Subconscious & Creativity | with Kris Lopez

Building a Coaching Culture - #84: Subconscious & Creativity | with Kris Lopez === Kris Lopez: [00:00:00] We know that if you're super angry, you cannot think straight. and if you can't acknowledge even the frustrations that you have, it's the same thing. Your, view is going to be askew, and you're not going to be able to look at it objectively to make that decision. And I think that sometimes J.R. Flatter: so our distinguished guest today is Kris Lopez, and Kris, I'm going to pass the mic over to you and, tell us about all the great work that you're doing. Kris Lopez: Hey, good morning. Um, thank you for having me. so my name is Kris Lopez. I'm a tech sergeant at United States Air Force. I've been in for about 17 [00:01:00] years and I have a diverse background. I'm a maintenance manager, so I'm in charge of the fleet of the aircraft. I'm ensuring I've been on F 16s and B 1s and engines. Currently I am the director of operations for the 48th Fighter Wing Innovation Office. We call ourselves LibertyWERKS. In the Air Force, I think, as you mentioned, it's a complex org, and I think there's probably nothing more complex than the military. you know, we have so many people from diverse backgrounds, diverse upbringings. Um, sometimes, oftentimes, we don't have emotional intelligence. we don't know ourselves well enough, and I think the biggest journey is the self actualization within the military. You have biases that you don't know you have that are biases. Um, so I really focus on the psychological safety. I heard a quote yesterday that I thought was super important. and it's, if our airmen are compromised with a lack of psychological safety, the mission will be compromised. And I think now more than ever, I think that that's true. so, at Liberty Works, we do everything from grassroot ideas to modernizing the aircraft. we really try to enforce that psychological safety where airmen have ideas of problems that they see and we want [00:02:00] to bring them to fruition. and then we also put on a lot of, professional development courses that stem around these mission essential soft skills. whether it's psychological safety or how to be a supervisor or just self knowledge, right? Self management, self leading so that you can lead better. I've been certified in volunteer victim advocates, human trafficking victim advocate, domestic violence victim advocate. I have a couple of years of coaching, and I've trained to be a coach. I haven't actually been a coach yet, but I really do love the ability to just instill knowledge in other people and taking the time to. As I say, organize your brain files, because sometimes what we think is true isn't true and that self learning of trying to unlearn everything that you thought was real and then learn what is actually real. J.R. Flatter: Yeah, that's great stuff. as I listen to you describe what you're doing, it's quite similar to what Lucas and I are doing, at the Department of Defense writ large. our audience is much more diverse than DOD. It's also. A global cohort all over the [00:03:00] world, literally, but the things that you say I think are equally accountable, whether it's a for profit, non profit, government, and all. So when you engage with your Liberty Works, is it you to the organization, you to the individual? How does that work? Kris Lopez: it's both, honestly. So, we have positioned ourselves so that we have like an open door where airmen can come, they can reach us by any platform, whether it's Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, they can walk into the office, they can call us with any idea. We've expanded it so that it's not just ideas for solutions, um, because as leaders we used to say, you know, don't come, don't come with me with a problem, come with me with a solution. But that's implying that they know how to have a solution. or they have the problem solving skills to give you the solution. So we've opened that up to be just give me your problem. I will help you walk to the solution. I'll help you get to the solution. and so we also go to our leaders. And so we'll meet with, whether it's the senior enlistment leader of the squadron or the group, kind of get their minds of efforts of what it is that keeps them up at night, what they're [00:04:00] trying to achieve. oftentimes we say, well, we're just trying to do the priorities of our wing commander. And while that's Awesome. And yes, it doesn't really help understand what that means for the airmen and how the airmen can fit into that priority and get things accomplished. J.R. Flatter: Great. Thank you. Lucas Flatter: I work with, Developers, programmers, technical people pretty much daily and there's maybe a little bit of apprehension to the soft skills and you mentioned psychological safety, those kinds of things. I think a lot of times really technical people might feel like, oh, that's not important to my job. could you speak on that a little bit? Kris Lopez: yes, so I would, you know, Brene Brown talks a lot about it, it's that vulnerability, especially in the technical world. If you appear to have any kind of emotion, then that takes away from, or the, you know, perception is that takes away from your ability to do your job properly because it shows that you are, you have to pick between whether you're going to be emotional and attach this problem that way or technical.