⫹⫺ Surface Area
CMMN WLTH 123 - Cheat Codes for Creators, Makers & Doers
Hello my friends,
A long tail effect of writing in public is that curious, likeminded people proactively reach out.
Increase your surface area and opportunities will emerge.
In this week’s newsletter: Product testing becomes marketing, how to be an opportunity magnet and learn from the way college students use AI.
If you find CMMN WLTH useful, I’d appreciate if you shared it with your brightest friends and colleagues ↓
– Andy
*Product
Dyson: Testing, Testing, Testing
“We have about 300 people trying to break products”
Dyson products are pushed beyond standard international test standards. They believe that the consumer is willing to pay more (~2-3x) for high performance and durability.
The product team uses Design Thinking to iterate on ideas throughout the creation cycle. Prototype, test, improve, test, improve until they get to a final version.
Unlike their competition Dyson prioritizes ease of maintenance and repair which in turn reduces downtime and inconvenience to the consumer.
*People
Be An Opportunity Magnet by Michael Ardelean
“Contrary to what you see in the movies, the elites who gatekeep the best opportunities don’t actually care about your pedigree, education or economic class.
They care about what you’re up to right now.”
Employ four behaviors to open yourself up to opportunities:
Don’t be annoying
Work on cool stuff and share it
Need without neediness
Be really likable
Don’t chase opportunities, increase your surface area and let them come to you.
Be someone people like being around — be fun, smart and interesting. Simply being likable will put you ahead of the competition.
*Process
How University Students Use Claude AI
“These findings contribute to the ongoing discussions amongst educators, administrators, and policymakers about how we can ensure AI deepens, rather than undermines, learning.”
Students primarily use Claude to create and improve educational content.
STEM students use Claude at a proportionally higher rate than Business students. Perhaps due to higher awareness in those educational fields.
Typical web search only supports direct answers while AI systems offer four distinct patterns of interaction: Direct and Collaborative Problem Solving and Direct and Collaborative Output Creation.
*Out of Office
Between 2009 and 2012 iPhones had a “Send to Youtube” feature in the Photos App. These uploads have a default naming convention of IMG_XXXX.
Many are still available, either forgotten about or uploaded by mistake.
Memories of a simpler time.
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Love the way you frame this idea of increasing your surface area. Can't agree more!