Nathan Coumbe

Writer | Marketer | Business Coach

[natecoumbe31]

What skill have you developed in the last five years?

For most of us, I’d bet it’s something like this: “In the last five years, I’ve gotten really good at reading and sending emails and instant messages. But also, I’m really good at going to meetings.” Not exactly skills you can sell when you’re looking for your next gig, are they? For those of us who don’t make or sell tangible products for a living, skills are all we have to trade for money.…

[natecoumbe31]

I'm signing up for cold calls

Every week, I sign up for several webinars or other educational opportunities. And every time I do so, they ask for my phone number (always required, never optional). Several years ago, I noticed that I was getting dozens of unsolicited phone calls each week from people and companies I’d never heard of. I couldn’t figure out why, until I realized that most of these people worked for companies…

[natecoumbe31]

Now on Substack!

As part of my growing POSSE strategy (Post Own Site, Share Everywhere), I’ve decided to feature some of my longer pieces—and some original long-form articles—on Substack. We’ll see how well this works out; AI is currently making a mockery of what was once a great platform. If you’re interested, I published my three-part series on hiring, degree requirements, and salary as a single, long-form…

[natecoumbe31]

In just 11 easy steps, you, too, can find work in this exciting field! (This is not a post about how to get a job in cybersecurity.)

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Work has become more vague and less grounded over time, and we're all suffering for it.

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I refuse to offload my thinking to artificial intelligence.

[natecoumbe31]

Remember: there are humans involved

There’s one train of thought in discussions about AI that aggravates me the most. The conversation inevitably, yet casually, turns to when it will be time to eliminate job roles and pass the work off to AI. I hear it all the time, and there are several problems with it. The least of which is the belief that an AI agent, in the current state of the field, can actually replace a human expert in a…

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[natecoumbe31]

If you write well—and like yourself—you'll be fine.

[natecoumbe31]

Claude, your suggestions were appreciated, but wrong. And that is precisely my point.

[natecoumbe31]

A "Made in USA" sign on an emergency call tower. Who's it actually for?

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Everyone worried TV would rot our brains. Smartphones actually are.

[natecoumbe31]

You can't answer this question without knowing what to measure.

[natecoumbe31]

History is tragedy, not melodrama

One of my professors in college, a tiny little man from the Delta named Dr. Bo Morgan, said one of the most accurate and poignant statements about history to all of us historians-in-training on our first day in his class: “History is tragedy, not melodrama.” Melodrama: think of all the westerns from the 1950s and 60s. There were good guys and bad guys. And you could easily see who was…

[natecoumbe31]

Never lunge for the ball. (This is not a post about juggling.)

[natecoumbe31]

One helps, one hurts.

[natecoumbe31]

When was the last time you met someone who was courageous, wise, disciplined, and just?

[natecoumbe31]

At least not yet. Be skeptical of all apocalyptic tech predictions right now.