Learn or Die
Artifical Intelligence, Communication Skills, Podcasts Presence, 6 Months Look Ahead, Youtube….This Week on The Water MBA
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New Episode
A new episode will be released on The Water MBA platform (link provided at the end of this email). As usual, I’ll share the story behind it and some reflections. Next week…
This time, we’ll start sharing experiences on how to approach and utilize AI tools to help us in our daily work as water professionals.
Over the past 18 months, I’ve been using and testing some of these tools, and I’ve witnessed their impressive evolution in such a short time. It’s hard to imagine what advancements we’ll see in just one or two more years.
The MB-AI channel will serve as our window to explore what’s possible with these technologies.
I’m open to your suggestions—whether it’s new AI tools you’re using, successful tests you’ve conducted, or ideas for potential applications.
To kick things off, let’s warm up with a brief episode about my favorite tool: NotebookLM.
One challenge I frequently face is coordinating with clients on the exchange of comments and reviews for various documents (engineering, contractual, etc.).
These tasks often need to be completed within 14 to 21 days, but the fast-paced nature of our industry increasingly demands "ASAP" turnarounds—sometimes even next-day responses.
To address this, I explored using AI tools to automatically reply to client comments. The AI analyzes multiple documents and generates a response or flags areas where clarification is needed.
I started with a simple example: a Comment Sheet based on a single drawing. Internally, I expanded the process, uploading up to 50 documents.
The AI cross-checks them, including:
Comment Sheets
Drawings
Written Reports
General Project Documents
Contracts
Client Requirements
This approach is invaluable for common client queries like:
"Please confirm you have considered specification ‘X’ as requested in the contract."
"Are the values consistent across all reference documents?"
When dealing with contracts and requirements spanning hundreds or thousands of pages, it’s easy to overlook specific details.
AI tools help bridge this gap, providing quick cross-references and identifying inconsistencies—saving hours or even days of manual coordination.
For example, it’s common to find mismatches in projects, such as:
Process flow rates differing from hydraulic calculations
Discrepancies between P&IDs and piping classes
With these tools, identifying such incongruences is just a click away. Without them, it could take hours—or even days—of tedious cross-checking.
Want to create a narrative based on the historical track of a discussion or clarification round? Check out Episode #5 of our podcast on Spotify. The 15-minute talk about the water-energy nexus was prepared using this AI tool. If you haven’t listened yet, give it a try.
Interestingly, in recent coordination meetings with stakeholders, I’ve noticed some participants are already using AI agents during discussions. These agents generate automatic minutes of meetings (MoMs) and create task lists summarizing the discussions.
Here’s a small insider insight: the world’s leading water companies have been working on standardization over the past couple of years. Their goal? To organize big data, enabling AI to automate tasks more effectively.
The formula is simple:
Big Data (Input) → AI (Mind) → Robotics (Body)
The better organized and standardized your data, the more powerful AI becomes.
We’ll keep exploring these topics in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
Explore and Connect
Knowledge isn’t confined to a single source—not even The Water MBA. That’s why I aim to bring you insights from congresses, webinars, channels, and other courses or training resources I follow. If The Water MBA serves as a door that opens many others for you, I’ll be delighted. This week…
Remember, our YouTube channel is being refreshed and will be much more active throughout 2025.
We’ve curated a special playlist where we share references to videos that I personally found insightful, thought-provoking, and worth your time.
So, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel!
Make it a habit to check in weekly or monthly to see what’s new and explore the additional content and recommendations I believe you’ll enjoy.
Podcast Presence
In a previous newsletter, I mentioned that I was invited to participate in two podcasts or channels.
The first was Aqua Agitators, a YouTube channel featuring concise and engaging talks about the water industry. This episode is already available for viewing.
The second is scheduled for release at the end of February or early March. I’m confident many of you will find it interesting for a variety of reasons—stay tuned!
Last week, I received two additional podcast invitations, which I hope to record within the next 2–3 weeks:
A Leading Water Podcast: This podcast has over 100 episodes and a solid track record of more than four years.
An Entrepreneurship-Focused Podcast (Hosted in Mexico): While not directly related to water, this podcast focuses on entrepreneurship, individual impact, and building a business. The host has an impressive audience: over 1 million TikTok followers, 100k+ on Instagram, and 4k on LinkedIn.
I find this last opportunity particularly exciting because it’s essential to make water a visible topic outside of traditional water industry channels.
We need to bring the conversation about water to different industries and platforms. I hope you’ll join me in supporting this effort to expand the reach of our message. Let’s see what comes from it!
Apart from being a joyful experience (even though I’m more of a listener than a talker), these appearances help strengthen our community and elevate the visibility of professionals in the water industry across different spaces.
Communication Skills
In this section, I’ll highlight notable congresses, webinars, and more. This week…
One of my goals for 2025 is to grow and improve my communication skills.
Thirteen years ago, I couldn’t even give a speech in front of my university class.
Eighteen months ago, my first attempt at recording on my own was a complete mess.
Twelve months ago, I began the 2024 recording season, and even the first collaboration recording was… well, let’s say it left room for improvement.
Now, after 40 episodes, the new recordings for 2025 are noticeably more dynamic, better structured, and more focused on delivering concise value while reflecting on what’s truly important and engaging.
But I still have a long way to go. We’re also planning to create offline content in addition to online material, so there’s plenty of room for growth and experimentation.
6 Months Look Ahead
I’ve been organizing my workflow with an Excel file where I track all data, notes, and brainstorming ideas to stay productive in both attending events and producing content.
Last weekend, I reviewed the list of “confirmed” guests—those who are already scheduled or have discussed participating in upcoming episodes.
I’ve assigned one guest per week (subject to agenda), and we’re now scheduled all the way to June 2025! Many of these episodes promise to be truly valuable and insightful.
Here’s a sneak peek at some of the topics we’ll likely cover, so you can be prepared—or even share suggestions or contacts who might contribute:
Hydropower
Water Reuse for Irrigation
Brine Mining
Lithium Extraction & Water
Water Intelligence
Water Economics
NGOs in Africa
Urban Water Management
Hydrology & Flooding Risks
PPP Projects: Capex and Opex
Innovation in Membranes
Atmospheric Water Generation (AWG)
Oil & Gas Industry and Water Treatment
Pitfalls and Trends in Wastewater Treatment Plants
The Current Status of Green Hydrogen
Water Entrepreneurship
Investment in Water Technologies
If you have a particular interest in any of these areas, or if there’s a specific topic you’d like us to explore, feel free to drop us a message! We’ll add it to our backlog and ensure we deliver the best content possible for you and our community.
Intake & Outfall MBA
Thank you to those of you who have already registered! This video-on-demand course, which will include actionable support documentation, will run from the end of February to December 2025.
Having participants from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Austria, and Algeria is a clear testament to the fact that water challenges are global.
It also highlights how we all share the same motivation to learn, improve, and make a positive impact within our respective ecosystems.
Below is the link to access the platform. Remember, the subscription is fully flexible, and there’s a 3-day free trial. If any episode piques your interest, the cost won’t stand in your way.
That’s all for today.
See you next week.