[00:05:00] I do think that not just in the technical world, but there's a lot of areas where showing vulnerability or showing emotion is. looked down upon or look at as weak. More often than not, it's not understanding how your emotions actually play into your decision making. if you can't organize your thoughts, then you're often going to look to that problem through a lens that may not be entirely accurate or fuzzy, and you're not gonna be able to make the right decision. we know that for anger, right? We know that if you're super angry, you cannot think straight. and if you can't acknowledge even the frustrations that you have, it's the same thing. Your, view is going to be askew, and you're not going to be able to look at it objectively to make that decision. And I think that sometimes we don't want to admit that we have that problem, because, to be fair, a lot of people don't understand their emotions within themselves anyway, because they've been that way for so long, that they don't recognize that it's anger, timidly, or shyness. So I would say that, yeah, I think that that is a problem that goes into just decision making. Lucas Flatter: Great. And I think you coached a [00:06:00] little bit of our audience things. Kris Lopez: Awesome. I J.R. Flatter: talk to me about a typical engagement from day one to day 100. What does that look like under Liberty Works? Kris Lopez: day one with engaging with Airmen, that is often intimidating because you're, oftentimes you're going in, whether it's a big forum where you're just announcing and telling about yourself. So we'll go to AFTAC or ALS. Um, so first term Airmen, and then our Airmen Leadership Schools and we'll brief them on what it is that we do. And it is very intimidating because oftentimes they're just staring at you and you're trying to be like, oh, if you have a problem. And. One of the things that I think is really interesting, and maybe across, but definitely within the military, is we've learned to embrace the suck. We complain about it, but because we embrace it, we don't actually try to do anything about it. And trying to change that lens and that mindset of, it doesn't have to be this way, it doesn't have to suck. There are ways that we can make it better. and so, day one, it's the kind of... [00:07:00] I, I don't know what you're talking about to, I have an idea and it's like, okay, well let's listen to your idea. sometimes the ideas are not fully fleshed out and sometimes the ideas are coming just ready to launch. Um, we help the airmen kind of go through what is the problem, and more particularly what is the problem worth solving. Some of these problems aren't real problems. They're just, you know, fact of life and, and it's just a perception that it's a problem, but then there's actual problems that are worth solving. Then we try to expand it to, well, how does this problem play into the mission? How does this problem play into your day-to-day life that makes it difficult? and then expand it a little bit further. Well, how does it play into the Air Force? And how can we, how does this problem if we had a solution, make the Air Force better? and so oftentimes we'll go through that. We, once we get a project and we're ready to launch it, then we have to get stakeholders and buy-in. So this is where we get the airmen. We, we teach them pitch training, because not everybody's used to talking to leadership or. Having that communication of being able to articulate what it is that they are [00:08:00] asking. So we'll go through that, trying to train them on how to ask for what it is that they need. And they'll do that several times, depending on what their project is. Right now we have this genius, and he 3D printed a cover. And so walking with him and seeing how he interacts, trying to get it, official. And as a program of record within the Air Force, it's not an easy task. And there's definitely a lot of people that you have to talk to. that would probably be the day one and day 100 is just talking to airmen and helping them get to where they need to get to get their projects or their products implemented in standard Chrome of record. J.R. Flatter: So if I want or need what Liberty Works has, how do I get in touch with you? Is it through my chain of command or do I go directly to you? Kris Lopez: You can go directly to us. So we sit within the wing staff agency. so we don't have to actually reside within any squadron. and a lot of times our products don't have to go through the chain of command. And I think that that's a hesitation that a lot of our younger airmen have. Our NCOs kind