08/17/2026
This week my brain broke a little. Not from a bad AI experience — from a good one that exposed how badly I'd been using the tool.
For months, I treated AI like an employee: hand it a low-weight prompt ("write a LinkedIn post about X"), get back generic output, edit for hours, repeat. Old way. Assembly line thinking.
Then I flipped the relationship. Instead of dictating, I started handing it messy input and asking it to push back — challenge my assumptions, offer angles I hadn't considered, sharpen my reflection before a single word gets written. That's not an employee. That's a strategic thinking partner.
The output didn't just get better. The thinking got better — mine included.
5 questions to kick off the conversation in our community:
Where are you still using AI as an "employee"? Be honest — what's the one task where you're just handing it orders instead of ideas?
What does a "high-weight prompt" look like for your work? If you had to write one that forces AI to challenge you instead of obey you, what would it say?
Has AI ever talked you out of an assumption? Tell us about the moment it offered an angle you hadn't considered.
Old way vs. now way — where's the tension for you? Is it trust, time, or just habit that keeps people stuck in "generic assistant" mode?
If AI is becoming a thinking partner, what does that mean for late-career professionals specifically? Does it level the playing field, or raise the bar?
Drop your answer to even one of these below — let's think out loud together. 🧠⚡
DM me if you want to learn more or email me: [email protected]
