[Music] Today we're joined by Lucas Chiron, chief of staff and one of Magic's pioneers to talk about how to really embody Plow as a Magic EA. Lucas, can you tell us a bit about yourself? All right, my name is Lucas.
I am the current chief of staff at Magic and also help a lot with the innovations here in our company. I've been with Magic since 2015. I started as a magician completing research tasks, booking reservations, and coordinating deliveries.
Over the last 10 years, I've grown quite a bit within the company, and I've enjoyed my stay so much that I'm still here today. Great. Let's dive into what plow really means at Magic.
Plow is a core value to Magic. So, for you, what is Plow and what does it mean? Why does it matter?
Well, at Magic, plow is not the farming tool that you guys are all likely thinking of. At Magic, plow can simply be described as a continuous and conscious effort to get the best possible results. Also known as having the ability to get done.
Plow matters because it's deeply rooted throughout Magic's culture. You'll hear it in training. You'll see it firsthand on the teams that you're working with and you'll understand it on a deeper level from our CEO and other members of leadership.
Plow isn't just a word. It'll be a new approach towards working. In your own experience, what's the biggest difference between someone who has years of experience but isn't plow versus someone who is plow?
One area where things can really be different is someone that's experienced may often understand industry terms, tools, and software much sooner. But if the experienced individual isn't plow, there tends to be some hiccups when trying to achieve those ambitious goals. And instead of taking action and getting things rolling, sometimes you'll see the more experienced person actually slow things down.
My belief is that individuals who are truly plow to their core have been plow for most of their life. At Magic, we've all had moments where tasks seem impossible or progress was painfully slow. What's your personal secret sauce for tackling a problem where it seems like there's no way forward.
Yeah. So, I often take a step back and do something what we call zoom out. And that's, you know, to quickly analyze the work that's been done.
Now, in today's world, AI is a great resource to help us solve problems. Oftent times, I'll pull up magic AI tools or an alternative AI model and explain in very clear detail what I'm trying to do or explain the steps that I've already taken and ask AI for a few alternative solutions. If for some reason AI is not available, I still do my zoom out process and I see if steps were repeated, you know, am I going in circles here?
Are there online solutions that I'm not thinking about? Can I solve a problem by calling someone, emailing someone, or by sending a text? If you believe you really have tried every option, escalate to your supervisor.
Are there any misconceptions about Plow that you'd like to clarify or debunk? I've heard plow described as an output, like it's a spreadsheet or a Google document. Just because there's an output, it doesn't always mean that its contents is truly plow.
Remember, for something to be plow, you're going for the best possible result. Can you also provide some examples of what plow looks like in the workplace versus what's not plow? Let's say a client asks you to put together a list of top rated shows in Las Vegas.
A plow assistant will not only provide the list of shows, but will also provide a synopsis of each show. Offer to book tickets. Really going above and beyond.
Another example would be if your client has an upcoming meeting with an external partner. you know, you can send over a quick bio page about the person that they'll be meeting, so they can know who they're talking to, why they're talking to them, and so on. Oftent times, our clients are really busy meeting people inside and outside of their own business.
And so, it's always nice for your clients to understand who are they, what is this meeting about, and so on. If you could simplify plow into a mindset or subset of actions to remember and embody, what would those be? Yeah, most importantly it's having a bias for action.
Meaning don't wait around. Treat task with urgency. Take ownership of what needs to be done.
And also have a never say no mentality. Don't be afraid to iterate your plan of attack. Sometimes you need to change strategy to get things done and be okay with pushing things beyond what others will.
And that's really that plow mentality. And in your mind, does being plow make up for lack of areas of expertise? If so, why?
Of course it does. If you're Plow, you can capitalize on so many opportunities. Plow people have historically made their way to the top of the magic organization.
And so, if you are a Plow person or you think you can be, we'll find out. And I love that.
