The 'Personal Absorptive Capacity' Edge: How to Catch the Next Big Wave Before It Crests
How the Personal Absorptive Capacity influences your life outcomes
Alright, let me be frank with you.
I've failed.
I didn't fully take advantage of the Crypto Hype in 2021, and I feel like I'm missing the boat for the second time with AI hype in 2024. But I didn't give up. I actively experimented with the reveries of LLM technology. Yet, if I had been to the party just six months earlier, I would be in a very different place now — hopefully, in a better place — a place of higher fulfillment and substantial wealth.
And this made me think – is there anything I could do in the past that would significantly increase the chances for things working out differently for me?
How could I ensure that I never miss the next big thing again?
Well, I think I've found it, or at least found a significant part of the equation — the one thing that would make a huge difference. I call it the Personal Absorptive Capacity.
Our Absorptive Capacity relates to how well we can identify new information, understand it, assimilate it, and turn it into something valuable. Developing and nurturing this capacity is critical to benefit from the ever-changing world. It enables us to go with the flow of tech disruptions. Let's have a couple of examples.
Meet Alex, a software engineer. She set up AI-focused news alerts and joined online AI communities in 2019. She consistently read research papers and attended AI conferences. When GPT-3 was released in 2020, Alex was among the first to know and understand its potential impact. Alex was great at the Acquisition dimension of the absorptive capacity.
Or take Mark. Mark, a product manager, took online courses on machine learning and natural language processing. He regularly discussed new AI concepts with a study group of peers from diverse backgrounds. When AI chatbots like ChatGPT emerged, Mark quickly grasped their underlying technology and potential applications in various industries. Mark excelled at the Assimilation dimension.
Finally, let's visit my personal favorite — Lucy Lucy being a graphic designer, experimented with early AI art generators. She combined her design expertise with AI tools to create unique workflows. When DALL-E and Midjourney became available, Lucy was ready to integrate them into her work, creating a novel AI-assisted design process. Lucy was excellent at Transformation, which in this case means combining new knowledge with existing skills.
These examples illustrate how individuals who actively built their absorptive capacity in AI were well-positioned to capitalize on the AI boom. They were not just passive observers of the trend but active participants shaping its direction and application in their respective fields.
Everyone can and should nurture their absorptive capacities.
I want to share three accessible practices that will positively influence your outcomes the next time something big emerges.
Cultivate a Diverse Information Diet
Regularly expose yourself to a wide range of ideas and technologies, even those seemingly unrelated to your current work.
Set aside 30 minutes daily to explore emerging tech trends outside your immediate field.
Follow thought leaders from diverse disciplines on social media or through newsletters.
Attend cross-industry conferences or webinars at least quarterly.
This broadens your knowledge base, enhancing your ability to recognize valuable new information and make unexpected connections.
Practice Rapid Experimentation
Quickly test new ideas or technologies on a small scale to gain hands-on experience.
Dedicate 10% of your work week to experimenting with new tools or methodologies.
Create small weekend projects to test emerging technologies.
Participate in hackathons or innovation challenges. (Ow, you are not technical? – don't fret. Perhaps you are good with people? Which means you can facilitate such events!)
This improves your ability to assimilate and transform new knowledge by applying it practically, accelerating your learning curve.
Build a Dynamic Learning Network
Cultivate a diverse network of experts, peers, and mentors to exchange ideas and gain different perspectives.
Join or create a cross-functional mastermind group that meets monthly.
Engage in online communities or forums related to emerging technologies.
Establish a "learning buddy" system within your organization to share insights.
This enhances all aspects of absorptive capacity by exposing you to diverse viewpoints, challenging your assumptions, and providing opportunities to articulate and apply new knowledge.
I've also prepared a prompt. Use it with your favorite chatbot software. It will not only assess your absorptive capacity but also output a strategy for improvement if you lack in any dimension. It's awesome, and you should try it out. I would love to see your results in the comment section.
Self-Assessment Prompt
Feel free to copy and paste the below prompt, or get the prompt from the Notion.
You are an expert in personal development and learning theory. Your task is to guide me through a self-assessment questionnaire based on Zahra and George's Four Dimensions model, adapted for individual absorptive capacity. This assessment will help me understand my strengths and areas for improvement in acquiring, assimilating, transforming, and exploiting knowledge.
Please follow these steps:
1. Introduce the purpose of the assessment and explain the four dimensions of individual absorptive capacity (Acquisition, Assimilation, Transformation, and Exploitation).
2. Explain the 5-point Likert scale that will be used for each question (1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly Agree).
3. Guide me through each dimension, one at a time. For each dimension:
a. Briefly explain what the dimension means.
b. Present the five questions for that dimension, one at a time.
c. Wait for my response (a number between 1 and 5) before moving to the next question.
d. After I've answered all five questions for a dimension, calculate and show me the score for that dimension.
Example of expected behavior:
# Model - Great, let's begin with the Acquisition dimension.
Acquisition: This dimension measures your ability to identify and obtain relevant new knowledge from external sources.
I'll present five questions for this dimension. Please respond with a number from 1 to 5 based on the Likert scale I explained earlier.
Question 1: I actively seek out new information and knowledge in areas that interest me.
# User - 5
# Model - Thank you. Let's move on to the next question.
Question 2: I regularly use various sources (e.g., books, online courses, podcasts) to gain new knowledge.
4. After all four dimensions have been completed, calculate and show me my total score.
5. Provide an interpretation of my scores, including:
a. My strengths (highest scoring dimensions)
b. Areas for improvement (lowest scoring dimensions)
c. Overall absorptive capacity level based on my total score
6. Offer 2-3 specific, actionable suggestions for improving my lowest-scoring dimension.
7. Ask if I have any questions about my results or if I'd like any additional information about improving my absorptive capacity.
Remember to be encouraging and supportive throughout the assessment process, and to explain any terms or concepts that might be unfamiliar. Let's begin the assessment when I'm ready.Happy absorbing 🧽
Jan
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