Teach People to Fish (and Watch What Happens)

What a weekend that was.

On Saturday, I meditated so hard I forgot my own phone number for a few hours.

It is soooo good to decompress like that after a long run.

I completed the Waking Up 28-day introductory course, and I’m hooked.

It honestly felt like when I first got into Headspace all those years ago.

I’m hoping to keep building on this practice slowly, deliberately, like stacking bricks instead of chasing fireworks.

But enough about me.

Last Friday we had a very special Lunch & Learn at Ampersand, where Jen did something remarkable:

she led us through the initial prompting and generation of an application using Lovable.

The looks on some of our team members’ faces as they watched their raw ideas come to life in real time, wow!

You could see the sparks hovering above their heads as new neural pathways ignited.

I’ve decided to include the Google meeting AI summary at the bottom of this post, exactly as it came out.

As Jen and I were coming back to earth after that experience, we articulated a thought, one I want to share with you on this almost-almost-last Monday of the year:

1. Teach people to fish

2. They fish for themselves

3. They teach others to fish

4. Everyone eats more fish

And that’s the thought I’ve been sitting with all weekend: the quiet power of capability-building.

Human connection through empowerment and the network effects that can amplify and accelerate a software revolution.

Helping people move faster → for themselves.

👇

⚡ Quick Hits

• 🛠️ Google launches Workspace Studio, bringing AI agent-building to everyone
  Google’s new no-code tool lets non-technical employees build AI automations across Gmail, Drive, Docs, and Chat — a direct shift toward empowering people to “fish” for themselves inside organizations.
  → read more

• 🎓 CompTIA debuts “AI Essentials,” a training program to close the skills gap
  A new certification focused entirely on teaching desk-based workers how to effectively use and build with AI. Capability-building, not headcount, is becoming the new productivity unlock.
  → read more

• ⚙️ Microsoft showcases how Copilot Studio is enabling teams to build their own agents
  Fresh case studies highlight HR, Finance, and Ops teams designing internal automations without writing code — a cultural shift where domain experts become creators rather than requesters.
  → read more

• 🏢📁 Gemini’s new Drive folder insights bring instant context to everyone’s workflow
  Google rolled out automatic, AI-generated summaries at the top of shared Drive folders, giving teams faster clarity and reducing the friction of digging through docs. A small update with big empowerment energy.
  → read more

🛠 Tool

🧘 Waking Up (a return pick — because some tools are truly foundational)

I first recommended Waking Up back in The Meta Habit, and after completing the 28-day introductory course this weekend, I’m bringing it back.

Not out of novelty, but conviction.

This app remains one of the few tools that genuinely builds capability from the inside out.

Personally I’m not 100% that it is the best place to start a meditation practice from zero.

However, if you have been getting into it for some time and are ready to step it up, Sam Harris has a path for you to up-level with this app’s intro course.

→ check it out

🪨 The Pebble

Innovation accelerates when capability spreads.

When more people can build, test, and iterate on their own…

Where in your work could you create the conditions for someone else to build the first version instead of waiting on you?

📊 Poll

🫆Quick ask: I’d love to learn more about you. It only takes 2 minutes, and it helps me shape Monday Thought around what matters most to readers like you. Take the survey.

✉️ Join the conversation, subscribe at MondayThought.com.

Weekly reflections on the human side of technology. Fresh thinking at the edge of work, AI, and life.

[#31] Ok so this morning the thought did cross my mind…

“Who cares? Skip this one.”

So I was not in the highest levels of spirit until I thought back to the Aja faces at the lunch and learn.

I need to see more of those moments in my life.

If you have any ideas that could help us accelerate and expand that,

please hit reply, comment or DM.

🙏Teach me!

Have an awesome week everyone!