Business Development to help you prosper in case you'd forgotten what you were listening to.

[00:01:13] Thank you. Today we're going to be reflecting back on the year so far, which seems like an odd thing to do at the end of January. But January being a long month with five weeks of Wednesdays, we thought it would be a good idea to reflect on our discussions about change, but also on the things that have happened to us and the plans that we have moving forward for the rest of the year. However, before we get into that, Scott, do you have a story for us?

[00:01:39] I mean, let's admit, like we also went, oh, we have one more week to fill in our podcast schedule. Yeah, that's why we hit that. Why don't you just chat a little bit about how it's been going so far and what we're feeling out there and what we've seen and how that's impacted us. So I look forward to that discussion. But yes, you know, already this year, and I think it probably segues into what we'll get into,

[00:02:01] too. It's been a hectic year. And there's been a lot going on. And I was in a situation recently where a project team was sort of really struggling with the process of

[00:02:26] of feeling validated, of making sure that they knew that what they were doing was worthwhile. And there were some in the scenario that were like, what do you mean? Like, huh? And others who are like, oh, my God, yeah, I totally get it. Like, this is ridiculous kind of a kind of a situation. There was things were changing. Decisions were being reversed. They were being altered. But work

[00:02:51] was still getting done and things were still generally moving in a forward direction. But it was not as efficient. It was not as productive as I think we like these things to to run. And we took a bit of a moment back only after I sort of had a few individual one on one conversations and just kind of realized that people were feeling as a result of this, like their contributions were just not being valued.

[00:03:23] And and they'd all been very active in the conversation about what needed to get done and what the change was going to be and why we're going in a new direction and then why we're going back to the original direction a few days later. And, you know, somebody on on on the team, you know, did say to me, you know, it just sounds like, you know, our our feedback. You know, when we get when we give feedback, the response, the the the counterparty in the conversation

[00:03:53] just starts defending the decision further. And we get it. But I guess, you know, and they kind of trailed off in mid sentence. And the realization for me was it's it's all about just sort of that back to basics human nature, you got to make sure that in these moments, especially but always you're validating what you're hearing. And sometimes that is all that you need to do.

[00:04:18] And it's it's not that they don't understand the situation. It's not that they can't get on board with the direction it needs to go. It's that you need to make sure that everybody's feeling like they are contributing, even if their contribution actually is getting discarded at the moment in favor of that, that that progress. So acknowledging what you're hearing. So it's practicing that listening. And I,

[00:04:46] I am so guilty of of this so often, just making sure that the other party knows that they're heard. And I think that was worth reminding or sharing again, so that everybody sort of reflects on it to the extent that it will help them and others. I think with things like this, it's always good to have a reminder and be reminded of that because

[00:05:11] we're also guilty of forgetting the, you know, the benefits of, well, actively listening, I suppose. Yeah. And just you don't have to rebut right away, you know? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Right. Mm hmm. So, um, sometimes, uh, that can go a long way and giving it a bit of space and then coming back to it and being like, I heard you, this is what I heard you say, you know, we're still going to go in this direction. Here's why, if you want me to explain it further, I can, but you know, and then usually the person's like, no, I get it, but I'm glad that you understood where I was coming from.

[00:05:42] I can learn so much from that in my personal life as well. Well, there's that part too. Uh, well, let's, um, let's move on to, uh, uh, onto today's non-topic, um, but, uh, the discussion of the reflection of the year and, um, where we are, where we see ourselves and, uh, and where we see things going. I mean, has there been anything standing out for you so far in, uh, 2025?

[00:06:10] Yeah. I mean, I, I, I mentioned it right off the top there that it has been, it feels like, and the people that have been talking to sort of reiterate that it's been, um, hectic, but slightly frantic, um, start to the year. Um, and, uh, I don't know, uh, what, what's been the vibe in, in your, uh, in your, in, on your travels and your, uh, in your rooms? Well, I think, uh, it has been an international thing. There's been a lot of distraction around

[00:06:38] what's been going on in the U S and the changes that that might bring. Uh, and I think a lot of companies, uh, no matter what they do, no matter what size they are, no matter where they are in the world are looking at the, um, you know, the political direction of the world and the way that things are changing and the way that things are impacting. And of course the U S being a, a big part of that, it, um, it is something that, that, that draws a lot of attention and, uh, and

[00:07:05] has caused some people to, you know, to stand still and do nothing and, uh, and others to see it as a great opportunity and move, move further forward. And then there's those that have just carried on as normal as if, you know, what the hell politics doesn't affect us. We'll just get on with things and see what happens and adapt to it accordingly. I don't think there's a right or a wrong approach to that. I think it is important to be aware of the, um, you know, the current affairs in the, in the political world, in an international world that we live in nowadays, uh, the way that

