Morad Stern's Blog, page 3

The Connection between Humanity and ChatGPT: A Concern Worth Discussing

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But at what cost? Are we sacrificing our ability to think and grow by relying on these AI tools?

Have you ever seen a video of a smart application that solves the Rubik’s Cube for the user with ease? The user simply copies the movements, and presto! The cube is solved without any effort or challenge.

https://medium.com/media/ea232b1176e18c5521da0603bef32e55/href

It’s all too easy for us to pass on mental difficulty to someone else and rely on copy-pasting impressive algorithms for the answers. But at what cost? Are we sacrificing our ability to think and grow by relying on these AI tools?

That’s not to say that AI tools aren’t amazing; they are. We’re only just scratching the surface of what’s possible. But it’s crucial that we maintain our mental faculties and don’t become dependent on these tools to the point where we can only solve Hungarian cubes with the help of apps.

So let’s not lose sight of the importance of putting in the effort and facing challenges head-on. It’s what makes us human and drives us forward!

Let’s get ourselves ready for a world of AI — read my new blog post “Get Ahead of the Game: The Top 5 Skills You Need to Succeed in a World of AI Tools”.

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Don’t Underestimate Your Growth: The Importance of Acknowledging Our Journey

My 2022’s first goal

Initially, I thought to myself, “Why would I set such a seemingly simple goal?”

As I embark on my personal goal-planning journey for 2023, I took the time to reflect on my accomplishments from the previous year by revisiting my list of goals from 2022.

One particular goal caught my eye: to host a full-day workshop on networking, communities, and personal branding.

Initially, I thought to myself, “Why would I set such a seemingly simple goal?” However, upon further reflection, I realized that this goal wasn’t so simple after all.

Just a year ago, the thought of hosting a workshop in this field intimidated me. But now, after having:

Built a comprehensive agendaCreated all the necessary content and slidesPlanned engaging exercisesSet up a landing pageDesigned adsArranged payment methodsReached out to potential attendeesConducted the workshop twiceReceived valuable feedback

Now this task seems effortless…

It’s easy to underestimate our progress and growth when we look back. But it’s important to remain aware and mindful of our journey, taking the time to evaluate our steps and celebrate our achievements.

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Don’t Push, Pull: An Alternative Approach to Expanding Your Professional Network”

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Why not flip the script and become the person others are eager to connect with?

We all strive to expand our professional network. From access to key individuals, to career advancement opportunities, resources, information, and support in tough times, the benefits are numerous.

The conventional approach to expanding your network is by “pushing” — reaching out, making calls, sending emails, and initiating new connections. While this method is tried and true, let’s take a moment to reflect on another way.

Imagine creating a list of people you would like to add to your network. Behind each name, you’ll likely find a common thread: status, industry recognition, a unique position, influence, professional experience, or specialized knowledge.

So, why not flip the script and become the person others are eager to connect with?

Examine the qualities of the individuals you hope to network with and strive to develop similar characteristics. Becoming a valuable resource and providing real assistance to your community is key. As the saying goes, “he who seeks honor, honor flees.”

Don’t chase connections just for the sake of being connected — instead, bring value and meaning to your network. Pull new connections to you.

Conclusion

Expanding your professional network can be achieved through a “pull” approach as well as the traditional “push” method. This requires consistent effort, active participation in communities, building your personal brand, continuously learning and sharing your knowledge.

When you bring value to your network, others will be drawn to make you the connection!

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Unlocking the Secret to Connecting with VIPs Online: 4 Proven Principles to Reach Thought Leaders…

Unlocking the Secret to Connecting with VIPs Online: 4 Proven Principles to Reach Thought Leaders and Top ExecutivesPhoto by Samsung UK on Unsplash

Have you ever needed to get in touch with VIPs, but found it difficult to grab their attention? It can be a challenge to reach thought leaders or top executives online. However, with the right approach, it is possible.

Highlight what’s in it for the recipient and make it clear how they’ll benefit from your approach. It could be through increased exposure or involvement in a good cause they support.

In this article, I will reveal the four principles I have both used and taught to my students for successfully connecting with industry leaders:

Personal, brief and respectful: These individuals are likely to be very busy, so keep your message short and to the point. Make sure it’s respectful and personal, addressing the recipient by name and referencing something specific to them. Networking is about building relationships based on respect and integrity.Use the right platform: Avoid using personal platforms such as WhatsApp or making a phone call unless you have received the number from a mutual friend. Instead, use professional platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, or email.No typos or errors: Typos and misspelled names can be a turn-off and make you seem unprofessional. Make sure to double-check your message for accuracy.Show value: Highlight what’s in it for the recipient and make it clear how they’ll benefit from your approach. It could be through increased exposure or involvement in a good cause they support.

