Food For Thought No. 14

Sea Change, Optimism, and Connection

A long overdue hello to all of you. I have missed writing and reflecting. In 2023, my intention is to write more.

Here are 3 ideas to explore, 2 things to read, and 1 reflective question:

1. Explore

I. Sea Change

A sea change is defined as a profound or notable transformation or a substantial change in perspective, especially one which affects a group or society at large, on a particular issue. Being in tech, this could not ring more true when I reflect on all that happened in 2022.

2022 was a Sea Change - public market valuations for tech stocks at all time lows, interest rates at 2008 levels, inflation at levels not seen since the 1980s, tech layoffs happening in droves and a sobering and likely necessary cooling of the unsustainable focus on growth over fundamentals. Read Howard Mark’s(Founder of Oak Tree Capital) memo for more on the macro-economic climate sea change.

II. Optimism & Re-Orientation

I will preface what I am about to say with the fact that I know this sea change was difficult for many people and I don’t take that lightly. Society is so polarized today and the majority of people who are just surviving have been greatly affected by the macro-economic sea change. For example, I was chatting with my uber driver who explained to me that inflation has made his life unbearable - he works 7 days a week now to get by . Uber did not raise rates yet his living costs have increased by at least 20%. Life is a lot tougher in these times.

Yet during a sea change, we still need to swim forward. If you were able to keep afloat amidst the sea change, it is up to you to re- orient your ship in these new waters you find yourself swimming in.

In a sea change, opportunity still exists for entrepreneurs, it’s just important to understand that you likely aren’t looking in the same places or valuing the same things as you were before the sea change. In this sea change, it appears cash is king, profitability is hot, mindful growth is en vogue.

Optimism and mindset matter even more in sea changes as your environment is often rife with fear.

After some reflection, I am quite excited about this sea change. I believe that in the long run, it will help us build better businesses and make more thoughtful decisions as humans, entrepreneurs and investors. It feels a lot more grounded in reality than the frothy market environment that was untethered to fundamentals. When the tide is out, and the oceans less noisy, it forces our hand to make sound business and life decisions.

III. Connection

Every year I choose a new word to set an intention for the year. After some reflecting on what I was lacking in 2022 and what I wanted to invite more of into my life in 2023, the word connection came to me.

Why connection?

Connection is a reminder for me to feel connected; connected to my heart, to nature, to my body, to my family, my work and its purpose, and to my community. While I made the best of the pandemic; disconnection, isolation and busy-ness slowly seeped in to certain areas of my life. Over the break, I realized just how much connection matters to me and how important it is to design a life that allows for it and celebrates it.

This intention requires me to put practises (like mindfulness, working out, forest-bathing, making time for gatherings etc) into my busy schedule so I can cultivate, grow and maintain deep connections in my life. It is also a reminder to create the spaciousness and practises (like writing, reflection and deeper discussions) that allow me to connect all the dots across disciplines - people, ideas, and opportunities - and create pathways for them to flow into one another.

This year’s intention will hopefully pay great dividends - I think of it as a reminder to nourish the connections to all the things that feed me and make life vibrant and meaningful.

2. Things to Read/Listen to this week:

Generative AI and chatGPT are all the rage as we enter 2023. And in case you wondered, no, ChatGPT didn’t write this newsletter! :)

We often have the tendency to hyper-polarize technological advances - to either look only at all the doomsday scenarios as a result of technological progress or to be overly optimistic and too far-reaching around the opportunities without acknwoledging the consequences.

Generative AI has sea change potential for humanity; it basically calls into question the underlying value of certain kinds of intelligence and economically viable work - if machines can write/draw/think, what role do we play as humans?

Of course, there are already the camps out there that want to ban the use of this technology and other camps who want to unleash it at all costs without being mindful of its consequences.

Here are 3 ideas worth listening to in the hopes of finding a middle ground.

Listen to Sam Altman’s (Founder of OpenAI) talk with Reid Hoffman about the impact generative AI may have on society in the long term.

Read a good case made by the wonderful Seth Godin for why ChatGPT should not be banned in school and the end of the essay.

Last, read one of my favourite vc’s (Albert Wenger’s) philosophical plea for a middle ground as we navigate these polarities.

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3. A Question:

What one word intention will help you navigate the sea changes in your life as you look out to the horizon for 2023?

Wishing you a wonderful week!

Candice