[00:07:34] it's going to affect how we communicate on social media, the way that social media is going to affect the way that, uh, you know, we're interacting with our customers and how our customers are, you know, using these platforms. Uh, it's important to be aware of, uh, alternative platforms and the ones that we're already used to, because some people have been drawn to those. And also it's important to, uh, reflect on what is working on those platforms, uh, because social media,

[00:07:59] whether we like it or not is an important part of, uh, communications with customers, with existing customers and with potential customers, um, in all businesses at the moment. Uh, I mean, I'm sort of frantically writing down some, some thoughts that I'm being overwhelmed by listening to you, uh, sort of with that summary, cause I, you're spot on. Um,

[00:08:23] and I think that that is, um, very much what's, what's going on. Um, you know, as you, as you mentioned some, some, some folks, some businesses are sort of frozen in their tracks are excited and and see great opportunity ahead. Some are seeing, um, uh, uh, uh, downside, big downside, um,

[00:08:47] and are needing to, uh, put, put contingencies in place for that. Um, I, I, I, I go back and forth on this, um, every day. I, I think, um, you know, the, the, the best plans are the ones you don't have to implement a lot of the times, uh, and, and preparedness is all about thinking about sort of what you might need to be ready to do and, and hope that you don't need to execute, uh, on some

[00:09:15] of those. So I think that there's a certain amount of value in workshopping, um, just some, some contingencies and it, you don't have to build out, you know, great detail into these, but at least just kind of workshop it so that you, when you, when you do maybe see some of these things start to materialize, you feel more comfortable, ready and prepared and certain that you are up for, for the moment. And I, and I think if that's, that's one thing for business leaders

[00:09:43] to do and sales leaders to do, it's another thing for individuals to do with, with a mate, with, um, with a colleague, um, to say what, you know, what are you going to do if this happens? Do you think this is a real challenge? What are your concerns and considerations? Where do you see opportunity that I haven't thought about just to bat that around in the current moment, I think can be, um, comforting and, and, and valuable. The flip side of that coin is you can

[00:10:09] overdo it. You can get too wrapped up in it. You can, you can, you can, you know, analysis paralysis yourself, um, to, to death. Um, and I have certainly been, been guilty of getting, you know, overwhelmed by it and, and had to very consciously go, okay, hold on a second. Like that is not serving anybody. It's not serving my clients, my staff, the business, myself, my family. So let's just be aware of,

[00:10:37] of, you know, that, that, that boundary and, um, and, and bring it forward in my mind when some of these conversations, um, do come up again. Yeah. I think, I think that's, that's the key really, isn't it is, is not ignoring it, but not letting whatever's going on externally control what you do, but making sure that you have a contingency plan of if certain things happen, then this is the action

[00:11:03] that we will take in order to mitigate that or to, you know, adapt to it and, uh, and make it work in our favor. And, um, you know, there's a lot of unknowns at the moment and, uh, depending on the type of business that you have and, uh, you know, the type of industry that you work in depends on the level of those unknowns at the moment. Yeah. And as you say, being a little bit prepared, having a think about, you know, what if, and, um, having those things in the pipeline is a good idea.

[00:11:30] Um, but just going, oh, well, we can't do anything until this happens is, is a mistake. And, uh, I think it is really important to keep an eye on what's going on, but then, um, you just get on with it. I, I really like what, um, you also said there, there was a comment I wrote down as I was listening to you talk, um, you know, what, what, what has been working. Um, so I think that, that it is

[00:11:56] definitely a, a, a grounding rod that you can, that you can use. Um, we, we, we've said this before on the podcast and past episodes, you know, like a lack of information is also information. It's like, well, I don't know what's going to come. Well, that is actually information that you can use. If you don't know what's going to go on, do some of this thought thinking, but, but focus on what,

[00:12:21] you know, has been serving you well, don't abandon that. Don't stop doing that. Think about what, you know, has been working in the very sort of recent, um, past or, or even further back and, and, and, and just put some underlines below those, those things and, and give yourself the reassurance and confidence to go like, well, you know, there's no reason not to keep doing this until

[00:12:46] new information presents itself that I should take into account. But until you do get new information, um, it's, it's, it's a reasonable conclusion to, you know, make sure that you're, that you're delivering on those things you do well, just as well as always have. Yeah, that's right. That's right. When it comes to communications, branding, social media and things around all of this sort of stuff, what, what are your experiences, you know, because you, you work very much in this

