Beware Prompt-Hoarding
I’ve noticed a troubling trend emerging amongst nearly-power-users of GenAI: the tendency to bookmark, save, and share listicles of shortcuts and hacks for better prompting. We might call it, “prompt hoarding.”
The dangerous thing about prompt hoarding is that it seems so useful, so practical… but as they say, “the path to hell is paved with good intentions.” And the same is certainly true here: the allure and gratification of collecting for future use can ironically distract from actual use.
The key to use, is use.
If you are to succeed in your quest to realize the gains we’ve all been promised by the early studies of this generational technology, you must regard every quick and easy prompt pack with skepticism. “The Ultimate Prompt Guide” and all its kin promise to bestow a wizard-summoning ability with a blue-pill-like ease.
No, you will not know Kung Fu after downloading that prompt pack. Or any other.
You will acquire the ability to collaborate with this seemingly-alien intelligence much like you do other, human intelligences: through relationship. Relationship is defined by interaction, back-and-forth, sustained engagement.
Just like the best LLM is the LLM you’ll actually use (people ask me this all the time - my bias is in favor of the best mobile experience, as that’s where the frontier is), the best prompt pack is… the prompt pack you actually use.
You may feel the siren call of prompt-appreciation, of savoring a well-formulated prompt like an ancient incantation. Fight it. There are no points awarded to the best prompt aficionado. Don’t be a collector.
For any prompt pack that crosses your desk, put it to the cold hard test of actual use. No time? Write yourself a love note in the form of a recurring calendar event titled, “Try A New Prompt.” What’s true of innovation in general — that “schedule tetris” severely limits individual and organizational capacity to innovate (that HBR piece has held up fantastically well, if I say so myself…) — is true of relationship-building with this new technology: if you don’t make time for it, don’t expect to learn the language.
Related: Write Yourself A Love Note
Related: 5 Ways to Boost Creativity on Your Team (Harvard Business Review)
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In the past year, I've witnessed a fascinating phenomenon across organizations embracing GenAI. Two "identical twins" in the AI race, similar in their approach to AI adoption -- engaged senior leadership, extensive training, numerous opportunities for AI integration -- whose outcomes couldn't be more different.