of [00:09:00] understand it already, but a lot of our younger airmen feel like they need to go ask their leadership first. And that's not necessarily true. We will engage with the leadership to let them know about this idea and get their perspective on it and try to get their input and buy in on it. They don't have to go to their leadership first. It is a courtesy. We do want them to build that rapport with their leadership and that way their leadership understands this is happening. Because once it gets bigger, so for example, like the project that I was telling you about, like, the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force just heard about it, you know, we have Lieutenant Generals hearing about it, so obviously, their leader, his leadership is going to find out that he's doing things, so them already knowing will help to gauge that, that our airmen can come directly to us, they can send us emails directly, call us directly. I mean, I've been walking through the BX and they're like, oh, you're Sergeant Lopez, hey, I have an idea. Awesome. We've also created a QR code. That way if they are a little bit on the shyer side and don't want to come forward, they can submit a problem anonymously. Lucas Flatter: I love what you [00:10:00] brought up, the, you know, embrace the suck, like, that attitude, that mental toughness, and in almost a culture of that, especially just in like a wider culture you'll hear like still, people say like, oh man up, get over it, suck it up, Do you think that there's a necessary culture shift to kind of get rid of those attitudes or is some of it helpful and some of it's harmful? Kris Lopez: I would say both. I've always believed that there's a very thin line between divergent and destruction, and you can easily trip over and go into destruction. it is a culture. I do think that, This newer generation coming up is a little bit easier, but there are, I would say a little bit easier on the softer side, so trying to get them a little bit tougher, right? So it feels like a seesaw, right? You're like trying to balance between the, the toughness of like embrace the suck, you know, life, life is hard. Don't make it harder. But then also the, there's a level of softness. That needs to [00:11:00] be a had, and I think compassion is something that we don't understand it until we need it. and then depending on your upbringing, you never understood what compassion looked like, so trying to emulate something you don't know is also difficult. so I would say within the military is, there is a level of shut up and color, because the reality is, is that if we go to war, I don't need you to question me, and I don't need you to cry, I need you to do what I'm asking you to do. But then when we're preparing for war, it's how do we, how do we train in a mindset of, of just healthiness, well and wellness? And that takes a level of compassion. I think the hardest part as a leader is trying to have understanding in a situation that you've never encountered. Right? And you have to have that understanding because then that airman or that, you know, junior NCO won't talk to you again about it. So you have to have this understanding and not just brush it off as like, oh, you know, everybody goes through this. You'll be fine. So yeah, I do think that there is a... I would say a balance. I would say a harmony. There's a harmony [00:12:00] to find within trying to be mentally tough and resilient and just, you know, grit your teeth, bite down and bear it. And then there's a time where you just need to cry in the shower. Just, you know, let the hot water hit you. J.R. Flatter: So, as we look across the generations, senior leaders tend to be tail end of the boomers, or beginning or middle of Gen X, and even now, millennials are CEOs and How do we bridge those intergenerational gaps with the work that you're doing? Kris Lopez: Have the conversation. It It really comes down to having the uncomfortable, difficult conversation. With that is having the ability to understand yourself. you know, I've been a part of conversation where, a young woman was just really uncomfortable with male leadership. And so every time a male would say something, it was either sexist or, you know, it was bigotry. and And it really took the hard conversation for her to recognize [00:13:00] that not everyone is like that, right. she was very young in the air force and it really just highlighted her upbringing and what she was probably surrounded with. but at the same time, the male senior leader was seeing her as a troublemaker because she was never listening and she was difficult she had an attitude. and so you have these two very different perceptions of the same situation, two very negative lenses. and so you sit down and have the conversation of like, what is the problem? I think where we struggle is. the time to have the conversation and knowing when the opportunity is to have that conversation. Because you definitely don't want to start talking about what your