[00:13:15] digital space. So you're very much being looked to, to kind of lead by example of how, how should we be doing things? How should our digital footprint look in 2025? What has been your experience so far this year that, uh, that people have been, um, you know, using well and, um, that has been effective? Because of course, AI is coming to a big, a big part and we see more and more and more AI generated

[00:13:43] content. And most of it is quite obvious and, uh, and I don't think it does very well. Um, but what's your perspective on that? Okay. So I'm gonna, when you started asking the question, I, my mind went back to your comment at the top of the conversation about social media. So I, I do have a comment on that first and then I'll get to AI. Um, I think a lot of folks that I've been talking to have been

[00:14:06] somewhat alarmed at the shift that the technology companies have very quickly taken this year, um, changing their policies, changing their regulations, changing their perspective, changing their approach, where they're investing, um, dropping a lot of, um, sort of the policies, programs and, and, and initiatives that they, that they had, um, around sort of their content

[00:14:31] moderation and guidelines within their, within their spaces. And I think for individuals, we see that as, as rather immoral. Like, um, whether you agree that the new position is better than the old position being so fickle is the, the problem. And, um, and I think everybody has to just decide for themselves whether they prefer the new, um, uh, posture or the old one and pick the platform

[00:14:57] more, more appropriately, but I do, but those companies are motivated, um, very much by their bottom line and where they're going to make a whole lot of revenue. And they are power brokers that, that, that, that make their decisions based on those hallways. And, um, um, would love to think of ourselves as big power brokers, Andy, but I also think we get a, we get the benefit of being a little bit more, uh, consistent with our own posture and, and our, and the way that our clients have come to

[00:15:24] know us and big, you know, shifts like this. Um, you know, perhaps it feels, um, um, attractive to, to want to make them, I think just do need to be taken with a little bit of patience and consideration for whatever it's worth. Um, so in a, in the, in the embrace of social media, I, I, I don't have a clear recommendation or, or thought there. I think it does have to be up to the individual businesses,

[00:15:50] their sort of alignment with their audience, try to keep the politics out of it. Um, knowing of course, that sometimes there are certain virtues values that you do want to align with or not. So just be really intentional about making those choices and know what you're, what you're getting into. Um, I do think that this is going to be a year where everybody starts to explore alternatives.

[00:16:16] We're at the very least going to get a little bit more of a milieu out there. We're going to start introducing different things. We're going to go on different channels. We're going to use different platforms, or maybe we're going to, we're going to use more of the ones that we, that we've come to know, um, instead of the, the, the one that we've gravitated to, you know, in the, in the, in the recent past. So that's what I think about the social media angle

[00:16:40] on the AI angle. Um, I think that 2025 is going to be the year where, um, uh, people are overcoming that hesitation that you just described. You know, you, you, you mentioned that you don't think that it's got, you know, it's the, the word, it's not going to live up to the hype. Um, I think that we will find ways to make it live, live up to the hype and we will start to explore and get comfortable

[00:17:09] with the potential that it has for unlocking activity, advancing our brands, delivering, um, better experiences. The big friction around the adoption of AI has been around trust, safety and, and leadership. And in my opinion, leadership, people not wanting to be the ones to stick their neck out next out and say, this is the way we need to go. Everybody come on. I've got a plan because those, those folks aren't, aren't confident that that would be a good recommendation to make

[00:17:39] as exciting as the technology is because of some of the other friction points, drawbacks and considerations. It hallucinates. It's, it's not necessarily trustworthy. Well, there are now platforms that allow you to better manage the deployment of those experiences. So businesses, you know, don't just turn on chat GPT for their customers and let it go hog wild. There are platforms,

[00:18:05] tools, we're working with several of them that, that allow, you know, for some monitoring and management and fine tuning, uh, and delivery of that experience so that it can be, um, managed effectively. And therefore you can do it in a, in a more manageable, uh, confident way. Once businesses become comfortable with that as an extension of how they express their brand,

[00:18:34] how they provide, you know, digital experiences, customer experiences, brand experiences, they will then get comfortable allowing it to be more automated and allowing it to perform actions and automate workflows and complete transactions and make recommendations. Um, and I think that our comfort with that will come very quickly, uh, 12 months. So yeah, that was a really good, really good, really detailed, but actually very, um, thought provoking summary, I think. And, uh,

[00:19:04] yeah, no, cause because you work in that area and you're exposed to it in a different way to maybe, you know, someone like myself who is more on the receiving end or the decision-making end of these things. Um, it is very, very interesting to get the, um, you know, the perspective of someone like yourself who has a deeper understanding of where it comes from its capabilities and where it can potentially go and how it can be used in a good way. Um, I mean, just referencing it back to social media,