In conclusion, even if your dream contact seems out of reach, there’s a professional and respectful way to make a connection. By following these principles, you’ll increase your chances of success. Don’t be afraid to take the first step. Who knows, you might just brighten up their day.

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Maximize the Effectiveness of Your Emails: 8 Important Highlights Before You Click “SEND”

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The importance of effective communication cannot be overstated. When you want to motivate action, receive assistance or lead a new project — a clear and effective message will increase the chance of motivation and the desired results.

In most cases, except for a team meeting or a face-to-face meeting, you will find yourself formulating and delivering your message by writing an email.

Most of us fall into this trap and assume that reading a written message is not particularly difficult or challenging. And that’s true, but only if your recipients would only receive one email a day and not dozens or hundreds of them.

So here are 8 particularly important highlights, which I learned from personal and painful experience, for communicating your idea in the clearest way through email. And pay attention to the last section, it is the most important:

The subject line — it is easy to rush and write “good morning” or “to continue our conversation” in the subject line, but this is a bitter mistake. You need to make it clear to the recipient what the general context of your request is, and if there is an element of urgency or importance, you can indicate that. Looking ahead, a clear subject will also be very helpful in future searches when the recipients try to find your email.Introduction (“Why are you sending me this email”) — we are all busy and we are all preoccupied. We may have a pressing deadline, or we may have a family matter that is bothering us. Do not land on your recipient without any framing and “alignment”.
If it is a continuation of a previous meeting — mention it. If it is a new project — make it clear. If it’s because of changes, difficulties, or anything else — go ahead and explain briefly.Complete (“What do you want from me?”) — It is critical to clearly add motivation to the action. If there is a deadline — specify it. If there are clear future steps — sketch them. Make the assumption that the recipient does not understand what the next steps are as they are clear to you.Mobile First (to read on the go) — quite a few of your recipients will read your message while they are on the go, at home or outside of working hours. That is, through their smartphone and not in front of a wide and comfortable computer screen. Shorten long sentences, emphasize, number and use highlights. The importance of order and configuration is always high, in mobile devices it becomes more important.Too long, let’s switch to another platform — if your email is very long, it is no longer an email. It is a document, or a report, or a summary. This means that you have to transfer your readers to a completely different platform (take them, for example, to a Google Docs document). Email is not a means of communication built for reading a long message or marking notes.No jokes: You need to be a serious wordsmith to correctly insert humor into emails. And even then people can misinterpret humor. Leave it to that.Acronyms like LMK, TYT, BTW, WDTY or IMO may be clear to you, but not necessarily clear to your recipients. You can and should avoid them.Unburden your recipients: Most of us fall into this trap and assume that reading a written message is not particularly difficult or challenging. And that’s true, but only if your recipients would only receive one email a day and not dozens or hundreds of them. Since we are all flooded with information, messages, messages and notifications — you must take the burden off your recipients. Cut it short and get to the point.[image error]

The Power of Reading: Uncovering the Top 7 Benefits of Reading Books

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Reading books offers numerous benefits for both the mind and body. However, it becomes a lot more challenging to sit and read when a smartphone is available…

In this post, we’ll explore 7 of the many benefits of reading books, from improving language skills to reducing stress. So whether you’re a lifelong reader or just starting to explore the world of books, keep reading to discover why this activity worth your time:

Improves vocabulary and language skills: Reading books helps to expand your vocabulary and improve your language skills, including grammar, syntax, and comprehension.Enhances concentration and focus: Reading books requires focus and concentration, which helps to improve these skills in other areas of life.Increases knowledge: Reading books provides knowledge on a wide range of subjects, from science and history to self-improvement and fiction.Reduces stress: Reading books has been shown to be an effective way to reduce stress and relax, helping to improve mental well-being.Increases empathy: Reading books allows you to experience and understand different perspectives, cultures, and emotions, increasing empathy and emotional intelligence.Improves memory: Reading books exercises the brain, improving memory and cognitive function.Provides a source of entertainment: Reading books can provide hours of entertainment and a welcome escape from everyday life.Photo by Ryunosuke Kikuno on UnsplashConclusion

Reading books is a timeless hobby that offers numerous benefits for both the mind and body. From improving vocabulary and language skills, to reducing stress and increasing empathy, reading books has the power to positively impact our lives in many ways.

Whether you’re looking to exercise your brain, gain knowledge, or simply find a new source of entertainment, the benefits of reading books are numerous and well worth exploring. So why not pick up a book today and discover for yourself the many advantages of this beloved pastime?

