Mentorship, AI, and Common Sense with Peter Wiedermann

0:00The cat tells the chemistry is good by looking at it in closing clear yesterday from the last time. The saltwater pool is a chlorine pool! This is the Talking Pool's podcast with pool pros from every region in the country. If it happens in a pool, you'll hear about it here. Everything from tips and hacks to the latest tricks and trends. Breaking news? We lay it on the line, we tell it like it is because we think you deserve to know. Welcome back the Talking Pool's podcast. You're going to source for everything wet, wild, and wonderfully misunderstood in the pool world.

1:01I'm Natalie Hood and we are continuing our journey talking to the top mentors in the pool industry. And today I'm joined by Peter Weederman. You know, Peter has spent 31 years in the pool industry starting part time at the age of 12, helping his, with his father's business and growing into a swimming pool technician and eventually building businesses in the industry and get this. A year ago, he decided, I'm going to step away and head in a completely different direction. And today, a lot of his focus is on AI and helping businesses actually understand how to use it. And he also works for a global business networking organization. Pretty cool, I thought so. But stay tuned, he's only getting started. But today is really about mentorship and who helped Peter along the way. The people he's helped and what being named one of the top 10 mentors means to him. So of course, as you know, this is still Wednesday, so we're still going to bust a few myths.

2:04We're going to have a little fun with some AI. And you know, what was really interesting I thought too when I first started talking to Peter, he told me that he believed that using AI is actually a lot like being a pool tech. So of course, I'm definitely going to make him explain that. So and of course, I have a surprise question for him at the end because it wouldn't be me in Rudy if we didn't have that. So Peter, first and foremost, welcome to Wednesdays and congratulations on making the top 10. Thank you Natalie, for having me. It is an absolute pleasure and a privilege to be here. I will correct you on one thing though. Wow. 31 years in the industry started when I first trained and certified as a technician. Correct me. Yes. My school, that's believe me, I wish I was 1231 years ago. I'd be a whole lot younger. You don't look a day over it now. Well, so you look great. Well, so let's get in to that. So for those that aren't familiar with you, kind of give us a brief history of how you got into this industry from when you started.

3:06Yeah, well, my father was a fiberglass pool manufacturer and had been going for many years. The day after I left primary school, I got roped in to come in on weekends. For anyone who grew up in a family business knows the deal. You sweep floors, you answer phones, you do basic admin. In our case, of course, and over the years got more and more involved. So when I left high school, did a couple of years at uni. During which time I became a technician. I did my first formal training. And for me, that it was just amazing. Seeing how all the different aspects of pools from chemistry to hydraulics to, you know, the list. To see how all of those interact and interrelate, it was just fascinating for me. And when I left uni, I decided I'm going to do this full time. So that went on for many, many, many years. And then we sold the business in 2018. 2019, I decided I want to get back on the tools properly. So I started a pool technician company. I love it. You know, I love hearing people's backgrounds.

4:07You know, we all come from different angles and how we get into this, into this industry. We always joke once you get in, we can't get out, but you've gotten out or you're trying to at least. I, well, I just say, you know, it's like the hotel California. You can check out, you can never leave. So maybe that's proving to be the case. But this is, this is great. Yeah, I love it. Well, so what it, so going back to mentorship, what did it mean to you when you first found out that you had been nominated by your peers as one of the top 10 mentors in the industry? Were you surprised? Well, first of all, I thought, hey, Rudy's having a go, you know, having a jockey because hang on, I left the industry a year ago. What's he doing? And then thinking about it, I thought, hang on, obviously there's some impact. There's some, I don't want to use the word legacy, but obviously there's still some impact going on to be nominated after being absent for a year. So I thought that's, it's actually very humbling and also very encouraging to know that, yeah, people are still benefiting from what I was maybe able to contribute.

5:16Yeah. So it's an honor in the true sense of the word. Yeah, you were nominated as a top mentor. I mean, it's, it's clear, right? And you, I can hear the passion alone too in your voice about what you do. And, you know, when we talk about mentor, what is, when you hear the word mentor, what does it mean to you? It's part teacher, it's part guide, it's part somebody who says, okay, that's the problem. You sorted out, I've got you back. That's what it really means. It's equipping someone to stand on their own two feet. Yeah. Rather than to come dependent. Yeah, do you think someone can mentor you without even realizing it that they're doing it? I think so. I would say yes, definitely. If they're the type of person who genuinely wants to help, then I believe that is the case. For me, it's always, well, for me, it's generally been more intentional. You know, people who I take on and say, look, I would like to mentor you.

6:17It's a conscientious, direct decision. Yeah. But in other cases, yeah, you just talk to people and they, when they say, oh, I didn't realize that. Let me think about that. That's what I want. They start to think about it. That's gold for me. Yeah. So what does it mean? What does it mean to be a good mentor though to you? What does it mean? I think it's largely about trust. Not earning someone's trust enough that they will listen to you and that they will come to you with their questions, with their problems. I'm being challenged by this in my work in the pool industry. Or I'm finding this difficult with AI or I'm finding this difficult in life. Yeah. Because life's a funny thing. You turn your back on it for two seconds. It's going to throw you a curveball. You know what time it is? Wednesday vibes on the talking pools. Potch! Potch! With the...

7:23Sun up tools. I'll roll and find. But I'm tuning in. And now it's on the line. Guess at the ready stories they shine. For filters to heaters, they tell it in time. Hey Wednesday Natalie leads the way. Talking pools, potches, make the week feel like a- Hey Wednesday, Natalie starts to play. Natalie and the crew keep the blue what I happy. Kim talk pump, torque tricks of the trade. Field hacks, flashbacks, alligeons are made. Laps in the mix with the fact she lays. Every single segment got that rig a- And she's got a way to sway. Hey Wednesday Natalie leads the way. Talking pools, potches, make the week feel like a- Hey Wednesday, Natalie starts to play. Natalie and the crew keep the blue what I happy. We're on the midweek, Natalie.