[00:19:33] my experience has been that human led content, you know, like real stories and humor and stuff like that, that of course is still going to outperform a lot of the written content that AI can generate, but you are completely right that some of the engagement, some of the stuff that's going on there, some of the, um, the value adding elements of, uh, of, of AI, uh, should be embraced. I mean, it's, you know, it's a, it's a wonderful creation in that way, if it's harnessed and used in,

[00:20:01] in, in the way it could be. And, um, you know, I don't think it will replace humans as many people have, uh, you know, worried about and feared about and, uh, written about, but, um, I think if it's used in the right way, it can be, it can be really, really good. Yeah. A quick one before we, before we wrap this up though, have you seen any, any sort of changes? Cause you mentioned other platforms and things like that, but have you seen any changes in a type of content that, uh, that is

[00:20:29] effective, um, in social media, be it on LinkedIn or on some of the more, you know, uh, commercial, uh, um, no, no, no big sudden shifts. Um, it's not like, you know, um, something emerged suddenly this year that wasn't already, um, sort of a leaning, a leading, um, uh, content format or content type.

[00:20:53] I will, I will reiterate what you just said that, you know, that, that human led content is, um, definitely still the strongest AI is wonderful for helping you ideate, brainstorm, draft, refine, um, and, and organize your, your thinking to be more articulate, uh, and to be, and, and to increase your, your volume. So it's going to be a little bit like the amount, not just the amplitude. Um, um, and, uh,

[00:21:21] and I think that that is going to lead us to new challenges of like, how do I filter for the good, good stuff? Yeah. Um, um, um, but I think that, um, I think that AI will have all kinds of other value and whatnot, but back to your question about sort of content formats on social media and whatnot. Um, no, I'm not seeing anything in particular that sort of stands out as a, as a big shift, but, um, you asked the question for a reason or are you, have you observed anything? Well, I'm from, from my perspective, certainly in the, um, uh, in the music industry,

[00:21:51] it's been very much a case that these short form, um, you know, vertical videos are much, much more engaging, much more interesting than, uh, than anything else, you know, than any other content. So either that's through TikTok or YouTube shorts or, you know, Instagram reels, that is the type of content that's getting the most, uh, engagement, um, on, you know, across all platforms. And I've certainly seen a real uptake on that. And I think,

[00:22:21] you know, given the way that TikTok has gone in, in certain places and, you know, and the influence that ByteDance as a, as a group has on, uh, many different areas, I think YouTube is probably the way to go. Um, the new tube shorts, uh, not to exclude normal, horizontal long form content, because that is still, you know, one of the best places, but certainly the younger crowd, that is where they're engaging. And, um, you know, whether

[00:22:46] that's, whether that's in a business perspective or on a entertainment perspective, it is still a good way to reach a wider and younger audience. Well, at the risk of extending what's probably one of our longest episodes, even further, I will, I will reiterate that, but I will sort of, um, uh, counter that as, as well. What there's all kinds of uptick in that sort of short form content and we can absolutely thank TikTok for it. And then all the other platforms

[00:23:13] for trying to replicate that experience and introduce their own algorithms and, um, and be an alternative, um, to, to, to those that are finding friction in, in, in TikTok, whether it's been pulled away from you or otherwise. Um, but there is also a, a, an increase in popularity of long form content, like very long, and like two, three hour podcast episodes, um, documentaries, things like that. Yeah. Yeah. Educational content, especially.

[00:23:40] And then, and then what's happening is those authors, those content creators, um, have new tools, thanks to AI, um, at their disposal to just automatically and very quickly take out sound bites and short from that long form content, get it into the, the, the ether, um, and attract an audience for their, um, their channel. And that's absolutely the right way to go. I completely agree.

[00:24:08] Yeah. There you go. I like that. I think that was a really interesting, um, just, just a quick discussion about, you know, cause it, it's only been five weeks into the year, but it's been an interesting five weeks and, uh, and I think it's, uh, had a, had a big impact as we've discussed. I mean, we ended up generating one of our longest episodes as a result of a discussion about what's happened this year so far at the end of January. It's been building up and then here we

[00:24:34] are with, with it, you know, well, I guess we're going to have one of those long form episodes at the end of the year when we go, what's, you know, what's been happening in 2025. So very good. Thank you very much. If anyone wants to get in touch and encourage us to do long form episodes that are several hours long, uh, please get in touch, but don't write to it in a long message. Just keep it nice and short and simple. And, uh, you can do that on tea and timbits.com where

[00:25:00] you can find many ways to get in touch with us or listen to old episodes. Thank you very much. Thanks everybody.