negative lens is while you're getting in trouble. but it definitely doesn't need to persist. So I would say that if we want to start bridging that gap, it's really just having the conversation and being able to take off the offense cover and not be so easily offended by something that you hear. And just try to be open minded. That Whatever that person is saying is coming from an experience that they had or experiences that they lived through and [00:14:00] that's why they think the way that they think and what we're trying to do again is organize our brain files to burn away that chaff. J.R. Flatter: Yeah. Thank you for that. So I've been studying leadership for quite a while, practicing leadership for quite a while. And here in the 24th year of the 21st century, I've stopped using the phrase soft skills because they're just as critical, or if not even more so than what we might've considered. I'm not sure what I'll be at, but I'm just calling them skills, I guess, leadership skills. Lucas Flatter: Yeah, well, now I'm thinking like, like taxonomy of leadership terms and stuff. so you mentioned, um, that idea of like, come to me with solutions, not with your problems. we talk a lot about how kind of the coaching culture will bring up more innovative solutions, more, you know, new ideas. Can you talk to us a little, or just [00:15:00] elaborate on that, you know, why it's maybe better to just come to the leader with the problem? Kris Lopez: I think coming to later with the problem is that you might not have the scope of what it is that you're looking at. Um, so a lot of our airmen, um, most of our ideas are coming between three to seven years active duty. so they don't have a lot of that leadership role and they don't have a lot of that big picture. They're not in the meetings where the decisions are being made. All they know is what they're told. All they know is what they were trained at. so their solution may be. Good, but it's very myopic. It will solve the problem for you, it will solve the problem for the right now, but it won't be sustainable and it won't be long term. think that when it comes to innovation, I have this bone to pick because innovation is problem solving. Problem solving is continuous process improvement. And so when you look at it, when you look at a problem, you're looking at how to solve this problem. And if... The solution doesn't exist, then you create the solution and that's where that innovation comes in. Now the other side of that is in the military we are taught to think in a box, especially if you're in special forces or security [00:16:00] forces, maintenance, you have TOs and regulations and if you don't follow them somebody can get hurt or die. So you have to think within this box. To get people to think outside of that box is very difficult because there's this level of risk that Has to be accepted, whether it's a smaller or large. and so when we're going through and we're getting the airmen to think kind of differently, look at the perspective of if you were not in the military, how would you do this? and oftentimes it's a simple solution and what we tell our airmen is like the Uber solution, right? In the 90s, you were told not to talk to strangers on the internet and not to get in the car with strangers. And now, we are getting in the car of a stranger that we met on the internet. And so, what Uber did, they didn't invent anything. They just changed the perspective of, well, what if you paid that driver? And what if, we were able to talk to you through GPS? And we can guarantee your safety. so often times, The solution that they may have may not work for the long term, or they may not know that there is a solution. So if you just come to,[00:17:00] these design thinkers and these ones that think differently in the innovation space, then we can help kind of unchange that. We don't want to change it so much that everything is divergent and everything becomes destructive. But we want to change it just enough for you to look through the lens of problem solving. Look through the lens of, could I make this better? Where is there room for improvement? And then how do I achieve that? Lucas Flatter: Yeah, I'm starting to kind of shift my perspective with innovation. Like you said, it's more like about continually updating the process and not just, oh, here you. Kris Lopez: Awesome. I got one. J.R. Flatter: So, as coaches, Lucas and I always try to bring our conversations back to the individual as a human being, understanding all of the organizations that you work and live amongst. Um, borrow from Simon Sinek,[00:18:00] Kris Lopez: Um, and I guess it depends on the year, honestly, um, my why has changed often. I would honestly say I, I do love the military and I love what I do. I've always had a passion for, um, Maintenance, maintenance management. and then as I grew in my career, it has, you know, my, my lens expanded. Um, it really is about national security, national defense, everything we do, you know, I, I always