2023 | Customers, Etc.
Retreats, sabbatical, systems thinking, customers, and more!
If I had to pick one theme that colored my approach toward life in 2023 more than any other, it would be: Retreat. Not retreat as in “you’ve been defeated; go away”, but as in “step away to rest and listen.”
While I only wrote two posts that directly touched on the topic of retreat, this theme was with me throughout the entire year, shaping my thinking and coloring what I wrote.
I wrote 41 posts for Customers, Etc. during 2023. While there were a variety of topics, a few themes stand out in addition to retreat: ChatGPT & AI, systems thinking, and customer experience. Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights from the year.
ChatGPT & AI
No topic generated as much buzz as when I wrote about ChatGPT & AI. Looking back, I’m surprised it took me until March to put ChatGPT through its paces. I remember being shocked at how powerful it was. After writing about it, I had multiple founders and technologists reach out to ask how I thought AI might reshape customer support.
The last post was my favorite because Scott Hanselman read it and then offered his own commentary on the post:
It makes me so happy is that Ben McCormack *got it.* Some #DevRel talks are just someone vibing on stage. But Mark and I put a MASSIVE amount of work into this talk. From demos, to the T-shirt that I wore, it was all curated. And all these years of giving technical demos and presentations this is the first time that I’ve seen a post on one of my talks where someone actually crawled around in my brain. Without me talking to him, Ben has figured out how I present. This is a great analysis of how me and my team works. #Copilot
I didn’t ask for this write up, I just woke up this morning and here it was, but it’s such a wonderful validation for how I think people want to learn. People don’t want to be sold to, they want to understand and they want to be powerful. Give them that respect in your presentations.
Systems Thinking
Although AI was the topic du jour, my favorite work topic this year was systems thinking. Thinking in systems is one of the most powerful frameworks you can bring to your work, or frankly, any system. I also really like the process of drawing systems diagrams as a way of breaking out of linear thinking and exploring situations in new ways.
Systems thinking gives us a way to ask “why” in situations where we might assume we’re already supposed to know the answer.
Customer Experience
This being a newsletter called Customers, Etc., it was only natural that customer experience was a common theme:
To the future
I ended up going on four retreats this past year. After not having been on a retreat in over a decade, I guess I was making up for lost time. Two were personal retreats by myself. One was with my eight-year-old son. One was with a men’s group. I have it on my list to go ahead and schedule my first retreat for 2024.
Another theme this past year has been discernment. I started the year in a place of sabbatical—taking an intentional rest from work—and I’m ending the year as a fractional executive, still thinking about what I want to be doing full time. For 2024, the theme of discernment continues.
If you’ve been reading Customers, Etc. over the past year, I want to take a moment to say thank you. I love the opportunity to share what I’ve learned and it means the world to me when something resonates with you and you tell me about it.
Have a very merry Christmas and a restful holiday season. See you in 2024!
Amazing year, Ben! Thanks for all the nuggets of wisdom. I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas!