Meet an Enrich Member: Michael Sands
Today we’re thrilled to chat with Michael Sands about using GenAI for parenting unlocks, congestion pricing in NYC and more.
Can you share a quick bio?
I'm a product, operations, and product operations leader in NYC tech with a previous life as an academic philosopher. I live in Brooklyn with my family, grew up in Austin, and took detours to Scotland, Tokyo, and most recently Pittsburgh. My PhD work examined the Philosophy of Friction, which is in no way related to my love of coffee and cooking.
What was your first job? What did you learn there?
I was a short order cook in a grille at a Tennis Club. I learned to land ten planes at once on the plate, and to always avoid lifting garbage bags over your head when heaving heavy stuff into the dumpster.
What’s something you’ve changed your mind about recently? (Finish this sentence: I used to think X. But now I know Y)
I used to think that congestion pricing in NYC was a net neutral or slightly positive policy. But now I know that it’s one of the most positively impactful civic policies in NYC or really the nation. The difference in the city is noticeable and positive.
What’s something interesting you’ve used AI for recently? The more specific on tool/prompt/output the better!
Not professional, but I used ChatGPT to generate and iterate animated figures for my daughters. They are very into How to Train Your Dragon so we took their drawings of dragons and prompted ChatGPT to make them into animated style versions. It helped them understand how to work with AI tools, how to plan and design a dragon with distinctive features so the AI would pick up on the features and see their creativity come to life. (See below!)
What’s something you want to get better at this year?
Expanding my influence within my company through durable artifacts that can reach beyond personal interaction.
What books are on your bedside table or Kindle?
I recently finished Robert Caro’s The Power Broker after over a year of persevering through it. Now I have Caro’s The Path to Power, Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow, and Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.
Who is your dream Enrich member?
Who would you like to be in a leadership group with and/or sit next to at dinner?
People that have transformed Engineering / Product organizations from early stage experimentation through to larger more structured teams. In particular, how to get folks to change their mindset.
Where can we find you outside of the Enrich network? (link to social/LinkedIn etc)