8:24Who bring the deep speak, Natalie. Clear up the green streak, Natalie. Talking pools, turn it up, reality. So roll that rope and ride the tune. Wednesday waves becoming soon. Natalie take the mic, boom. Talking pools, we're in the group soon. Hey Wednesday, Natalie leads the way. Talking pools, potches, make the week feel like a- Hey Wednesday, Natalie starts to play. Natalie and the crew keep the blue what I happy. Hey Wednesday, Natalie leads the way. Talking pools, potches, make the week feel like a- Hey Wednesday, Natalie starts to play. Natalie and the crew keep the blue what I happy. The future of our industry is shaped by those willing to invest in it. The following companies have stepped forward to support education, leadership, and mentorship across the swimming pool industry.

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10:27this is how you gear up smart and stay sharp. Check out revveduprepairl.com. Help with a- Hey, pool pro, what if your pool pump knew the perfect speed to run? Beatnottis, VSF, the first adaptive flow pump with eco flow technology It adjusts to real-time conditions to maintain constant flow, cut energy costs, and extend equipment life. No guesswork, just a smarter pool with Nottis, VSF, from H2flow. This episode is brought to you in part by Pool Brain. Pool Brain gives pool professionals the tools to run smarter, more efficient, and more profitable service businesses. Check them out at poolbrain.com. What does it mean to be a good mentor, though, to you? What does it mean? I think it's largely about trust. It's about earning someone's trust enough that they will listen to you and that they will come to you with their questions, with their problems.

11:30I'm being challenged by this in my work in the pool industry, or I'm finding this difficult with AI, or I'm finding this difficult in life. Yeah. Because life's a funny thing. You turn your back on it for two seconds, it's going to throw you a curveball. Yeah. No, I absolutely agree. You have to really put so much trust in that person, right? Because this is you said, you turn your back, and it's scary out there. There's always new technology. In some ways, you could say the industry is actually behind. I would absolutely agree. It really does take a lot of trust in regards to mentorship. You have to really open up to someone and feel confident and let them into your space. We open to that. One of the terms we use in business networking is no like and trust. And to be able to refer business to someone consistently, you want to know them, you want to like them ideally, and you want to trust them.

12:32The same goes for mentoring. You need to know the person, at least, whichever level is suitable, or appropriate. If you like them, great. If you don't like them, it's very difficult. And some people you don't like because you know them. Yeah. And of course, trust is key. So the same applies equally to mentoring. Yeah. Yeah. No, I would agree. I would absolutely agree. And I would say too, I've had the same mentor for years. You may not, I don't know if it started out that way, but even to this day, I still call her and ask her questions. She's like, all right, come on, let's sit down and let's think through it. So back to your point, I absolutely trust her. And I would trust her with anything that I brought her that she would only give me the best advice and what she truly thought was best for me. So I agree. I think trust is such a big one. Who were some of the people who mentored you when you were coming up in the industry? I'm going to differentiate here between trainers and mentors.

13:35Because trainers just impart information and part knowledge on you, mentors though help you actually live it. So the first one that comes to mind is actually somebody who first trained me, a guy named Rob. Now, you'll love this. You've got to remember this was the early 90s. So we didn't have all the occupational health and safety rules. We didn't have all of the environmental rules that we have now. It was a different world. And one day we jumped in the Ute. A Ute for American listeners as a pickup truck. We jumped in the Ute, went to this big vacant block of land. We had to dispose of some chemicals. And so he gave me a shovel and he said, I'll go in the middle and do a hole. So I dug a hole, I guess, a couple of feet, by a couple of feet. And got back to the Ute and he said, OK, tip this chemical in. So I went and poured, I forget what it was. And poured this into the dispose of it, got back to the Ute and he says, well, now I forgot we also need to get rid of this one. So he gave me another thing chemical. This one was all liquid. The first one was some sort of granules.

14:36I went over there and poured it in. And then I hear him at the Ute going, run at the top of his voice. And I turned around and go, what? And he waves his arm and starts shouting, run, get out of it. So I ran along. All of a sudden behind me, boom, boom. So I got back to the Ute and I said, what the F was that about? Yeah. And he had a big grin on his face. He said, now you know, never mix chemicals. He said you were. I've never forgotten that lesson. That is true that. Do you know if I would do it quite that way? No, either would I. But that's, you know, to your point, you never forgot. No, I didn't. But yeah, I would consider that good teaching, good as effective. Very. The method is questionable. Very. Does that. It's their own. Bring about trust and mentorship. No, don't. Yeah, no. But I've had other mentors within the pool industry. There's one name, Terry Hunter.

15:37He runs a company called Pool Controls. They make probably the best saltwater chlorinators I've ever worked with. Make some locally here in Western Australia. Check it out. They are brilliantly designed and tougher snails. But he's been doing this for longer than I was in the industry. Used to work for a company called Chloromatic. Sorry. Chloromatic was the brand Monarch. Monarch Industries, which became Monarch Pool Systems. But he electrical engineer, if I recall, I professioned, but he just loves pools chemistry. Everything. So big shout out to Terry Hunter. Others. I think Rudy, of course, is the mental mental. He has given me so much guidance, encouragement and friendship over the years. I've known him. That's off. One of the people in the world who was in my respect more than probably any other. So Rudy, shout out to you. I would agree. Phenomenal.

16:37Yes. I'll never forget that night when he was a Wednesday night. He rang me. And I said, oh, good, I'd Rudy. How you doing? He just got straight to it and said, would you like to start on episode of the topic talking pool podcast, Australia? Took me about three milliseconds. And I said, yes. I had no idea what I was getting into, but I thought this opportunity is just gold. Seeing you were better than me, he called me. And I was like, but you're crazy. No. And he goes, he had been after for me to do it for quite some time. And then finally, I was like, no, I do what I'm doing. Let's do it. And he's like, all right, buckle up. And I was like, let's do it. And actually, you know, you're right. The best thing I should have trusted him because he's a great mentor. And sometimes the best things you ever do in life are the things where you think I have no idea what I'm doing here. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes it sneaks up on you. It's a great feeling. It is. It is. You know, was there it? Oh, go ahead. Yeah.

17:37There's other people who I've considered mentors. But possibly the biggest these days is gentleman named Alvin, Alvin Cooney, he's part of the networking group I'm involved with. And you want to see how to network. Boom. Here's the guy to learn from. I'm going to look into that. That looks really, that sounds really cool. I'm definitely going to look into that. Very, very cool. I know who to reach out to. Very cool. So was there ever a time when I guess I'd mentor told you something that you really didn't want to hear, but you realized later. Hey, they were right. Maybe hard advice or. Concentrate which constantly constantly everything from life to things in the industry, which example do I pick? Don't date that girl. That was a good bit of advice. That I followed that one thing. What happened to an expert? So scared. Yeah. We've all got those. But if you're not going to challenge somebody's thinking, you're not worthy to be their mentor. And if you're not going to accept, if I give you advice and you're not even going to

18:39think about it, you just reject it off the cuff. Fine, go find another mentor who's got time to waste for someone who's untrainable. That's very true. That's very true. That's very true. Yeah. There's enough people who are really thirsty for knowledge and for guidance that you don't need to waste your time with people who think they know it all better. Yeah. That is very true. Arrogance is the enemy of advancing in any pursuit in life. Mm hmm. I guess at what point, you know, I'm looking at that. Well, at what point did you realize you'd gone from being the person looking for guidance in being the person other people were coming to? Was there a point or like a specific moment that it just that it happened naturally that you were like, wait a second. Yeah, going back years ago, I found that I was having other people in the industry call me and saying, Pete, I've got a problem with this pool. How do I fix this? What do I do there? They sent me a photo and saying, how do I get this part work looking so it actually works,

19:42not looking like a bowl of spaghetti? Oh, some of them I tell you. And I remember one day I thought I've had five calls today from other people in the industry asking advice. And so I got a chip in my shoulder and got home to my wife and said, hey, everyone's asking me for advice now. Where did she say? I said, I'm going to wash the dishes. No. I think the trash out for you. Something like that, some meany old-task. I probably said something like, well, we've got a pool, go clean that. Yeah, right. Get outside and clean the pool. That's your job. Yeah. But did you feel like you were ready to accept that responsibility? How do I put this? I was suitably cautious. Mm-hmm. Very early on, I made a rule. If I don't know it, I'm not going to make stuff up. I love that. It just mistakes are high. Yeah. Yeah. You get somebody's bad chemistry advice and chemical burns. Microbes in the water, bacteria issues, viruses, all of that stuff. Yeah. Or from bad advice. So I'd much rather say, I don't know, let's learn this together or let me go learn it.

20:45Find out. I'll ask some people. I'll do some research. It's a funny thing. The word research. People so often say, I researched this or I did some research. They don't know the difference between research and Google search. Yes. So true. It drives me up the friggin' wall. So now it's no longer Dr. Google. Now it's Dr. GPC. Yes. People go on there and they don't realize that a lot of what AI tells you is actually wrong and there's a reason for that. Well, and that's actually, so my husband and I, this is one thing he and I squawble about because he'll research or he'll make an assumption and I am actually doing the homework and not going to make the episode about it. I can talk to you for about that for hours. But to your point, yes, there's such a big difference and we're going to get to that. We're going to get to that. But is there someone you've mentored whose growth you're especially proud of?

21:48Yeah. About would have been three, four years ago. I'd have an absolute shit of a day. It was peak summer, 40 odd degrees. That's 110, 114 in Fahrenheit, something like that. Buddy. Long day. On the way home, I went to the local bottle shop, the liquor store, Grabba Six Packabia. And young bloke in there, I'd seen a couple of times, named Gabe. And normal chit chat, you know, ah, how's your day been? And I said, oh, I just wish I could find staff. I'm just too busy. And this guy who was, I think, 21 at the time, he said, oh, you're hiring. And I said, yeah, why do you know someone who's looking, he said, yeah, me. I'm just not getting enough hours here. And I've got a mortgage to pay. And what struck out at me was 21 years old with a mortgage. He'd bought a house. That is different, yeah. That somebody looking ahead, not just living paycheck to paycheck. Very true. A media. A media respect. And the housing market here is tough. We've got a housing crisis.

22:49It's the major political issue at the moment. I won't go into that. But yeah, we had a chat. And for the last several years, I haven't done a formal interview with potential employees. I've taken them out to a couple of test jobs. Just normal straightforward. Let's service these pools. I'll show you on the first one. You watch the second one. You show me what you've learned. Ask any questions. And went out there on the first job. He was paying extreme attention. And asking the right questions, the questions that told me, hey, this guy's thinking, not about, oh, this is the action at the moment, that this is the reason why that is perfect. And that was the first job. And he took over halfway through. And says, I'll do this. Second one we went to. Yeah, it never worked on a pool before. Second one we went to. Right. It wouldn't prime. And he said, oh, let me have a look. I didn't know if I realized that the pump basket wasn't lined up correctly.

