Business on Nicolas Nowinski

With AI, Written Language Matters Most

Sun, 08 Feb 2026 01:20:19 +0000

I’m not 100% certain I love this article. I made myself write it in less than one hour. It’s core point is supposed to be around written language being the dominant skill going forward which replaces today’s primary skill of knowing how to do stuff (visual skill). I will likely revisit this topic in the future as I think about it more.

For at least the next 5-10 years, professional work is going to become more language-based, not less. We are entering a period where being able to express yourself clearly in writing will be more critical than ever.

Citizen Developers Have Always Existed

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 18:06:30 +0000

When IT leaders push back on “citizen development” they are just displaying their closed mindedness and incompetence. Every successful organization is - right now, today - full of citizen developers, people using whatever technology tools they have available (and often finding ways to get around IT limitations to get additional tools) to get their job done.

If you don’t enable your workforce to create solutions for themselves they will still find a way to create them. No organization has the budget to solve every use case with centralized IT. Workers don’t have a choice, they have a job to get done and they’ll get it done - with or without IT’s support or blessing.

Carbon Neutral Supply Chains

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 15:18:00 +0000

This decade will see the rise of carbon-neutral supply chains which will impact businesses everywhere - even those far removed from serving tech firms in Silicon Valley. As more Fortune 500 companies join this trend carbon-neutral requirements will be pushed deep down the supply chain to the point that companies many layers deep in the supply chain will need to be carbon-neutral (or forgo significant business opportunities.)

Source: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/microsofts-plan-to-go-carbon-negative-raises-bar-for-tech-rivals?shared=a0ca6f346c3fb947

We’ll see the rise of auditing & certification for carbon-neutral suppliers. It won’t be much different than ISO quality standards for manufacturers with one HUGE exception: ISO standards only impacted the manufacturing and operations part of a business - the ISO registered plant only cared about ISO for raw material/part suppliers.

Duplication Instead of Automation: Retailers Need Dynamics CRM

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 02:46:54 +0000

This evening I was at a major national electronics retailer to purchase a new television. I recently moved into a new place and needed a television sized appropriately for the room (and, my old television being plasma, something that would run cooler to save money on air conditioning.)

There was a very nice sales person - not too much pressure (and, being honest, didn’t know much about televisions) but there to help when I needed it. I had already done some research and really just needed to see a few models side-by-side to make a final decision. It probably didn’t take me more than thirty minutes to decide which television I wanted, at which point the sales person sprung into action.

Uber Event/Complex Location Pickup

Sat, 07 Jun 2014 19:14:08 +0000

This is a product idea I have for Uber. I’m hopeful they will, one day, implement it.

Intent

Allow users to better understand and communicate pick-up locations at complex locations (stadiums, airports, conference centers, etc.) and special events (Super Bowl, Golf Tournament, etc.)

Reason

In many of these instances it is very difficult for a requestor to understand and communicate their location to the driver in a manner that is consistent with the vehicle pick-up regulations.