* Bonus: Another great benefit of reading books

Improves sleep: Reading books before bed can help to calm the mind and relax the body, leading to a better and more restful sleep. This is because reading helps to reduce stress and anxiety, and promotes feelings of relaxation…

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Get Ahead of the Game: The Top 5 Skills You Need to Succeed in a World of AI Tools

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In today’s world, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its tools are becoming increasingly prevalent and important in many industries. As a result, having a strong understanding of AI and its applications is becoming a crucial skill for many professionals.

In this post, we will explore the top skills that you should consider developing if you want to be better prepared for a career in a world of AI tools. From programming languages to machine learning, we will cover the key areas that will help you succeed in this rapidly evolving field.

…Understanding the basics of AI and its tools will help you stay ahead of the curve and open up new career opportunities.

Whether you are a data scientist, an engineer, or a business professional, understanding the basics of AI and its tools will help you stay ahead of the curve and open up new career opportunities.

This needed skills and knowledge were actually given to me by the ChatGPT engine after asking it “how to be better prepared, from a career point of view, to a world of of AI tools?”

To be better prepared for a world of AI tools from a career point of view, you should consider developing the following skills:

Programming: Knowing at least one programming language is essential for working with AI tools. Python is a popular choice for AI development. [Free Introduction To Python Programming]Data Science: Understanding basic concepts of data science, such as statistics, machine learning, and data visualization, will help you understand how AI tools work and how to use them effectively.Machine Learning: Familiarize yourself with machine learning concepts and techniques, such as supervised and unsupervised learning, deep learning, and natural language processing. [Learn from ML experts at Google]Problem-solving: AI projects often involve solving complex problems, so it’s important to have strong problem-solving skills and the ability to think creatively.Communication: Being able to communicate effectively with a team of engineers, data scientists, and business stakeholders is critical when working on AI projects. [Read: OpenAI researches site]

Additionally, staying up to date with the latest developments in AI and machine learning by reading research papers, attending conferences, and taking online courses can help you stay ahead of the curve.

Summary

This post highlights the top skills that professionals should develop to stay competitive in a world increasingly powered by Artificial Intelligence. The skills mentioned include programming, data science, machine learning, problem-solving and communication.

The post also emphasizes on the importance of staying up-to-date with the latest developments in AI and Machine learning and how it will help to open up new career opportunities. It is a valuable guide for anyone looking to boost their career in the field of AI and wants to stand out in the job market.

Get practical!

These links will provide additional resources if you want to learn more about the topics covered in the post and acquire the skills mentioned:

Programming tutorials for beginners: https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-pythonData Science courses: https://www.edx.org/learn/data-scienceMachine Learning tutorials: https://www.tensorflow.org/tutorialsData visualization tools: https://www.tableau.com/learn/trainingAI and machine learning research papers: https://arxiv.org/list/cs.AI/recentAI and machine learning conferences: https://www.re-work.co/events/ai-summit-series[image error]

The LinkedIn Whisperer: Finding Your Dream Job

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How do you get from a low point in your career to a situation where suitors are seeking to hire you?

Morad Stern, author of the book “Tiebreaker: The Power of Networking, Communities, and Personal Branding”, shares how he climbed from being in an employment crisis to where job offers started flowing to him — Read it here: The LinkedIn Whisperer: Finding Your Dream Job

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How to *Properly* Reach Out to Thought Leaders: 4 Important Principles

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Following the insightful interview I had with Seth Godin (The New Resume, Dancing with the Fear of Innovation and Nike’s Brand: Special Interview with Seth Godin) and after I shared my personal experience of giving my students an academic assignment of contacting thought and industry leaders, I decided to share four principles that I keep in my mind (and practiced with my students) when I try to approach VIPs online.

Yes, even if they seem very far, unreachable and we do not know them personally, there is a proper and respectful way to reach them.

Important note 1: These principles helped my students land a contact with top seniors in fields such as: marketing, army, government and communication. You can read more about it here: “This Academic Assignment Got My Student a Meeting with Coca-Cola’s Marketing VP”

Important note 2: The following principles are what we might consider as common-sense (“nothing new here”). However, I keep seeing people who just don’t pay attention to this common-sense thinking, so I guess this approach is not always that common…

Ok, without further ado — here are the four principles for approaching thought and industry leaders the right way:

1. Personal, short and respectful — It is most likely that well-known and successful people are also super busy. Therefore, a message that is too long will be ignored, if only because of the effort and time required to read this long message.

In addition to being short, the approach must be respectful, accommodating and personal. I, as a person who has received an invitation or a message from someone I don’t know, must see that this message is addressed to me personally, and it is not a copy-paste invitation that many people are currently receiving.

How do you do that? You can specify an article, an achievement or anything that is exclusively (and professionally) related to your VIP recipient. And for that, and here’s the important point, you really need to know and really understand who you are trying to contact.

