I am an avid golfer and have been stuck at a 10 handicap for the last few years. The data showed that my approach shots were the area of the game that was significantly holding me back. Then towards the end of last year I randomly started hitting shanks and I decided it was time to work on my swing. My goal is to consistently shoot in the 70s. Try and get that handicap down to a 5.
Initially I thought it would be a quick fix and so I started watching YouTube videos to identify ways to get more consistent and you quickly realize that there are a lot of people giving advice. I thought about going to an instructor but again there are lots of instructors out there and I wanted to find something that aligned with my approach to learning and my style of play.
As I've been going down the rabbit hole of GenAI and specifically GenAI + GTM, I am seeing this here too. There is a lot of content out there, there are a ton of companies and they all claim to solve a lot of needs but which one do you pick? Who do you believe?
I got really lucky that I came across https://rotaryswing.com/. Like every other instructor on the internet, the promises were similar but as I started watching some of the instruction, the concepts really resonated with me and I signed up for their online program. Just for context, if I had signed up for lessons with an instructor I would have spent thousands of dollars and this just cost me a few hundred.
For the next 2 months all I did was shadow swings and recording myself. I did not hit a ball. I noticed all the flaws in my swing, from my grip to my backswing, to leading with the arms on the downswing, coming over the top, chicken wing, early extension, not enough shoulder turn, backswing over the plane, cupping my lead wrist etc. I slowly went about fixing each of these.
This was hard, but weirdly since I was not hitting any balls, I could rewire my muscle memory. Being in NY, the courses were closed so there was no pressure to play.
This reminded me that feedback around execution is so key and I see this in my work on GenAI. I am getting hands on with various products to see them, play around with them and use them. I am trying to cut through the hype and find the limits of each product. Plus each product has its strengths and weaknesses.
Finally the courses opened mid March and I was ready to try out my new swing. I went to the range in preparation and as you can imagine it did not go well. This carried over to the course. My first 10 rounds (over 3 weeks) I was struggling to break a 100, but I stuck with my swing changes. Even though I was not hitting the ball well consistently, there would be swings where it just felt right. I was in balance, I would hit the ball off the sweet spot, it felt effortless. I could feel the pieces coming together and in the last week, I had 3 rounds in the high 70s.
I know I still have a long way to go, to get back my distance (and more) and to do this consistently. I am sure next week, I will be back to shooting in the 80s. There are shots where I know I am not getting the sequencing right, but now I am aware of it. I am still thinking about the swing and grip and backswing etc., so the new muscle memory is not there and I realize that will take time.
So what does this have to do with GTM and GenAI? With the current state of the technology, we can all see the promise of GenAI but very few are actually realizing it. I know that GenAI will be transformative and it will change how we work, but not today. You see glimpses of what the technology can do, but the impact is going to take time.
Just like with my golf swing, you have to trust in the process and know that eventually the outcomes will follow. With my golf game, I got lucky that I am able to see glimpses of the outcome in 3 months. I am pretty sure with GenAI, it will take longer.
I know that a lot of enterprise customers are investing a lot of money in GenAI and it is taking them time to see the impact. I am starting to see articles about how they are struggling to go from POC to Production. There are more articles coming out about GenAI being over hyped. There are articles about how Devin the GenAI software engineer that got a lot of buzz and a ton of VC money, is actually not all that they demo'd.
This reminds me of Amara's Law - “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.” - Roy Amara
So bottomline, organizations have to be willing to experiment with GenAI knowing that it will take time to see outcomes. This is not going to happen quickly. You might see some quick wins (some good shots) but nothing earth shattering. That being said, you have to trust the process. I will leave you with this Simon Sinek video.