23:52So the lid didn't seal. This guy, his second job in the industry, and he hadn't even started working yet, he fixed this problem in about 30, 40 seconds. Wow. Yes, you're hired. Yeah. Yeah, 100%. Yeah. And for a lot more money than he was being paid at the bottle, as well. And then he said, oh, yeah, I can I start him two weeks, because I think it's only fair that I give my current employer two weeks notice. I thought this guy has just sprouted wings like an angel from heaven. Yeah. That's what you want. And over the next couple of years, he became, I would argue, one of the best technicians I've ever met. He was reliable, new his stuff, just, just brilliant. And jump forward a, fast forward a couple of years. He came up to me one day, and now I'd known that his lifelong dream had always become, been to become a commercial helicopter pilot. And he came into me one day and the guy was stressed.

24:54I said, go, what's going on, mate? You're not yourself today. And he said, would you be angry if I, if I was to leave and go trying to be a helicopter pilot? I said, well, I've got no right to be angry. I said, let anyone ever tell you that you should or should not pursue your dreams. If it's your dream, you go for it. You don't want to end up 60 years of age realizing, I wish I'd done that with my life. So I said, yeah, I'll be sad to see you go, but yeah, how can I help with that? So he went on at the end to casual employment, just filling in when he was able to and when we had the work, just to give him a little bit of income coming in. So he's doing very well. And he brought along two other people he knew who also became brilliant, brilliant technic. So yeah, that's amazing. You got to watch all that. You got to watch him really blossom. And now he's doing, I assume he's out there doing what he loves. He's doing a full-time training as a helicopter pilot.

25:55That's awesome. And me and these other two who were with me at the end, they, we're still, we were talking about messenger chats earlier. We do still catch up, we communicate over that every few months or so, we try to get out to the pub on an afternoon and a couple of beers and a meal and it's good. And without two in my own horn, I think it says something when guys in there early to mid-20s actually want to go to the pub with a 50 year old. Yeah. So I think, well, I think you've earned your spot here. I think you've done your spot. That's awesome. Well, I have to ask, I mean, but if you win this and get the belt, I mean, obviously you're going to, you're going to show these guys. Are you going to, you're going to wear the belt? I have to ask you to wear it. Like what are you going to do with this thing? I'm going to make my kids cringe on the board on where and walk through the house for a day wearing this belt.

26:56And if they give me my kids a teenager, so if they give me an award, I am the champion. You've got to make your kids cringe. I love it. The law. I love it. Yes. So I would be truly surprised. I would be over the moon. But also, yeah, I would also stop and reflect on, right, this is the impact I've had. How can I continue to have that impact increase and take it to different arenas? Yeah. Well, I absolutely, I'm telling you though, if you, if you win, we're going to need some footage of you, a embarrassing new kids, please, because yes, to this day, my kids are now getting to the point where they're getting embarrassed. I mean, they're only four and six, almost five and seven, but they're starting to get embarrassed by my husband dancing. And it's awesome. I'm living with my aunt. So yes, please record. We want video footage. But yes, I'm here for it. I'll even bring out the Gen Z language for that. The Gen Z slang for that one. Yeah, you're for it.

27:57Well, so now that we've kind of touched some of our mentor questions, you know, we can't not talk myths and we've kind of talked a little bit about AI, but I can't have someone who's now teaching people about AI. Come on, myth busting Wednesdays and not have you bust if you AI myth. So how about you and I transition to some myth busting for a little bit. Let's go. Let's do it. So the first one that I want to talk about is, and we've, I've talked to a few other people about it, but I really want to get your inside and it's that AI is going to replace people and jobs, but I think there's, I think there's a lot of fear about this one. And what do you think about people and businesses and what should they actually be thinking about instead because AI is not going anywhere. But what do you think? Excellent question, because you ask 10 different people, you get 15 different answers. Yes. First of all, we still need someone to get out there, turn a spanner, pour the stuff into a pool. It's going to be a long time before robots can do that.

29:00Secondly, yes, AI could probably, well, AI could read a test sample, match the colors much better than we can if it's got the suitable cameras and optical equipment. But can it feel what the water feels like? Can it smell what's coming off the water? So there's a lot of that. Thirdly, I was speaking with a good friend of mine the other day, also from Tennessee, I might have, she's very, she'd been a friend of mine for 20 odd years and she was, she's a business coach and she was saying, you know, I asked chat GPT, which is a big red flag for me, chat GPT, I don't use that anymore. She said, I asked it, and it said it could do 80% on my job. I said, well, it's the other 20% that it can't do that is where the person matters. The way you've got to understand with this, the way AI thinks, it doesn't think, it just matches patterns. Yes. So think of if you've got, you go onto your map and you say, you know, lunch bar because you want to have lunch, and it'll auto fill near me or it'll bring up suggestions.

30:02That's exactly what AI does, but on a massive, massive scale. Yeah. So all it will do is look at the averages, the common patterns that match. Things, the stuff outside of that that it won't, it won't realize. All sorts of not up to date with a lot of things. So you've really got to work at hard to get the latest information through AI. So will it take jobs? I think there will be an effect on admin jobs. I mean, since router optimization came out, how much less time do we spend planning out the order of jobs that saves time? When it comes to invoicing and quotes and so forth, it can save a lot of time. So there will be some admin level jobs affected. Yeah. I know when I reach out to, I know there's a lot of companies that have utilized it for chat, like a 24 hour chat. I've seen that quite a bit. Yeah. But it's, I don't like those chats. They're very frustrated. Almost worse than clink punk.

