OP #273: Human vs. Machine, Survey Results, and More.

Author

Darren Herman
October 22, 2024

Hello OP Community,

I hope you’ve had a great start to the week. If you are reading this on the day that it’s meant to be read, Tuesday, the Celtics host the Knicks tonight to kick off the NBA Season and we will be there. My home is divided with three Celtics fans and then me, the lone Knicks fan. I’ve been looking forward to the start of the basketball season since last season ended. I am a bit concerned about our (NYK) thin roster going into the season. The NBA posted some key storylines to the upcoming season which are a good read.

Just a couple of nights ago, we kicked off our Coast to Coast Fantasy Basketball League draft. It’s a mix of family, close friends, and their kids, making it a fun way to keep the competition alive and stay connected throughout the season. We switched league platforms to Fantrax this year and so far, I like it. My team is looking a bit too Knicks-y (current, former) and may need to tweak that as the season commences. I currently have OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and former Knicks Donte DiVincenzo and RJ Barrett. As it relates to non-Knicks, I was able to pick up high-expectation-rookie Zach Edey, as I am excited to see what he can do this season.

To get us started, here are a few quick reads:

For the rest of the content in this letter, it shows the dichotomy in the market today. The first piece is all around authentic human craftsmanship and the second talks about the use of AI in growth organizations. Human vs. machine. I believe the future is a combination of both, not one or the other.

I like the way this OP came out and hope you do too.

Happy Tuesday.
Darren

The Patek Philippe 5212A: A Story of Bold Leadership. Remembering Craft In This Fast Paced World.

I was recently introduced to the Patek Philippe 5212A, a watch with a story as beautiful as its design. While a watch expert was explaining its history, I found myself captivated—not just by the technical details, but by the story behind its creation. In a world moving ever faster with technology, stories like these remind us why craftsmanship matters.

The tale begins with Thierry Stern, president of Patek Philippe, who wanted a weekly calendar watch. When the designer presented a mockup, something extraordinary happened. Mr. Stern fell in love with the hand-drawn elements on the dial, so much so that they decided to keep the handwritten style rather than switching to official fonts. This decision became the defining feature of the 5212A’s unique dial.

Now imagine this: you're tasked with designing a new watch, and when you show your vision, it's greenlit on the spot—handwritten quirks and all. That’s bold decision-making, and it’s what sets this Patek apart from the rest.

The 5212A isn’t just a watch. It's a statement about craftsmanship, thoughtful design, and the power of making bold choices. As we move through a world of fast fashion, cookie-cutter homes, and computerized cars, it’s worth pausing to appreciate true craftsmanship, authentic design, and stories that stand the test of time.

OP Community AI Survey

In the last OP, I sent out a call to action to take a 5-10 minute survey about AI and its adoption within your respective growth organizations. I denote growth by marketing, e-commerce, digital, etc. 

I only have about 30 responses (out of about a thousand of you who opened the email), so I’d love more. If you haven’t done so already, you can fill the survey out here.

I have pasted two charts from the survey below.

The below pie chart showcases the level of AI adoption within your organizations as you reported. What is interesting to me is that there is zero blue on the chart, which denotes that all survey participants have at least some use of AI in their growth organizations.

The natural next question is to look at where AI is being used within your growth organizations. As you can see from the below chart, Content Creation is most often cited with Marketing Automation and Data Analytics & Insights not far off.

For me, this mirrors what I am seeing within the world of growth related AI - lots of early traction with Content innovation. Do any of you have any favorite platforms or processes around content creation innovation that you want to share? Reply and send me a note.

Over the next few letters, I’ll follow-up with a lot more insight from the survey. There’s plenty more questions and information to share.

Below are a few articles I came across this past week that I found interesting. While I may not agree with everything in each one, I think they're worth a read. If you stumble upon an article you think I or the Operating Partner community would enjoy, feel free to share it with me. Of course, I reserve the right to decide what gets featured in the OP.

Ad Tech: All SaaS Backwards (Terence Kawaja)

How To Scrape Video (Simon Wilison’s Blog)

Thank you for reading the OP. If someone forwarded this OP to you and you’d like to subscribe for free, you can do so here.

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