remind my airmen in my office about how we are up against China and that, that is the reality, right? And so how do we always maintain our national security? This air superiority, how do we maintain the freedoms that we grew to love and were so adapted to? so my why oftentimes really stems back to, the military and what we do. And I know that the military grew and one day now I'll have to change my identity. but when it comes down to it, like if you think about it, it really is about helping people become the best and ultimate. Austin's version of themselves, and that [00:19:00] requires them to, break down to build back up. And so my why is trying to help them through that break so that they don't fall, right? So they're not broken. J.R. Flatter: No, thank you for that. You reminded me, Lucas and I teach and coach at the intersection of personal and professional. They're so intertwined that it's almost artificial to even try to separate them. Kris Lopez: It really is. I think one of the biggest struggles that I've always had was seeing people fail. I had. Long conversations with my chief at the time about it because you have to let them fail. You have to allow them to go through that pain of learning and it was hard for me when I don't like to fail. I never, you know, wanted to go through and I did and you know, I'm fine, but I never wanted them to fail, but I had to let them and so one of the things that I learned as I'm going through this is I'm gonna let you fail, but I'm not gonna let you fall And when you fail big enough for people outside of this [00:20:00] organization to know, I will stand in front of you and I will take it for you. I mean, you're going to get it too, just not from them. Lucas Flatter: that kind of made a connection for me between, like, the failure and vulnerability. Um, can you speak on that a little bit? Do you, is it necessary to kind of, uh, make mistakes in front of people to show that vulnerability? Kris Lopez: I believe yes, but it depends on who the people are. you know, I would be lying if I said that, yeah, let's just do it in front of everybody because I don't. I'm very cautious of who I allow to see my vulnerabilities. More particularly, it's not everybody who's watching you and wanting to help you. Right. And some people want you to fail just so they can prove to themselves that you're not perfect. and that reality is painful. So it's more painful than the fact that I'm already failing, but now you're going to throw it in my face that I'm failing. Right. And that's always kind of, made it worse. So I would say that, yes, we are not successful alone. There [00:21:00] is not a single person that made it that is alone. They always had, A sounding board of people that love them for who they are, and I think that vulnerability is shared with somebody who truly cares about who you are outside of the uniform. I have a best friend that he is my world, and when I was seemingly failing, that was what his responsibility was, and so that I know that when I, or if he ever, and I really hope he never does, but if he ever I got to a point where he was falling, that I would be there to catch him. And so yes, I do believe that sharing your vulnerabilities with people who would protect you. I want to turn to saying that you want to surround yourself with friends that will cover you when you're a mess versus exploit you. and I think that's important within the military as well. Not everybody in your leadership chain wants to cover you. They want to, you know, exploit you just the same. So it's, it's choosing wisely who you share your thoughts with and your vulnerability. And, you know, I think [00:22:00] one of the strongest women I've ever met in my life was going through something horrific. And, you know, she shared that vulnerability with me and we went through it together. but we were both surprised when our colonel. Found out what was happening and told her I wish you would have said something Every day you've come in here like nothing was wrong. And yet you were dealing with all of this And she was like, well, it wasn't for you to know and it was just like that's true It's true. It's sad, but it's true. Lucas Flatter: No, yeah, totally. And yeah, I think a lot of the times people will assume the worst case scenario, but maybe it's the worst case scenario with this audience, but not, you know, if it's a close person to you. J.R. Flatter: Yeah, one of the themes, recurring themes in the cohorts that Lucas and I work with is... You're simultaneously unique because all of us are one and one of the eight billion people in the world and you're simultaneously very similar to [00:23:00] other leaders with the same challenges and the same anxieties and so it's comforting to hear you say the same thing. So as you look at Gen Z, Coming into the workforce, and Gen AA right behind them, what advice would you have for them as they're starting out in their career? Kris Lopez: Not everything's so dramatic I would say you know, as