31:03Gotta be done really, really carefully. McDonald's had one of these chat bots on their website and people they, they didn't configure it correctly. So people were asking computer programming questions and getting it to actually write code for them because it wasn't using up their own tokens. It wasn't using up their own allowance. So they just put on McDonald's tab and get the McDonald's thing to do all this. There was another airline, also an airline. I forget which airline it was and I'm not going to guess because I'm not AI. And it just started, it made a policy on the chat during the chat. It created a policy for the airline at the end up in court. Then you've got learning something. Oh, there's another case where there was a car dealership in the US and customer got on with this chat bot and actually negotiated the chat bot down in price and bought a brand new car for a dollar. I think I did hear something along the lines of that. It might have been that way. So you've got to be careful with those. That's one of the times that everyone thinks I can make this happen with AI.

32:07No, that's when you get a professional in to make sure it's done properly. And even then McDonald's major airline car dealership, you'd think that'd do it properly, but they don't. They still get frustrated. I get frustrated with AI. I mean, do I use AI? Yes. But a lot of the times I find myself frustrated because again, like you said, actually a lot of the information is out of date. I mean, even when you go to search automatically, my search will pull up AI things. I'm like, go away. I don't watch you. It's very frustrating. But I think as long as you learn how to use it properly, it can be useful. That's exactly the point. The way I phrase it is, you have to beat it into submission. Yes. With correct prompting. Like that. Yes. Bees into submission. It's not in negotiation with it. You have to tell it. This is what I want. This is how I want it. This is how I want it. Sometimes this is my outcome I desire.

33:07Let's think through and use it as a thinking system. It's a challenge it too. I challenge. I challenge whenever I've challenged it before. It's given me things before and I'm like, oh, are you two in? And I'll challenge it. Yeah. So, yeah, I agree. I don't think people should be afraid of it, but they should be afraid if they don't know how to use it properly and they are going to use it. It's like any tool. That's all it is. It's a tool. If you know how to use it, great. It's a false multiplier. If you don't know how to use it, it can cause problems. Yes. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. The stakes can be very high. Yeah. So, another one is a lot of people think AI is basically just chat GBT. And I guess for a lot of people out there, chat GBT was probably the first real introduction to AI. And you said that you don't use chat anymore. But our businesses limiting themselves, if that's all they think AI is. I mean, what do you think of that?

34:07OK. AI is very broad. It's hugely broad. Yeah. Chat GBT is, at a sense, a large language model. So it uses language. It matches patterns in language very, very well, much faster than we ever could. And that's how it works. And there are others like Claude and Gemini and complexity and complexity is a bit different but a fair few of them like that. But then you get other modes, another types of model. So you get your music and image generation. You get your ones that are really focused on writing code. So programming, as we used to call it, you get others that do all sorts of things. So chat GBT, yeah, it was the leading large language model that dealt with language, but others have overtaken it. Yeah. Yeah. And it's changing so damn fast. If anyone tells you they know everything about AI, walk away. It's changing almost.

35:08I mean, it's constantly. I'll say every time I go into, because I don't just use one, I'll use a couple different ones. And I will say between the different ones that I use, there's always an update. There's always something new coming out that I've seen. I actually get, I've set up an AI agent to scan various news channels and so forth. So at the start of the day, I get a summary of what's relevant based on what I'm interested in every day. There are changes every single day. So it's very hard to keep up with very competitive. You've got the American models. You've got some European ones. China's really making a big push at the moment. Not sure how trusting I am of some of the security and certain models, who's got access to what. And that's a very important thing. As well, if you're using AI, if you're using it in a browser or you download Claude Covework or whatever, unless you've got a properly isolated AI on your system, and I'm

36:12talking professional level configuration here, anything you put into the AI, you might as well post on Facebook. Yeah. So anything client related, any client data, anything health, legal, anything sensitive related, anything financial. Yeah, keep it off there, unless you de-identified it. Yeah. I met a financial planner a few months ago, and he very proudly showed me the agent that he had made up to work with all of his client files, and he had no security on whatsoever. He was open to the world, and he showed me on public Wi-Fi, which is another thing I have an issue with. And I said, look, shut it down now. You're going to get sued and lose your license, because you've just made all of your client data completely public. And once it's out there, there's no deletionist. Right. So there are ways to do it safely. That's when you call in a professional to set it up and configure it properly.

37:15Yeah. I think that's what a lot of people don't know. Once you put it out there, it's out there. Yeah. Yeah. Where do you think business goods are underusing AI? I think that there are two big mistakes people make with AI. One is they underestimate its abilities. Yeah. Secondly, they overestimate its abilities. Agreed. Both. Yeah. A lot of people use it. They'll play around with it. It's like they're stumbling around in the dark. That's why I created a method for using AI effectively, just to give some controls, some structure. Seeing people in the workshops I run, going, oh, that makes sense. That's what lights me up. To see them realize, hang on. This is how it should be used. And anything from how to write an email properly. And I had one recently. I said, I really want to tell this person to get, this is the, these are the reasons to turn this into something professional. And it came up with something beautifully. And the response I got was, thank you for your candid response, my thought.

38:17I got it. I've used it for that reason as well. I've had to put a spicy email in there and be like, big, this, this is where I'm at. This is what I want. Don't put that in there. And it pushes it back. And I'm like, okay, good. I can send that. Yeah. And then I actually want to go back and be like, but I'm still spicy. Yeah. So I know pull companies, pull service companies, for example, that still do all their invoicing manually. They literally have a carbon copy invoice book and they post out the invoice. And I'm thinking it's not the 19th anymore. Even accounting software. But I mean, look at the software available for the pool industry, especially pool technicians these days. Yeah. With them, it'll read the test. Tell you what to read the test results directly from your photometer. It'll tell you exactly what chemicals it thinks you need. Again, that's the AI talking. A human should intervene and check, hang on. This is right. That is not. Yeah.

