Gurteen Knowledge Letter: Issue 300 - June 2025

Gurteen Knowledge Letter
Issue 300 – June 2025

Over the past few months, I’ve been involved in two podcast projects. Each allows me the opportunity to explore ideas I care about. One focuses on Conversational Leadership, while the other looks at how artificial intelligence is changing the way we think, learn, and work.

In Conversation
In Conversation is a live weekly video podcast on Conversational Leadership available on YouTube. Each week, John Hovell and I explore a particular aspect of the topic that resonates with us in the moment.

We meet most Thursdays at 9:15 AM Washington DC time (2:15 PM London time), and you’re welcome to join us live.

So far, we’ve recorded six episodes: What is the adjacent possible? Is conversation action? What is ‘use of self’? Why do we not ask why? Thinking out loud. Conversational Leadership Framework.

You can watch and listen here:
https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationalLeadership

In the Age of AI
In the Age of AI is a recorded video podcast that is available on YouTube. It’s a conversation between me, Ron Young, and Clive Holtham exploring how AI is changing how we think, learn, and work. New episodes are released roughly every six weeks.

We’ve recorded five episodes so far, covering knowledge, conversation, reason, education, and productivity.

You can watch and listen here:
https://www.youtube.com/@age-ai

1. The Trouble with “I Have an Open Mind”
   How sharing your current view helps real conversation
2. Evernote’s Free AI Tools
   No account needed — record, transcribe, convert, and extract text from almost anything
3. UBS Rolls Out AI Avatars of Its Analysts
   Digital analysts deliver updates and insights to clients anytime
4. Exaptation in Everyday Life
   Discovering new uses for familiar features and inventions
5. Understanding the Knowledge Café
   A space for conversation, not control
6. Help Keep My Work Alive
7. Unsubscribe
8. Gurteen Knowledge Letter

The trouble with saying "I have an open mind” in response to a question on an issue is that it can sound admirable, as it hints at flexibility and a willingness to learn. But often, it becomes a way to avoid real conversation. It does not say what we believe, what we prefer, or how we are currently thinking. Trying to sound neutral sidesteps the effort of sharing our thoughts.

Offering a tentative view is much more helpful in a thoughtful discussion. We could say, “I’m leaning toward this interpretation,” or “At the moment, I’m inclined to think this way.” Then add, “But I have an open mind.” This shows we are open to new ideas, while also stating our position.

Having an open mind is good. So is clarity. We should say what we think, even if we are unsure.

Evernote now offers a set of free AI tools that anyone can use, without an account. You can record and transcribe meetings or audio, transcribe any image into text, turn audio, video, and images into editable notes, transcribe any video, and even transcribe online videos just by pasting a link. These are a practical collection of tools for meetings, content creation, studying, or accessibility.

I’ve been using Evernote for years. It has a few annoying quirks, but it’s still one of the tools I rely on most. I use it every day, not just to take notes, but as the core of my creative and thinking process.

Right now, my Evernote database holds over 25,000 notes. Some are things I’ve saved to return to later; others are pieces I’ve written myself. It’s both a personal archive and a working space, the place where a lot of the ideas and content for my blook take shape. When it comes to keeping track of ideas and not losing anything important, I have found nothing else does the job as well.

Try the tools here: https://evernote.com/ai

UBS, the Swiss bank, is using OpenAI and Synthesia to create video avatars of its analysts to share insights with its clients. I find this fascinating and also a little unsettling. On the one hand, clients get information more quickly and efficiently. On the other hand, it raises questions about authenticity and personal connection when giving expert advice. I wonder how their clients will react to getting analysis from an avatar instead of a real person.

We’re all familiar with adaptation, how things change to fit new needs, but what about exaptation? Sometimes features, tools, or ideas developed for one purpose end up serving a completely different one, often by chance.

This process, called exaptation, explains many surprising advances in nature, technology, and organizations. If you’re interested in how old things can take on new roles and lead to innovation, read more in my blook as part of my growing chapter on innovation.

I am often asked how to keep a Knowledge Café on track, maintaining focus, encouraging active participation, and achieving clear, practical outcomes. However, this question frequently misses the point of what a Knowledge Café truly is. The essence of the Knowledge Café lies in its openness and commitment to emergent dialogue, not in making decisions or creating tangible results.

Here are some key points to consider:

Embracing Emergence: The Café process values the natural flow of ideas. It's entirely acceptable and even desirable for conversations to wander off the set agenda if that's where the collective curiosity leads.

Fostering Creativity: Participants can explore ideas more deeply without focusing on specific outcomes. This openness often sparks creative insights that might be lost in a more structured setting.

Organic Engagement: The process is designed to honor the authenticity of each participant's perspective. When the focus shifts away from rigid outcomes, it creates a space for genuine, reflective dialogue.

Appropriate Context: If the goal is to drive controlled, decision-based outcomes, a different process is more suitable. The Knowledge Café is ideal for contexts where exploration and shared understanding are valued over immediate, concrete results.

In summary, the Knowledge Café isn't about making decisions or sticking to an agenda; it's about fostering an environment where open, thoughtful conversation can lead to unexpected insights and collective meaning-making.

Help Keep My Work Alive
For almost 25 years, I’ve been sharing the Gurteen Knowledge Letter each month, and many of you have been reading it for five years or more. My Knowledge Café also reached a milestone, celebrating its 20th anniversary in September 2022.

If my work has made a difference to you, I’d be grateful if you could consider supporting it. A small monthly donation or any one-off contribution would greatly help cover some of my website hosting costs.

Thank you to the 50+ patrons who already support me – your generosity means a lot.

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Gurteen Knowledge Letter

The Gurteen Knowledge Letter is a free monthly email newsletter designed to inspire thinking around Conversational Leadership and Knowledge Management. You can explore the archive of past issues here.

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David Gurteen
Gurteen Knowledge
Fleet, United Kingdom