Gen Z is coming on, and we keep hearing it, and I don't want to be cliché, but they are really used to everything being so easy for them, and a lot of the, skills that we learned through the bullying in high school and, you know, watching other people get bullied, they don't have because we, really came into a culture that has gone away from that, which rightfully so. The downside of that is they don't know how to deal with conflict. they don't know how to deal with when someone doesn't share their opinion I think the biggest [00:24:00] epiphany is when you recognize that the world that you thought It was, is not it, right? And a really good example that I would give is, um, growing up, I grew up in a Mexican Christian household surrounded by a Mexican Christian culture, or Catholic. And when I came into the military, it was almost shocking to me of how many people were not Catholic, but Christian, right? And it was just like, what? But it wasn't, it wasn't a bad thing, but it was just one of those things that really opened my eyes. And so that's what really started my journey of self actualization was like, well, if it's not everybody's like this, then there are other things that they're not like me about. and so when we talk about Gen Z, it's recognizing that the world that you think you live in is not actually the whole world, and be open minded. And, one of the greatest quotes that I've ever heard was surround yourself with people who don't think like you. And I feel like for the Gen Z coming on, it's the same thing. If all of your friends look like you and think like you, then you're never going to grow. And [00:25:00] that will help with those soft skills, or as you said, the, cognitive mission essential skills. Lucas Flatter: it reminds me of, there's this quote in, um, that show Secession, he said, I built you, like, a beautiful sand, sandbox or sandcastle and you thought it was the whole world, you know, when you were a child. So, like, that idea that, yeah, you're kind of in a isolated bubble until you go out there and see things. Kris Lopez: Yes, the shock and awe of everything you knew is not real. J.R. Flatter: Thinking about the leaders of the young airmen. So we work a lot with very senior leaders, who come from different generations. What's your message to them as they interact and mentor and coach these new arrivals? Kris Lopez: the new arrivals, or baby airmen, are just now learning how to be in the military. And they are afforded and allotted mistakes so that they can learn. They're not going to have it right coming in, right? [00:26:00] just left mom and dad's house, or they just left the streets. So, affording them the opportunity to learn is essential. As they grow up in the military and as they progress in ranks, that's when the mistakes change. But you can't allow a 14 year tech sergeant to make the same mistakes as a three year senior airman. So as a leader is recognizing where they are in their career and holding them accountable for where they are. I think accountability is critical to, mission success. Chief Baas just recently said, you know, we don't hold our airmen accountable. what are we doing? and that really is true, but when they're coming in, it's recognizing that they're, they have not been in the Air Force, or they have not been in the military very long. They don't know what you know. I mean, it is your job to teach them that. But afford them the leniency to learn it. Like you can't yell at them one time and expect them to know. It's, it's going to take repetitive, it is annoying. [00:27:00] It is sad, you know, it is, it is annoying. but it, it's your job. It's your job to train up your future, your replacement, and brushing it off or, dismissing them is not the betterment of the military. So that would be my advice is just allow them to learn. Lucas Flatter: so we talk about, you know, that, that process of, learning new things and, and kind of like going back to embracing the suck if you're in a, like a new situation. And I kind of have started thinking about hobbies and, and interests outside of work. In a way where it's, it's, it's the same kind of things that you're experiencing at work, but the stakes are way lower. There's not a lot of consequence for failure, you know, nobody's going to care if I mess up practicing guitar in my office, you know, nobody's there. So my question is, do you have anything outside of, the Air Force, outside of the office that, you kind of do on the side that [00:28:00] gives you a little bit of that perspective? Kris Lopez: currently, no. I'm a very boring person. but back in the States, I did. So I would say, like I said, I was a volunteer for, A victim advocate house and a domestic violence house, I was heavily involved with church and church activities, um, my son played sports, my son did music, but do I have any hobbies? Not necessarily. I read, mostly, I do what, what would equate to bodybuilding, but it's not bodybuilding, I just like to lift heavy things and