39:18And I'll come back to that in a moment, remind me. And create the invoice, send it off, follow up if it's not paid within the due period, et cetera. Yeah. So that's something that the pool industry is generally doing really well. But there's no reason why bookings couldn't be automated a lot more than they are. Yeah. Yeah. There are exceptions, of course. But a lot of people are still manually doing all of their bookings. Yeah. Sometimes that's unavoidable. Somebody has a green pool recovery. You need to talk to them to get some context so you know what's on to allocate. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's some of the big ways that the people are underusing it. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So another one is that AI is a shortcut that does the work for you. But again, you and I have kind of talked about the quality of AI, right? And how a lot of it, it's not true. It's outdated. And so you could almost say garbage in garbage out. And a lot of ways if you're not doing it properly.

40:21Exactly garbage in garbage out. That's 100% it. Yeah. I mean, if you're not providing the right information. Yeah. But there's a lot of them in AI called human in the loop. You've got to keep the human in the loop. Yeah. You see adverts on social media. You know, I created a business run by AI. I don't even have to touch it. Keep me fire. If the AI stuffs up and you're the one in court saying, hang on, I didn't have any input into this business. I'm just legally responsible for what a machine on the other side of the country. Or the other planet did. So always keep that human in the loop. But that's what I was going to talk about a moment ago. Yes. A test. A line to heavily on AI could cause a significant problem. And that is they don't want to learn the basics. Yes, I would agree. Somebody who's used to using their pool server software to get all the chemistry results. They need to have an understanding and a knowledge of pool chemistry.

41:22So they can say, hang on, it hasn't factored in this that I can see in the water. It hasn't factored in somehow. It's told me to add these two chemicals at the same time, which is not an option. So I've had customers in the past say, I get my test strips and I take a photo where I put it into chat. And it tells me exactly what I need. Well, it can tell you what the patterns it matches. But yeah, so as an industry, and this is every industry, it needs to be made sure that the fundamentals of training aren't lost. Right. The ease of using AI. Yeah. Yeah. Well, again, I've put questions in there knowing that they're wrong and I'll prompt it something. I'll give it a bad question and I'll prompt it. And it will spit back and then I'll actually argue with it. And it's like, oh, you're right. Actually, this is the right answer. And so, you know, if you're not understanding the subject well enough, as you're going back to what you said, if you're not willing to learn and you just wanted to bypass all

42:24of that, how are you going to actually recognize when you're given a bad answer or answer or when you're given the bad information? You know, it's a tool for us to use. I'm not bashing AI, but it's a tool versus a person. So I mean, you have to really, in many ways, you have to respect the power that it has, right? You have to be able to understand how to use it. So just kind of agreeing to your point because I think there's actually a lot of people out there and it's clear that are bad at using AI. Most people are, most people, they might do a, you know, master AI in a week and make money by the weekend type course. But again, it shows you these are the steps to take, not these are the fundamentals of what you meant to be doing. Yeah. Largely it to mindset game. Yeah. Yeah. First time, let me tell you the first time I ever used AI, friend of mine who's a web developer, real geek, great guy, chat GPT have just come out, just become public.

43:26He came in with a big grin on his face and said, oh, have you seen this? I said, no, what's that? And he said, oh, ask it anything. It'll tell you. I said, okay. He said it's got access to all the information. Okay. So I asked to explain black algae and swimming pools. Ooh. A hand of the phone back to him and I said, it's going to tell you this, you know, if you're wear bathers swimming in a lake and then jump and you pull your get out, it's got roots to go into the surface. It's got all this other nonsense. I said, this is what it's going to tell you and it will be wrong. What it should be saying is this, the correct side, and sure enough, it came back wrong. And this guy, he was just flawed. He said, but how can it be wrong? I said, because it's not an expert. Yeah. That was the first time I used AI and I realized, hang on, this is not something to trust too easily. Yeah. Yeah. Well, so let's take a minute, right? That'll be because you made a pretty big change recently. You started out very heavily in the industry and then about a year ago, you decided to step

44:27away. So here we're talking about AI, but I guess, where did this, where was this defining moment where you were like, right, it's time to leave and kind of head towards AI. I've been thinking about it for several months. I just wasn't getting the dopamine hit from working with bulls that I had been previously and I found the little things were really starting to neglect me. Yeah. But one day I gave a presentation in front of a room of people about bulls. Actually, I was busting with about bulls from that presentation. And at the end, a room of about 40 odd people and about 15 of them, the end said, oh, Pete, you've got so much passion for this, so much energy. I sat back and realized actually, I had to force that and I thought if you've got to force something, if you've got to force the energy, then that leads to burnout and that's not somewhere I'm willing to go. So that was the defining moment. Yeah. In terms of moving to AI, I'd had an interest in AI for a long time by that point, but then to be honest, I took a few months off.

45:30Just did very little. When started, I probably came up with 50 different business ideas related to AI. And I realized that very few people know how to use it. Hence, I thought I'm going to create a course. So one day people can get a proper group and proper technique to using it correctly. Well, I'm definitely going to be staying in touch with you, sir, not just with the podcast crew, but I definitely want to take classes with you because I think there's, my motto is forever a student. Yeah. And so I am definitely interested to see what information you put out. And I could definitely sharpen up some of my areas on AI just earlier. I was using it and it was like, what am I doing? I'm ready to pull an old motto because I'm 12 hours ahead of you. Let bring it on, baby. I'm here for it. Just if you see him on a paddleboard or if it's my background's water, just go with it. It's fine. But, you know, I want to go back for a second. So you said at one point you told me that AI is actually really similar to, it's kind

46:33of like being a pull tech, right? So using AI is like being a pull tech. Can explain that to me. How did that, what does that mean? They're both complex systems. In other words, there's lots of different systems that have to work together. They're both subject to the butterfly effect. Making a change in one part will have a change make a change in another, whether you want it or not. So you need to control that. They both need a method, a methodology or a system to work. And you serve as a pull or to a green pool recovery, you need a system. You want to create something with AI, you need a system. And in both cases, if you get it wrong, the consequences can be severe. In pools, it can be personal health and safety. With AI, it can be your business. Yeah. The biggest difference I find is actually with pools working on pools, you get sunburn and soaking wet. That happens when you're using AI, you were doing something very, very wrong. Yeah. So, yeah, ignore the fact that ones are to desk and the others, you know, by a pool.