Networking (thought leaders or not) is about respect and integrity, never forget that.

2. Using a non-personal platform — It is highly recommended not to try and contact people on personal online platforms. Well, there is no accurate definition of what a “personal platform” is, but any platform you use based on your phone number can be considered more personal.

Therefore, sending a WhatsApp message, or just calling a person who does not know you might badly hurt your chances to receive a positive response (unless you received the number with the approval of a common friend, and you explain that).

The more appropriate online platforms for this kind of outreach can be, for example, LinkedIn (DM), Twitter (DM) or email.

3. No typos — This is not a catastrophe, but people can, sometimes, disqualify attempts to contact them because of typos, so it’s worth making sure your text has none.

Also, you MUST verify that you are not typing the name of the recipient wrong.

My name (Morad) is not a common name in Israel, so when someone approaches me with “Morag” or “Moran”, he or she will have a very low chance to get an answer back. Not because of my ego (well, maybe a little) but, mostly because they did not do the minimum and wrote my name right, so why should I bother? Even more common names like Karin or Natalie, can be spelled as Kareen or Nataly. It is very important to check and be accurate here.

4. Value, value, value — after we have made sure that our request is short, respectful, personal, without errors and through a platform that is not perceived as personal, the main part has arrived — the value, or “what’s in it for me?”.

We keep asking ourselves this very question, during our day with many of the things we are doing ourselves (without even noticing). When it comes to very busy and very successful people, this question even becomes more complex and more difficult to properly answer it.

You must understand what value you offer in your approach to that person, and express it clearly and accurately. It can play on ego and publicity, and it can also be aimed for a good cause that you know your recipient is into. Either way the win-win situation must be prominent and clear.

I hope you liked this article. As I said, even if your role model seems far and unreachable - there is a proper and respectful way to reach him or her. Do not hesitate. Sometimes, being a top thought leader or a VIP puts you in a very lonely place to be.

Please share with me more of your principals of networking and contacting and Feel free to contact me on LinkedIn or Twitter

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The Power of Personal Growth in Tech Communities: 5 Take Aways for Building Your Community and…

The Power of Personal Growth in Tech Communities: 5 Take Aways for Building Your Community and Providing Real Value

Last week I had the honor to participate in a global event, let by Meetup.com where I was interviewed and shared an uncommon approach, we use at Wix Engineering, for encouraging our community, community members and developers to share their learnings, improving their soft skills, leveraging the power of communication, and growing their personal and professional brands.

Here are 5 takeaways from this event:

Be open and seek for content: Great meetup groups are those that are driven by passion for their topic and provide value. In a constant search for great stories and big insights, a great organizer is open to and seeks out new and insightful stories.“What did you learn?” By focusing on what we learned, rather than just the details of what we do in our jobs, we provide greater value for the community. And ourselves, as part of self learning.

“With great power comes great responsibility” (Uncle Ben)

Photo by Марьян Блан | @marjanblan on UnsplashLet your speakers focus on their talks, you do everything else: In providing value for our members, we know that with great power comes great responsibility. As an organizer, it’s your responsibility to help your speakers. Whether that’s coordinating marketing, logistics, workshop setup, or a presentation, it’s best to help with anything they need so they can focus on sharing the best content they can without worrying about the extra details, all in the pursuit of providing value for your community.Fight the resistance! In his book, Seth Godin (I actually interviewed Seth — you can read the full interview here: The New Resume, Dancing with the Fear of Innovation and Nike’s Brand: Special Interview with Seth Godin) talks alot about the resistance, a negative power within us that present us from accomplish great things. As part of that we all have the tendency to feel that we have nothing to offer others or that our perspective and knowledge is the same as everyone else’s. This is a common mistake (please, stop reading and think about this point) because we have a responsibility to share our expertise with others. When you’re able to help people see the journey that got them to have the knowledge and perspective they have today, you must help them to understand why they’re unique and why their voice needs to be heard.

Leaving our comfort zones is what helps us grow.

Photo by Brad Barmore on UnsplashBe like a journalist: Think like a journalist — they’re on the hunt for good stories, but they also have a great ear for whispers of cool things that are happening around us. Look for stories actively.

Here’s the full talk:

https://medium.com/media/6a6a4236b41f8b0f40fcc7ffc642d5d7/href

Sharing our deep engineering knowledge with the community is part of our culture at Wix Engineering. This is just part of who we are and what we do. We invest in the growth of our developers, knowing that learning new things and leaving our comfort zones is what helps us grow.

Feel free to check out our Meetup group and visit our blog

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The Power of Personal Growth in Tech Communities: 5 Take Aways for Building Your Community and… was originally published in Wix Engineering on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.