put them back down, Lucas Flatter: I mean, I know you're a reader because you said myopic and askew and things like Kris Lopez: That's fair. J.R. Flatter: Yeah, that kind of leads into my next question and one of the things we talk about a lot and teach is this idea of lifelong learning, being better and better and better every day, every year. What insights do you have for leaders in complex [00:29:00] organizations of how to be a lifelong learner? Great, Kris Lopez: I love this question. being my father, I, I it really is about wanting more, I like to consider myself a collector of knowledge. It's another fun way of saying I'm nosy, but I'm a collector of knowledge. I love to just know things. Whether it's about the mission, whether it's about another person's organization, whether it's just another person's life, and being a lifelong learner is essentially just growing that and collecting knowledge. and I think being a lifelong learner is understanding that you've never achieved, right? You will never achieve. It's always going to be something more. There's going to be something better. and I think more particularly within yourself, because you will constantly learn a skill that you have that you didn't know you had previously. for me, up until about a year ago, I never considered myself creative or innovative, right? I do my job, I do it well, I do it well because I'm trying to figure out how to improve it. I care about my [00:30:00] airmen, I care about their careers, and I care about them doing the job well so that I don't get in trouble. When I came into this job about a year ago, it was one of those recognitions like, oh, that's what innovative means. That's what creation means. And it, it doesn't mean what I thought that it did. And so recognizing that even sometimes simple words that you grew up with your entire life doesn't mean what you thought that it did. And so as we grow in our inner journey in life, it's trying to understand like what does that mean? Or what does it mean to other people? And how do I fit that? And so as a lifelong learner, it's, it's yes, get the books that everybody else is reading, but also find the books that nobody's reading or find, you know, I really love poetry and I really love, words. I like listening to the Word of the Day by Don Hewley. but it's understanding that there's so like this, this world outside of you that may not ever get to encounter, but you at least get to know about. And that world often exists in other people. Of Lucas Flatter: so we've [00:31:00] mentioned, um, organizing brain files a couple times. Um, I think about The way that maybe new tools might mess with how your brain files are organized like, oh, you have a calculator versus you're doing math by hand, or just having a notebook and, now looking forward at something like ChatGPT or AI, do you think that affects like, how you kind of organize your thoughts and do your work in going forward in the future? Kris Lopez: Yes, we actually had this conversation the other day. I will say I'm not a fan of it. I do think that it, it, we lose our creativity when we pawn it off to something else to do it for us. How many times have we sat in front of an email trying to figure out the most professional way to say this? How many times have we looked into a problem and just stared at it to figure out where was the error? And I do think Going into this, you know, artificial intelligence world, more particularly because AI is just an [00:32:00] accumulation of its environment, right? So if it's the same information that's being fed into it, but not the same information that everybody else would have, and then we go right back to everybody having the same thought process. And then, I mean. for me, like, where's the poetry, where's the beauty, where's the art if everybody's looking at life and the world the exact same way? So I do think Strat TVT will diminish our creative thought process. I do think it will help, right? It does help, especially when I don't know how to say this email and I have 10 seconds to write it, but when it comes to problem solving and, you know, just thinking differently, I do think that, to a degree, it can diminish our natural human thought process. when it comes to like organizing your brain files, if, if all it has is a certain way of thinking about a problem, then everybody will have their brain files organized in that fashion. And that might not be the healthiest for that individual person. Lucas Flatter: I like that. I mean, everybody, it's always positive, positive, positive, but In the second Jurassic Park, um, the Jeff [00:33:00] Goldblum character is talking about how, like, the internet's gonna destroy innovation within the same kind of thought process where everyone's gonna kind of have the same ideas eventually. Kris Lopez: Agreed. I mean, if you look at it now, most of our Gen Z have the same personality and that personality you find on the internet. They all dress the same. I mean, he's not, he's not wrong,