47:35Yeah. The mindset and the approach to them, I think, should be very similar. Yeah. I love that though. I like that. Very good. Well, kind of looking back at the pool industry, does the pool industry look different to you now that you're looking at it more from the outside? That's a really good question. I wonder if that's your trick question. It's not okay. Yeah, but it's a good one. Doesn't look different. Yeah. I don't think so because I was deep enough into it to know what to look for. You still get the great operators, you still get the technology advancing. You still get the further research. You still get the people who have no place in the industry. And you can see them from a mile off. But I haven't personally seen any great changes other than the natural progression over time. Yeah. And you're still in that podcast podcast chat. I am. And I'm reminded of that 217 times a day when messages come through. I have to be funny, but they're also yes, that's to the relationships.

48:36But is there anything that you miss? I mean, so you're still here, but is there anything that you miss about the pool industry? I mean, when you think about the pool industry, what's what's the greatest thing that you think the pool, what do you think about anything of the pool industry? The greatest thing. I miss the regular contact with some of the people. Yeah, some of the suppliers I had were fantastic. The crew on Monday down under Monday's down under, of course, that was a weekly conversation. So I do miss that. I miss some of the customers. Notice I said some in all of the. Yeah. Some of these places don't let my kids hear this, but I do actually miss some of the dogs that you meet out on on site. Don't tell my kids because they desperately want a dog. And I just know it's going to be another job for me to do. So that's something. But I do miss the satisfaction of seeing, you know, a swamp turned into something that you'd be happy to jump into. Yeah. But I kind of redirected that satisfaction from having, from that to having people say,

49:37hang on, I created this thing with AI or I did this or I got this result. But based on what you taught, and I thought that's, that's gold. That's just a satisfying, just no different arena. Yeah. You've ignited the flame again, just in a different, in a new industry. Yes. Yeah. I like that. Do you think, what do you think about in the point industry, where do you think they're getting it wrong? They're still getting it wrong outside AI. Not to do an AI wrong necessarily, but I can speak on the Australian perspective and change is happening. But I think it's happening too slowly. I think it was, and Lea would be the one to ask for the ask about this. I think it was a year or two ago. Pull technicians and pull builders were both recognized to specialise trades, meaning that there will be requirements for certification, training, et cetera. And I'm not aware of what's changed it's at, but that's got to be fast tracked. Because even still, you know, I'll be driving past, you know, driving to a friend's place.

50:39I'll see a pull technicians vehicle and see what they're doing. And I'm thinking that guy doesn't know what he's doing. You can spot him on my life. A couple of front yard pulls that I, I drive past occasionally, adjusts. You think these people don't know what they're doing. And it's the health and safety of these families that are swimming in those pulls. Yeah. That's what's important. So standards need to be implemented and raised and consistently raised and raised again. Yeah. I agree. But that I think is the biggest problem. And I don't like government regulation, but that's somewhere that it matters. Yeah. I do. But no, I would have to really. Keith. No, I hear you. But yeah, there are a lot of areas where it needs to, they really need to do more. I would agree there. You know, what's, if we, if you were to name outside government, what's the, what's one thing that you absolutely do not miss? Just immediately comes to mind. Don't miss sunburn.

51:40Sunburn, I would agree with that. I'm pretty burnt right now, but that's on my own doing. But now, some of us here can be brutal. We'll have six months. Generally, our year is broken up into six months of hot and dry. Six months of cool and wet and basically, rather getting rained on or sunburned. So yeah, physically, it's demanding. And I'm not 21 anymore. In case you didn't pick it. So yeah, the physicality of the job and exposure to the weather, that's, that's the biggest thing I don't miss. Yeah, yeah. I was a, you know, so I'm training for these three open water swims. And last night, I do red light therapy on my shoulder. And my husband, you know, it's been a military for a long time. And he does red light therapy now on his knee because he kept stealing my red light therapy for my shoulder and he was stretching it. And I was like, no. But last night he goes, you know, we're not getting any younger are we? And I was just like, man, we had to call it out. But I totally get it. The physical weariness. Yeah. I'm there with you. When you stand off from a chair and you could say, Dad, you're making old man noises again.

52:42It's not thank you, kids. Yeah. My husband sounds like rice crispy. Our dog, we have a family doctor and our family doctor is like, yeah, man, your, your husband, he's crackle-packed and pop like, I know, isn't he? He gets up for the morning and like, he leaves the house around 4 a.m. And it's just all you see, you hear rice crispy is going down the stairs. And I'm like, wait them up there. You're the way you're speaking. I'm assuming that's not that you stay at case needs fixing. Well, I mean, there's probably a few stairs that could be fixed, but he's just so crackle-pop. You stay at cause? Yeah. Tell them you can blame the staircase. I'll permit it. Maybe once. But he hasn't gotten it fixed. So now we're blaming him. So here's a fun one. And we apparently need this answered before we can really determine who the mentor of the year word is. Yeah. What's your favorite pizza topping? Ooh. Quattro from Agio. Four cheese pizza. That's the okay. Jesus. I am obsessed with barbecue. I have fought and when I use a word barbecue, I mean cooking with wood or charcoal generally, not necessarily low and slowly.

