On Being AI And Being Last

The wheel of karma goes round and round. You make a start, go to the middle, come to the end, only to begin all over. 

When I was in the fullness of my late career, I was part of a group that built and organization dedicated to teaching professionals the art and science of building a person a network. It was called Trusted Advisor Network. For a short period, it was a dynamic organization. It offered a different, a more fundamentally value laden way of interacting. At the core of all of it was the training program I'd developed called the TAN System. It was the heart and soul of the organization. A great many people benefited from it feeling that it provided themselves a sense of deeper purpose. 

Sadly, its ongoing development was not to be. It was torn apart by selfish forces that often occur in these situations. I was at that point where I was doing my great transition in 2014. I did help a part of the organization to restructure, but mostly I just moved on with my life. From time-to-time, I would hear this comment or that on how it was working or not working. Mostly it seemed that it was gradually coming to an end.

But I still had contact with many people who had been a part of it. Many who rued it having fallen down. Others who were committed to reviving it. So it was in January, as I was yet again looking to revive my own personal network to gain more business, that I was talking to two of these old TAN comrades that were part of this revival team. There message was simple. 

"de-I, we need your AI."

"What? I have nothing to do with artificial intelligence. And how is that going to help with your revival of TAN."

"No de-I, we need your ANCIENT INTELLIGENCE!"

"We need the founder of our system teaching us. Our people have forgotten all about the system that made us special. Will you come and and teach us anew?"

As I thought about this, I realized I had a lot to gain. I needed to rejuvenate my network. And this would be an ideal way to meet some younger professionals. So this last Thursday I found myself flying to Phoenix, Arizona to give a presentation on the TAN System. 

How long had it been since I'd done a 'business' trip? Over a decade for sure. As the vast majority of my travel over this period has been long-distance, long duration, I wasn't quite sure even how to arrange things for a same-day go and return flight. But I figured it out. And I had an interesting realization.

Virtually all of my travel for the longest time (including business travel) involved my having a carry-on bag. This led to a pattern of me wanting to get on the plane first to ensure I had overhead space for said bag. On this trip, I realized that was not the case. There was no need for me to get on the plane any earlier than absolutely necessary. So on both the outbound and return flights, I made sure I was THE LAST person to board. What a delicious and interesting feeling of nonchalance and freedom. 

Oh and by the way, my presentation was very well received and I met a number new, younger people to add to my network.