How's your relationship with your comfort zone?
How often do you think about whether you've become too comfortable? And maybe taking everything for granted?
I think about it. Sometimes.
Yes, breaking out of your comfort zone doesn't automatically mean business success. And you could argue that if you do the same thing every day, but do it damn well – then you don't necessarily need to "break out of your comfort zone" to be successful.
But still – when you stay in your comfort zone, risks tend to accumulate.
So every now and then, you need to scout outside the zone.
And that's exactly what Kristiina and I did in Kuala Lumpur this time – delivering training. To find out what the AI awareness level is in an average Malaysian company and how they're implementing new technologies.
So what did we learn?
First, that delivering training in a completely different cultural context is possible.
Second – the average Malaysian company is remarkably similar to an Estonian company in its digital development. There are very IT/AI-savvy employees and some with fewer skills. Both sides expect maximum results very quickly.
Sad truth – not gonna happen 😁
But there's one thing that works in Malaysia but won't in Estonia anytime soon – the massive import of IT/AI workers from India.
When there's a project to be done, it's more cost-effective to bring in a large team from India for a few months than to hire someone locally on a permanent basis.
Trust me – they all know how to use ChatGPT excellently.
And this makes me think about comfort zones again – there are millions of people like me in the world.
They might still be in India right now, but maybe already in Poland? Knowledge and skills are so freely available.
Not a very comfortable zone to be in :)
Gotta keep moving.
PS. Big thanks to Jari Kukkonen for connecting us with Malaysian contacts.