Sneak Peek Alert: The Comic You’ve Been Waiting For!

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Dear Scary Management Fans,

It’s finally here—or at least almost here.

I’m thrilled to share an exclusive sneak preview of my comic book!

Draft dropping December 25, 2024, this has been a journey filled with late nights, crazy AI updates, and enough caffeine to last a year’s worth of coffee chats...

Today, I’m pulling back the curtain to reveal not just some panels but also the creative chaos behind the scenes.

Grab your coffee and let’s go!

What Did It Take to Achieve the Goal? Three Big Ideas:

1. Vision
   Like Covey’s Habit #2: Begin with the End in Mind, I kept my eye on the prize: getting the first product on sale at Amazon by March 31, 2025​​. A clear, compelling vision has been my North Star.

2. Agility
   The AI tools I rely on (MidJourney, ChatGPT, Canva, Runway, Sora etc) seem to evolve weekly. I had to be agile in order to avoid being overwhelmed - I focused on my problems with the comic and what new developments would help me solve those specific issues. This has meant YouTube marathons and lots of trial and error​, but I’m excited, rather than intimidated by the pace of change in the AI space.

3. Grit
   A person with true grit has passion and perseverance. Goals are set and followed through. Late nights and self-imposed deadlines were the norm, and there’s a reason I made my launch deadlines public. There’s only one rule - never miss a deadline…

So there you have it - the 3 big ideas that helped me push and achieve the draft deadline with the Comic. Hope it inspires you to achieve your own personal goals!

*One thing I didn’t mention is support from my family. What I do requires massive time commitments, and understanding from my wife and son, as it eats into evening family time. Thank you Dhivs, Ethan and Aldo! ❤️ 

Ok, now for the fun stuff, but first a message from this week’s sponsor, Synthflow

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What’s Wrong With the Draft? (And how will these be fixed?)

This is the first draft, and things are not perfect. Here’s what’s still bugging me:

• Character consistency: I knew I would not achieve perfection with the Xmas drop. But this is still a challenge with Midjourney itself. I expect this will be solved in the next month or two, in time for me to incorporate into my March 31 Amazon Sale deadline.

• Scene consistency: It’s difficult to make each scene look like it’s the same place from different angles. Solution: Midjourney and other AI tools are now introducing World-Building to support storytelling. I expect this to also be ready soon, and allow me to incorporate coherent scenes in the Comic.

• Emotions and speech bubbles: Character emotions and poses are a mission to be honest. And the speech bubbles are not professional grade yet. These will be tuned and solved before March 31.

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Sample Panels—Hot Off the Press!

Ok, finally!

A sneak preview:

• Scene 1: In Anand’s and Thandi’s first interaction, he arrives on the scene after Thandi and a colleague have solved a problem with the App release - he’s a bit concerned about the deadline, but there’s something else…

  

  Crap - what does he want to talk about?

• Scene 2: A big project is coming, but what is it?

  

  This project has huge implications for Thandi in the future…

• Scene 3: Great opportunity, terrible idea?

  

  Thandi lacks confidence here, and who can blame her? Feels like she’s being set up to fail…

That’s it for today- hope you enjoyed this sneak preview guys!

Your Turn! Let’s Hear from You.

We are almost at the end of the year, and I need your help.

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• Entertaining and Funny?

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You’ve inspired me to keep pushing boundaries in management, storytelling, and AI.

What resonated most? Humor? Management lessons? Sneak peeks?

Click here to complete the survey and share your feedback.

Thank you for being part of this journey, friend.

The best is yet to come!

Cheers for now,
Vaugan

P.S. Look out for the email on Xmas day with the full draft!