Almost everyone I talk to is thinking about AI all wrong.
When I talk to people about this - and I talk to a lot of people about it - most of them think about how to use artificial intelligence as if they’re trying to answer the question: how do I do my job faster?
And that’s a damn fine question. Don’t get me wrong. I love that question. It is a great starting point. It’s like AI 101.
It’s just not the question that’s actually going to change anything for you.
If you’re somebody who has a lot of work to do and you think AI is going to reduce it, you’re in for a mighty powerful punch in the pancreas.
Meet Gordon
I was recently working with a head of marketing as his coach - or mentor, or leadership therapist, whatever you want to call me. He’s a really smart guy. Great instincts, I have to say. He’s another one of those exceptional workers that turn into leaders. I tend to work a lot with people like him.
Let’s call this client Gordon, because he kind of reminds me of Gordon Ramsay in a way. Even the hair. But not the cooking talent. Not that I’ve been to his house. But I digress.
Anyway, Gordon had been using ChatGPT pretty regularly, but mostly he uses it as a replacement for a Google search. And he decided he needed to better leverage the power of AI, and he was really excited about that. The kind of Gordon Ramsay excitement where he just keeps talking about it and tries to get everybody around him excited about it too.
The Faster Report Trap
I asked what he planned to do with ChatGPT to use it differently. And he said, without any hesitation: “Faster report writing. I hate doing those reports.”
He continued talking about it. “It takes far too much time.”
His team helps him write these weekly status reports, and he feels that AI can help the entire team do the reports in half the time.
I nodded and said that seemed like a good idea.
Sure, it’s a good idea.
But then I asked him a different question.
“If you were brand new to your role, would you keep creating these same reports?”
He paused. For only a second. Then he responded in a way that made it clear he had thought about this before.
“No, I wouldn’t. I don’t think they’re helpful.”
So I asked him why he still creates them.
He told me that his bosses want them. That they’ve been getting the reports for years and they want the information.
And that’s it. That’s the whole thing right there.
Gordon wasn’t trying to save time. He was trying to automate something that was a complete waste of time.
And that’s where we get to the really important thing that you need to know about how to best use AI.
It’s this…
