Mike Garber: Commercial Productivity and Organizational Development

  There have been a lot of posts about the recent advancements in AI, especially around Large Language Models like ChatGPT, the integration with Microsoft Office products, and Google’s Bard. I worked with Nokia and Microsoft during the digital assistant revolution (#Cortana was ahead of its time), and the excitement now is even more palpable. More than just assistants, the new breed of innovation is moving into the realm of truly augmenting human capability- even at its current state. With a background in sales and enablement of nearly two decades, this is where I tend to focus my attention- and the changes over the past few years have been enormous. Technologies that have been around for decades, like CRMs, have made exponential leaps, and new technologies are coming into existence that can forever change the landscape of sales. The increasing prevalence of sales automation tools now allows sales teams to streamline their processes and improve their results like never before....

  Having worked in a remote or hybrid role for over a decade, it is always interesting to me when this topic of discussion is brought up. Many companies have embraced the benefits of allowing employees to work remotely. However, not all employers have been successful in managing remote work and Clearlink CEO James Clarke's recent remarks highlight the challenges of this transition. According to an article and video posted by Vice , Clarke told Clearlink employees that many remote workers have "quietly quit" and become so brazen that dozens at his company "didn't even open" their laptops for a month.  He then goes on to resurrect an old and tired complaint about caregivers being incapable of productivity, while praising those who essentially sell their souls (and their family dogs) for their employers. While I agree that these two extremes have weight in the conversation and understand that he is frustrated by the challenges of managing a remote workforce, hi...