Under Pressure: Burning Platforms Burnout Staff

AI engineers at tech companies like Google, Meta, and Microsoft are reporting burnout.?There is a way out of the flames.

The Race is On

AI engineers are suffering from rushed rollouts due to the intense pressure to develop AI tools at a breakneck pace, according to CNBC .

The companies feel the need for speed in their race against OpenAI.

The sentiment is not limited to the biggest tech firms: engineers at startups and government agencies are also experiencing similar pressures to deliver AI solutions quickly.

The engineers say much of their work is assigned to appease investors rather than solve real problems for end users.?

They are often forced to work long hours, including on weekends, to meet tight deadlines, only to have their projects deprioritized or shelved.

Engineers feel their employers are disregarding concerns about the potential harms of AI.?

In particular, they worry about its impact on climate change and the increase in surveillance technology, in the race to roll out new products.

Some engineers have even resorted to looking for jobs at other companies or switching out of AI departments entirely due to the unsustainable pace and pressure.

Priceless

Oddly, what you value is priceless. What you value drives you forward, keeps you going, steadies your nerves when times get tough.

Professionals in pressure cookers who are burning out have to jump out the window or they'll get torched by their organizations burning platform.

Burning platforms are nuclear options for businesses to drive their transformations. They only work once, and even then, they immolate everything and everyone around them.

What professionals value helps guide them to and through transformation. They'll have to evaluate (note the root of the word is "value") what is more important to them, create a new narrative, and then ACT!

The REAP|Change? Framework for Professionals

Recognizing the diverse value drivers that motivate professionals to undertake career transitions is crucial for navigating change successfully.?

Primary professional value drivers of transformation include:?

• compensation and benefits?
• professional growth and advancement?
• personal well-being and fulfillment?
• burning platform (push factors)?
• passion and calling (pull factors)
• external influences and obligations

Individuals can develop effective strategies for achieving their desired outcomes and thriving in the face of professional challenges once they understand and address underlying motivations for Change.?

Aligning one's transformation journey with personal values, a hero's Narrative, milestones and goals is key to maintaining motivation and commitment throughout the process.

Narrative

As a professional, crafting a narrative in which you are the hero of your own re-visioned story is crucial for aligning your values, actions, engagements, and activities to achieve your transformation objectives.?

You are the audience and the central character of the story.

Write it for you!

Cuz you're going to need to read and memorize it to make it through your journey to your new professional destination.

This hero's journey serves as a powerful motivator. It will provide you with clarity, purpose, and direction — especially when you're feeling down.

Key elements of an effective professional hero story include:?

1. a compelling origin that highlights your unique skills and experiences
2. a clear challenge or call to adventure that sparks your transformation??
3. mentors, allies, and resources that have supported your journey so far?
4. obstacles and setbacks that have tested your resilience
5. conquests over significant problems that prove to you that you are capable of transforming yourself to overcome the current condition?

Scrape for Best Effect

You don't have to start from scratch in writing your Hero Story. Instead, copy and paste your LinkedIn profile directly into the Generative AI app of your choice: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude.

I use Claude 3.0 Opus.

Be sure to include in your prompt the value drivers that are driving you to the transformation, to shape the Narrative output.

And edit the output from your Artificial Intern (AI) so it sounds human. Fill in the blanks in your story the AI has output. And then, go back to your LinkedIn profile and close up the same seams.

After a while, your professional stories (on LinkedIn and in your Narrative) should look and sound very much alike.

Try to keep your Hero Story to 150-words. Pare it down to something you can easily memorize and reference.

Harness the power of storytelling to Kickstart Your Spark!

Direct mail me on LinkedIn with your questions about workplace and professional concerns, or to discuss program opportunities.

I internalized Change growing up in a military family before I was 17 years old: 5 global locations and 10 schools before running off to Cornell for university.

From early on, my mission has been to facilitate Transformation, Empowerment, Discovery, and Synthesis for individuals and organizations to help them align and realize what they value to become what they want to be.

Management consulting after graduation was a great way to help other professionals through transitions and transformations: technological, cross-border, cross-cultural, across markets.

My greatest triumph (aside from currently raising my lovely and precocious son and daughter on my own) was living in working in China for over 10 years to assist Western companies and thousands of professionals achieve their objectives in Asia.

Since then, I''ve had nearly a dozen books and a lot more articles published about business, international affairs, culture, and technology.

I created The REAP|Change? Framework and Knowledge Base to accelerate Transformation of Businesses and Professionals in the Era of AI.