53:43What's your favorite? Yeah. So I've got two wood fire ovens. Pizza runs. And I was with you. So who? So what I do there is I get my wife to make the cheese topping for this pizza. She does it brilliantly. Four cheeses, bit of rosemary on it. And I then cook it with the fire oven. I don't want to ask her what the cheeses she uses are or what proportion. Because as soon as I know that, she'll make me do it myself. So I'm happy for her to bring that out. But that is brilliant. If I'm just getting a takeout pizza, which are generally pretty crap, then I go super supreme with barbecue sauce and anchovies. You know, I was talking to Jerry and he and I talked about pizza. Jerry Wallace, like, I'm hungry. And now I'm talking to you. And now I'm just envisioning that that that smoky flavor and pizza. And it's dinner time where I'm at. It's very, it's what 6 11 a.m. Where you're at and it's 6 11 p.m. where I'm at. And I'm hungry. I mean, are you going to go have breakfast? Are you going to go have pizza for breakfast?

54:43Do you know how long it takes to heat up a wood fire oven? It'll be lunch time. Mother tongue. Lunch it is then I'll be there for breakfast tomorrow. I'll tell my husband he's watching the kids. Okay. Now for my surprise. I'm not taking a while to get there for that. So I do have a surprise question and you were not in the US. So I did change it a bit. So it was I had Taylor Swift in the question, but originally, but since you're in Australia, I made an adjustment. If have you ever checked yourself out in a mirror while listening to Kylie, I'm going to say her last name wrong. Is it Minogue? Am I an old? Holly Minogue. Kylie Minogue. And imagining you had a superpower, honest. When you said you had a random question, I've estimated the extent a don't listen to pop music as a rule. Those trick up. Okay. So I'm more classical than jazz and EDM kind of guy. Okay. Yeah.

55:44Okay. Okay. Checking myself out in the mirror. Normally I'll just look at the mirror and go say, Pete, get yourself to a barber. You need a trip to the groomer. And what was the other part of the question? If you just check yourself out in the mirror and if you have a if you do catch yourself, looking at yourself, what superpower would you have? I know it's a very hard one because I mean, when I was a kid, you used to all, you know, you'd go to the Royal Show and you'd get your Batman showbag and put on the Batman costume, but I'm not five years old anymore. This one will stump you. If I had any superpower, it would be two things that are incredibly rare. These days. Okay. First of all, I would have a solid grasp on reality. So that excludes super power thing. Second superpower would be common sense. Common sense is rare these days. It's no longer common. It really is rare these days. Hmm. So that would be super power. But I like it.

56:45Sorry, Kylie. Just that thing. Just not your thing. Just not my thing. Well, we tried. We tried. But let me go back. I guess it's my original question. What about Taylor Swift? My daughter is the biggest Taylor Swift. I know. I almost thought about keeping the Taylor Swift. Okay. So she did. I mean, she has pictures of Taylor Swift on the wall and she is something to tell us with come on the TV and she will run from her bedroom just to see in case it's a concert or something. And typically it's an advert with her music playing. She is obsessed. So yeah, I saw her. My girls, they her new album. I don't remember what it's called, but in time they hear it. They're like mermaid. Mermaid. She looks like a mermaid in her cover photo. And I has been like, who's mermaid? I'm like Taylor Swift. She goes, okay. But now she knows the words to the song because we'll play Alexa and they know how to work Alexa now. So they're like Alexa play mermaid. So I've had to program her to understand that that's these songs.

57:45So my kids have got one of these Alexa things. It's quite funny because my son will put on music. He likes my daughter will come and say Alexa shut up play this. And then he'll come in Alexa shut up playing the two of them. But it's painful. Well, you know, I have to say I have a beef with our Alexa because she won't talk to me, but then my husband will say Alexa and she'll say, good morning, Kyle. And then she'll answer him. And I'm just like, hmm, side chick, got it. No, I'm okay. Well, actually, I'm not kidding. That's really what happens in our household. If you were to leave one thing in regards to mentorship, what would you want to leave someone else who were possibly who was possibly considering being a mentor in this industry or outside this industry? So advice for a potential mentor. Yes, it's not about you being a mentor is not about building yourself up. It's about lifting other people up because if we don't have people who are willing to lift up the next generation or even those who will otherwise come

58:48after us, then yeah, we lose the foundations. We lose the fundamentals and that's how industries die. Yeah. So it's never about you mentoring is entirely about person being mentored. I would agree. Well, Peter, I can't thank you enough for coming on, having some good fun with me, busted some myths and sharing your story and talking about AI. I think it's really cool to see how something that started has really carried into what you're doing today. And even though it's completely something different outside the industry, I think it's awesome. And I'm excited to see what classes you come out with. Definitely sign me up. And I'm coming for that pizza. We'll do that during lunch at the workshop. Pleasure has been all mine. Been fantastic to be here and to share and as you say to laugh, it's been a good. Yes. It's been fun. Well, and to everyone listening, make sure you keep following along as we get to know all of our top mentors and eventually find out who's taking home that belt and

59:49who's going to embarrass their kids, their spouse, their partner, whoever. I'm Natalie Hood and this is Wednesdays and we will see you next week with another mentor. Bye, guys. I just want to take a minute to say thank you for listening today. I'm hoping you enjoyed the episode as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you. Listen, it's been a couple of wacky, crazy, screwed up years from pandemic to pool again. I just want you to know that we are all in this together. If there's anything that we can do for you, send me an email at talkingpools at gmail.com. Again, that's talking pools at gmail.com. We're here. This is your podcast. We are the pool people's podcast of the pool people for the pool people by the pool people's podcast. This one is about you. So thank you for tuning in and listening. Do me a favor click subscribe before you go.

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